Vasca ball

Mestizos de Lamas playing ball and cockspart of the 18th century Peruvian indigenous watercolor Truxillo del Perú of the religious Baltasar Martínez Compañón.

Basque pelota (from Basque: pilota) ^{[citation required]}is a traditional sport from the north of Spain and southwest of France, which has its roots in the Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarra.

It generally requires the participation of at least two players or two couples who, in general terms, take turns hitting a ball against a wall called a "frontis", until they score a goal. The court in which it is played is called pediment, and there is a variant called trinquete, which is a closed court with a lateral canopy.

The origin of the game dates back to the XIII century in some parts of northern Spain, where a pretty similar game known as the palm game. Various ball games are believed to derive from this game, such as Basque pelota, Valencian pelota or tennis.

This sport is played mainly in the Basque Country, La Rioja and Navarra. although there are also Basque pelota federations in other regions of Spain, as well as in France, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, the United States, the Philippines, Greece, Guatemala, Countries Netherlands, India, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Sweden, Uruguay and Venezuela. The athlete who practices this sport is called "pelotari".

The International Federation of Basque Pelota (FIPV) recognizes four modalities with a total of fourteen official specialties. The modality is considered the type of court where it is played, and specialty >, what is practiced in it. The official modalities and specialties are:

• In trinke is played in palette with rubber ball (men and women), a palette with leather ball, by hand (individual and by couples) and xare (or share).
• In 36 meters front (also called a short or left wall) is played on a short palate, a palette with leather and hand ball (individual and by couples) and a solid rubber palette.
• In 30 meters front is played in frontenis (men and women) and palette with rubber ball.
• In 54 meters front (also called long or Jai Alai) is played to basket tip.

In addition to the modalities and specialties recognized by the International Federation, there are other modalities and specialties that are practiced locally.

History

Throughout the world, numerous civilizations have played different ball games. They used to compete individually, the game taking place in conveniently delimited meadows; the game allowed for distraction and personal challenge. The ball is therefore a universal game; the most codified forms of the game were in South America, the Middle East, or Western Europe. The Jeu de Paume, the game of the drum, the game of the sieve, are living manifestations of the ancient ball games and Basque pelota and tennis are direct legacies of those games.

The advance of the Roman Empire brought the game called pila to French territory. Its subsequent evolution would lead to the Jeu de Paume. This game, which was played in the meadows and in town squares, kept its name of paume (palm) despite the progressive use of various hitting implements. The bourgeois and aristocrats used gloves and rackets.

In the XII century, the documents that support the expansion of the ball game gradually increased. In the Middle Ages it is evident that the palaces, the nobility and the kings had their so-called ratchets. France is the pioneer in the game of ball, regarding the possible similarity with current times, including two modalities: la longue paume and courte paume.

In the 12th and 14th centuries, the game of paume became widespread throughout France. A. de Luze, a student of pelotistic evolution, recorded in the year 1933 the existence of more than 300 tripots or ball games during the periods of time from XIII to XIV. The first news of the long game "is located on the edge of the French Revolution".

In the 17th century, the ball game was preferably the «long game» with a glove or laxoa. It is in the 19th century, in its last decade, when the most representative modalities of the ball were established: mano, shovel, remonte and punta basket, exporting these modalities to a large part of the world. The basket-punta will be the most universal modality. America becomes the welcoming continent of the ball game that the Basques carry within their culture.

In the 20th century, professionalism flourishes. In the amateur field, competitions began in 1925. Tournaments of all kinds germinate everywhere under the impulse of federative or business bodies, even opening frontons in Cuba, Egypt and China, among other places. The Shanghai fronton was especially important. The fans spread in this century, although the cyclical curvatures show periods of splendor and decadence.

In the amateur field, the world championships, established in 1952 in San Sebastián, are the most important ball sport event. It is a reunion, every four years, of those countries that worship the sport of baseball with the greatest fervor.

Basque pelota in Catalonia

The Barcelonian Front, performed by the architect Enric Sagnier in 1893 on Calle Diputació 415 de Barcelona, and demolished in 1902

The first recorded Catalan frontons were the Barcelonés Fronton (from 1893), the Condal (from 1893, where the Real Sociedad de Sport Basque Country of Catalonia) and the Principal Palace (from 1914). The main practice was professional basket-punta with bets. A tourist guide on Barcelona from 1840 already mentions a place for "ball games", although it is not clear what type of game or games were played.

