The beautiful historic venue of Mojmirovce castle in Nitra (www.kastielmojmirovce.sk) will be home to the players nominated to attend camp, which will be held from 1.18-1.20 2013. The three day event will feature intense training and in class strategizing, followed daily by leisure time in the pool and sauna.

The invited players include the top stars in Slovakia including:

Marek Kanich, Vladimír Kalis, Marián Mikulčík, Jozef Minárik, Branislav Thron, Róbert Kašša, Milan Ladiver /ospravedlnil sa z dôvodu pracovnej vyťaženosti/, Milan Beniač, Lukáš Lajčiak, Dušan Danko, Ján Rímsky, Michal Hrivnák, Libor Teplický, Martin Haring, Filip Titka, Ivan Káčer, Marían Kučerka, Michal Ecker, Erik Lvomský, Matúš Lipták, Michal Ľupták, Ondrej Hraško, Filip Cajchan

The impressive group looks to return the World Championship title to Slovakia by competing in the WBHF Men’s World Championship in Toronto, Canada, June 2013. Included in this collection of national all-stars is Branilsav (Riko) Thron, recently named the #1 player in Slovakia.

Fresh off his victory in the poll, we bring you an abridged version of this interview.
What was the deciding factor for your lead in the poll? "I do not have any information on how the vote actually took place. Certainly me, however the overall victory, I believe it was because the successful past season with the LG, where I became a champion of Slovakia and European Cup runner-up clubs, and some good results in Nitre. '

If you had a vote, who would you choose and why? "Slovakia has a lot of great players and it might be difficult to choose between them, but if I have to choose one, it would have been Jožko Minárik from LG TPS BA. I think this is probably the best defender in Slovakia and not only for sports but also character traits, but as I mentioned, we have a lot of good players. "
For many years you were an icon at Doprastav Bratislava. Before the season, you transferred to the rookie club of Nitra, which was for many a big shock. Why this change? "Yes, those years spent in Doprastav I will never forget, but sometimes life has change, and I got a good offer from Nitra. I decided to accept it and now I do not regret it at all because they are a good team and I met a number of great players and not only the most experienced, but also those who I have not seen play before. "
Finally, something of privacy, what is the difference between Branislav Thron ten years ago and today? "First of all, I have about ten years more (smile). Sure I am not so volatile and turbulent as it once before, but it's really about age. Especially since I now need more time for recovery, but I am still basically the same. There is also my taste for the sport and to win, and probably the most essential difference from ten years ago is that I no longer use hair gel (smile). "
Your jersey has always been adorned with number 18. What does this number mean to you? "It is true that I am eighteen basically from scratch. Yet when we played as juniors in L. Guerera league, I wore 21, when we changed the" old "jerseys I inherited number 18 when Vlad Franta went to seniors. When I then went to the seniors, it was free. Henceforth I wear it now and I quite like it. "
Recently, the family has been enriched by one member, daughter Tami. No plans in the near future for her to be a successor Hokejbalový Thronovcov clan? "Truly, the time is running fast and Taminka is already three years. I'm happy here. It seems she has a really decent stick technique already. Currently there is no plan for her to follow, but we'll see. Time will tell.“