In the twenties more frontons were created in Barcelona, such as the long fronton Novedades (built between 1926 and 1927), and the short frontons Colom, Sol y Sombra, Chiqui and Condal (second fronton with the same name). The interest in this game is very high, and most neighborhood clubs or town casinos end up building a wall to practice fronton, either to play with the hand or other modalities. ^{[citation required]}

In 1924, the Barcelonés and the Real Sociedad de Sport Vasco merged, giving life to Club Vasconia. The Catalan Pelota Federation was formed in 1924.

In the 40s and 50s in Barcelona there were a large number of frontons. Among the cutlery, the Sol y Sombra, Principal Palacio, Novedades, Colom, Nuevo Mundo , Barcelona, Chiqui and Condal. Among those discovered, the Independencia, Amàlia, Poblenou or Bassegoda. Among the clubs, the best were Atano and Manista, in handball; Vascònia in basket tip; and the Piscinas y Deportes and the CN Barcelona in hand and shovel. there was a great atmosphere and gambling was the order of the day. The best puntists in the world passed through the Main Palace, but Catalonia stood out, mainly, for its amateur players. Men such as Manuel Balet, Joaquim Balet, Barasona and Puigvert in punta basket stood out in this regard. In shovel, Juan Vilá Reyes, who later became president of Espanyol, and the Massip brothers (Pedrín Y and Pedrín II) stood out. ball in hand stood out Gudiol de Tarrasa, as well as Díaz, Medina, Pascual and Torres.^{[citation required]}

Basque pelota modalities

Municipal Front of La Coruña

The type of court where the game is played is called modality. In each modality, different specialties are played in turn.

30 meter short fronton

The playing area called fronton consists of a frontis (front wall), left wall, rebound (back wall) and court (floor). The length of the pediment is 30 meters; the height and width are 10 meters each.

The specialties that are played in this type of fronton are:

• Frontenis (male and female)
• Paleta Goma Argentina (male and female)

36 meter short fronton

The same as the previous one, but with a length of the pediment of 36 meters.

The specialties that are played in this type of fronton are:

• Individual hand (male)
• Hand couples (male)
• Paleta Goma Maciza
• Leather (masculine)
• Short palate (male)

54 meter long pediment or Jai Alai

The same as the rest of the frontons, but with a length of the fronton of 54 meters.

The specialties that are played in this type of fronton are:

• Tip basket (male)
• Remonte (male)
• Long palate (male)

Ratchet

Old Trinquet (blanco) in Buenos Aires.

The ratchet is a four-walled pediment with a length of 28.50 meters. Along the left wall, a canopy on an inclined plane extends from the "front" to the "rebound". Below this canopy stretches a net. The front is joined to the right wall by an inclined plane called "friar".

The specialties that are played in this type of fronton are:

• Individual hand (male)
• Hand couples (male)
• Leather (masculine)
• Rubber (male and female)
• Xare or Share (male)
• Solid rubber paddle

Basque pelota specialties

The type of tool or implement used for the game is called specialty, that is, each variant of the game that is practiced in the different modalities.

Ball hand

Pelotari of hand specialty at the time of looting.

Handball (esku pilota in Basque) is the specialty of Basque pelota in which it is played using only the hand to hit the ball. It is currently the most popular specialty in Spain, where there are professional pelotari circuits and in these countries it is considered the quintessential Basque pelota game.

Due to its primitive meaning, being the "natural way" of playing pelota, it is considered the basic specialty of Basque pelota, although paradoxically as a professional sport or show it developed after the specialties with tools.

The hand specialty can be played in three modalities: free square, ratchet and short fronton; individually (called "mano a mano" or "manomanista") or in pairs.

The free square (a simple wall) is the oldest modality. It was a competition modality in the first World Cups, but it later disappeared from the official modalities as it was practiced only in the French Basque Country, where most of the towns still have this type of court.

In the French Basque Country it also began to be played by hand on ratchets in the last third of the XIX century. The Basque-French emigrants took the ratchets to Uruguay and Argentina, where great manistas already emerged at the end of the 19th century that competed with the Basque-French. The ratchet modality continues to be the most popular in the French Basque Country, where there is a circuit of professional pelotaris, called "Elite Pro" of this modality.

In the Basque Country, however, another type of court for the hand game became popular, the short fronton, which has a left wall. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were already professional pelota players in the left-hand wall, and the tradition has continued uninterrupted until today. The hand game in Spain, spread mainly through the Basque Country, Navarra, Aragon, La Rioja, Castilla (Burgos, Cuenca, Madrid and Soria), is played on this type of court and has been very popular throughout the twentieth century. There is currently a professional circuit, the Pelota a Mano Business League, which has a great following and media coverage in these regions, much greater than any other Basque pelota specialty.

It has been relatively common for pelotaris specialized in one modality or another to have tried their luck with greater or lesser success in the other. Several Basque-French pelotaris, trained in the ratchet, have achieved notable successes on the left-wall fronton, and similarly left-wall pelotaris have competed successfully with professional trinchet players.

In America, hand ball does not have the repercussion it has in Spain or France, although some figures have emerged, especially in the ratchet, such as the Mexican Alfredo Zea or the Cuban Waltari Agustí.

Solid rubber paddle

The term Solid Rubber Paddle refers to a particular modality of the pediment ball game. The palette used weighs between approximately 520 and 600 grams and is made from a single piece of beech wood. It may have holes on its surface to reduce air resistance.

The ball used is made of solid rubber, without air inside (unlike the Argentine paddle). Its weight ranges between 65 and 66 grams. The frontons where it is usually practiced have a very variable length: between 25 and 45 meters. It is a modality widely practiced in Spain (Navarra, the Basque Autonomous Community and La Rioja) and in France. In the latter there is a national championship. There are no international competitions.

Paddle ball

The paleta ball or Argentine ball is a variant of the Basque ball originated in Argentina at the beginning of the XX century, widespread practice in that country. It is characterized by using a wooden shovel called a palette, in the shape of a bovine palette, because originally the palette from cattle was used as a shovel.

It is practiced in two specialties (rubber paddle and leather paddle), depending on whether a rubber or leather ball is used. Each of them with two modalities. In turn, one of them admits masculine and feminine test. In total there are five possible tests:

• Balloon rubber, fronton 30 m, male
• Rubber ball, trim, masculine
• Rubber ball, trim, feminine
• Leather ball, trim, masculine
• Leather ball, short front, masculine

Its invention is unanimously attributed in Argentina to Gabriel Martirén, the Sardina, an immigrant of Basque-French origin, who initially settled in Burzaco, where he installed a milk dairy and gave rise to the paddle ball in 1905, to later move to Diego de Alvear, province of Santa Fe. Martirén installed "fields" or pediments, where paddle ball was widely practiced among the gauchos who worked in the dairy. For several years the Gabriel Martirén Cup of paddle ball was played in Argentina, in memory of who is considered its inventor.

In Irún, the invention has been attributed to Francisco Marticorena, an immigrant of Basque origin, originally from Irún, who settled in Buenos Aires, where he would have given rise to the palette in 1915.

Tip basket

Dania Jai Alai

La cesta punta (zesta punta in Basque, cesta-punta in French, jai-alai in English — from Basque for 'happy party' '—) is a specialty of Basque pelota that is played using a pelota basket as a tool. In the punta basket, unlike the other specialties, the ball is not returned directly with the tool, but is first picked up with the basket and, after gaining momentum, it is returned to the fronton, this must be a fluid movement. The punta basket is usually played in a single modality, in a 54-meter long fronton and in pairs.

Cesta punta arose in the last decades of the XIX century, invented by a group of Basque pelotaris who played joko-garbi in pediments in Argentina. These were introducing modifications to the traditional "top hats" or "baskets" that were used at the time to play joko-garbi. The modification consisted of making the top hat bigger and incorporating a receptacle to bag the ball. The pelotaris and the public discovered that the game was much easier, faster and more attractive, allowing the atxiki or retention of the ball with this new type of basket. The punta basket once again crossed the ocean and became very popular among the Basques on both sides of the border, and from there began an unstoppable spread, first through France and Spain and then halfway around the world.

The punta basket is about the most universal of the “Basque pelota” specialties. The game gained great popularity in countries such as Cuba, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States, where it was known by the name jai alai (Basque expression meaning 'happy party'). In general, in countries where Basque pelota is not played, this sport is identified with the jai alai of the Florida frontons. It is a sport that is usually played professionally in frontons of various countries, generally linked to betting pools.

Racquetball

Party of female frontenis.

Frontenis is a specialty of Basque pelota in which the tool is a racket like a tennis racket, with the difference that it does not have defined dimensions; therefore the weight, size and type of stringing changes. Broadly speaking, it is a sport that can be played in pairs or individually (this last modality has no international representation). Frontenis was born at the beginning of the 20th century in Mexico, where it began to be played in frontones of Basque pelota with tennis rackets. This country is still today the world power in this specialty. It is played in the 30-meter fronton modality, somewhat shorter than the traditional hand or short blade fronton and a rubber ball is used for the game. Frontennis is one of the few specialties in which women participate in international competitions, with a long tradition of female participation in this specialty.

Share

Tool for the xare modality, with a certain similarity with a tennis rack.

The game of share or xare is one of the most minority specialties of Basque pelota, among which are played internationally. The share tool is similar to a tennis racket, but with much smaller measurements and dimensions. Inside it is attached a rope net with little tension (the Basque word share means 'net'), which allows the ball to be received and thrown towards the front wall, with a flick of the wrist accompanied by a movement of the arm that accompanies him. The share probably arose among the communities of Basques who emigrated to Argentina and Uruguay and is practiced in the form of a ratchet.

Frontball

Frontball is a game designed to combine the extreme simplicity of its rules and necessary facilities, with a dynamic, fast and aggressive game. Basically, it is played against a single wall (5 meter high front) without side walls, on a court that is 7.5 meters wide and 11 meters long.

Others

Apart from the modalities that are played in the Basque Pelota World Championships, there are other less widespread ones that today are still played more locally. In the 54-meter frontons, ski lifts and shovels are practiced, and in the Plaza they play pelota mano, shovel, joko garbi and great top hat.

All these previous modalities are called indirect games, in which the ball must hit the frontispiece before being returned by the rival. However, there are also direct games (tennis type) such as glove-laxoa, mahi jokoa, luzea boat, pasaka and rebound.

Scheme of a pediment

• Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia gallery on Front.

This is the representation of a typical Basque pelota fronton. There may be slightly different gables (Ratchet), and they are not all the same length, but this is the basic and typical configuration:

Basque pelota World Championships

Since 1952, the International Basque Pelota Federation has organized the Basque Pelota World Championships, which are reserved for amateur pelotaris, thus excluding any professional pelotari.

Medal table

History since 1952 (including 2015):

	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	SpainSpain	63	68	32	163
2	France	62	53	39	154
3	Argentina	47	23	14	84
4	Mexico Mexico	41	39	25	105
5	Uruguay Uruguay	5	29	14	48
6	CubaCuba	2	4	12	18
7	United States	0	1	2	3
8	ChileChile	0	0	6	6

Note 1: Total gold medals are counted first, then silver, and lastly bronze.

Note 2: From 1952 to 1970 no bronze medals were contested.

Note 3: The table includes all modalities, including the Plaza Libre that was played in the 1952, 1955 and 1958 World Cups.

Record at the Olympic Games

	Basque hair at the Olympic Games
Paris 1900 Русский Paris 1924 (show sport) 日本語 Mexico 1968 (exhibition sports) 日本語 Barcelona 1992 (show sport)

Outstanding baseball players

Pelota palette actuality

• Facundo Andreasen
• Santiago Andreasen
• Javier Nicosia
• Carlos Dorato
• Alfredo Villegas
• Gabriel Villegas
• Sergio Supan
• Eduardo Ross
• Julio Herranz

Pala

• Esteban Gaubeka
• Paul Fusto
• Mixel Fernández
• Carlos Dorato
• Joseba Bilbao
• Sebastian Andreasen
• Juan Firpo
• Silvain Brefel
• Dan Necol
• Facundo Kennedy
• Iturri, José Manuel Martínez Iturri

Historical hand ball

• Artamendi
• Atano III
• Retegi II
• Azkarate
• Ogueta
• Mondragon
• Retegi I
• Tit III
• Txikito de Iraeta
• Juan Jose Urra

Current hand ball

• Barriola
• Beloki
• Bengoetxea VI
• Martínez de Irujo
• Olaizola II
• Xala
• Patxi Ruiz
• González

Historical shovel

• John Paul
• Insausti
• Gerardo Romano «El Loco»

Historical assemblers

• Koteto Ezkurra
• Open

Remontistas Spanish champions fans

• Rubén López Lechado
• J. Lekumberri
• Iván Jiménez
• Echeverría II

Historical solid rubber paddle

• J.M.Robles
• Graciano Iriarte
• Juan Pablo Ollo
• J.M. Urra

Cart

• Juan Ramón Rincón Maguregui "Navarrete"
• Nicasio Rincón Maguregui "Navarrete Chico"

Broadcast of matches on television

For years, pelota a mano matches have been broadcast weekly on Basque television (ETB1) on Friday nights, while Nitro matches were broadcast on Saturdays for the entire national territory, currently showing on Sundays at tomorrow in the Sixth.

The territorial center of Televisión Española in La Rioja also broadcasts the program "Escuela de pelota" weekly, with monitoring of the Interpueblos Tournament and professional pelotaris from La Rioja as guests. In addition, every Sunday morning, the regional television stations in Spain (Aragón, Castilla y León, Extremadura, Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha, etc.) broadcast ball games starting at 10:00 a.m., in the program « Ball to Hand”.

Popular TV La Rioja broadcasts professional matches for the La Rioja territory, thanks to an agreement with ETB, every Friday and Sunday. Likewise, on Sundays, a gathering is held on said channel that bears the title of "4 to 100".

In Castilla y León, pelota is also broadcast, with its own circuit organized by CyLTV.

Ball in fiction

Television

• Chapter 4 "The Arrangements" of the third season of the American series Mad Men it revolves around an American customer who wants to introduce the Jai Alai or Cart tip in the United States. There are numerous references to sport and its Basque origin.
• A brief ball scene appeared in the opening brackets of the American television series Miami Viceamong other Miami images. In 1986, in its third season, the plot of the episode 47 "Kill shot", directed by the Cuban Leon Ichaso, implied a top-hearted player named Tico Arriola (personified by the Mexican Fernando Allende), and concluded with a spectacular match.
• In an episode of The Simpsons There are two ballris playing ball in a fronton.^{[chuckles]required]}
• In The Magic Godfathers the cartoon villain Barbilla Roja, Rodillera de Bronce, used to be the third best player of Jai-alai of the Basque Country.

Cinema

• In the movie The night goes on (Roberto Gavaldon, 1952) Pedro Armendáriz interprets an arrogant ballri, a woman and vain, champion of the Mexico Front.
• The movie Air starts with a match between Julián Retegui and Rubén Beloki, which was shot for the movie, as both ballris have never faced in a hand-to-hand game.
• In Tasio (Montxo Armendáriz, 1984) the protagonist is a good ballri of his area in the square modality.
• In the movie The planet of apes (2011), apes soldiers are seen using jokers (which are used in the Cart tip variant of this sport) to throw fireballs against the protagonists.
• In the movie The substitute (1996) one of the characters appears playing on a Basque ball track.

Documentaries

• Around the World with Orson Welles (1955) Orson Welles.
• Pelotari (1964) by Néstor Basterretxea and Fernando Larruquert, with Acarregui, Atano III, Atano X, Cortabitarte, Gallastegui and Ogueta.
• Ballot (1984) by Ole John and Jørgen Leth with Atano III, Atano X, J.M. Berasaluce, Joseph Laduche, Jean-Pierre Laruche, Retegui, Cripriano Ruiz and Tolosa.
• The Basque ball, the skin against the stone (2003) of Julio Medem reuses images of the previous ones, as well as scenes of other Basque sports. In this documentary the ball game is a metaphor of the Basque socio-political situation.

Basque pelota in literature

• Pelotari (2009) by Marcelino Izquierdo Vozmediano, with prologue of Titin III. Editorial Searchini. Collection "The Printing of Armando" n. 4 (ISBN 978-84-935995-8-4).
• The ballri and his hands (1995) of Ander Letamendia. Bizkaiko Ikastolen Elkartea (ISBN 978-84-88646-06-4).
• Eloy Gaztelumendi an Irish ballri (1993) of Ander Letamendia. Gikpukoako Kutxa (ISBN 978-84-7173-212-5).
• Balloon, ballri, fronton (1983), by Miguel Pelay Orozco. West Editions (ISBN 978-84-85935-19-2).
• Pelotari: its environment (1973) by José Luis Flores Lazcano. Department of Culture of the Vizcaya Provincial Council (ISBN 978-84-500-6029-4).
• The ballri hand (1993) of Ander Letamendia. Gipuzkoako Kutxa (ISBN 978-84-7173-212-5).
• History of the Ball in Navarre (2002) of Diario de Navarra (ISBN 84-89103-38-0).
• Us The Basques, Games and Sports (Volumen I, La Pelota Vasca). Lur Argitaletxea, SA (ISBN 84-7099-261-9).
• Basque hair: a ritual, an aesthetic (2005) by Olatz González-Abrisketa. Uribitarte Editors (ISBN 978-84-92199-89-1).