Pelota (Spanish pelota) - ball. It is he who is the center of this ancient Basque game, which eventually became one of the national sports. Once the Basque pelota was even included in the program of the Olympic Games (1900, Paris). Then teams from Spain and France took part in the competition, each of which had two people, and the Spaniards won. Subsequently, several times this sport was present at the Olympic Games as a demonstration. But the Basques carefully preserve their traditions, including sports ones, so pelota is still played in every corner of the Basque Country.
Rules of the game
Since the Basques are a harsh people, playing pelota among them provides almost no protection. The ball, which players throw against a wall and then hit with their hand, is rather hard, usually made of rubber and covered with leather, 6.5 cm in diameter and weighing about 100 grams. Sometimes a light leather glove is put on the hand, or they pick up a racket or a trap bat and hit the ball with it. But in the original game, which has existed among the Basque people since the 18th century, the ball was beaten with hands.
Competing, the participants take turns hitting the ball flying off the wall from the air or after one hit on the site. If someone misses, they lose a point. Therefore, trying not to miss their ball, players sometimes write out breathtaking pirouettes in the air. It is forbidden to interfere with each other to intercept the ball in this game.
The wall against which the ball is hit is called the gable. There is such a wall in almost every city in the Basque Country. Its height is 9-10 m, and at the bottom a line is drawn at a level of 1 m from the ground, below which the hit ball should not fall.
You can learn how to play pelota in many sports centers in the Basque Country. The main thing is to have a comfortable platform. Here is a list of the region's most famous pediments, most of which have pelota schools attached to them.
The most famous pediments of the Basque Country
Astelena (Eibar)
Since its opening in 1904, that is, for more than a century, this venue has been hosting important events in the world of the Basque pelota. The pediment with a capacity of 1325 people has been reconstructed several times and is a very significant place for the region.
The origin of the name of the pediment is interesting. Since ancient times, local Basques, going to work on Monday, after the weekend, went about their business more relaxed - the week is still ahead - and in the evenings they went to the pediment to watch the game of pelota. That's why they called the pediment "Astelena", which in Basque means "Monday".
- Address: Isasi, 11, Eibar
Jai Alai (Gernika)
The site, opened in 1963, despite its relatively small capacity of 1,500 people, is one of the most important in the region, because it is located in its very heart - the city of Guernica. Here, as in other venues, a wide variety of events are often held, from city holidays to private performances or concerts. And on the balcony of the building in which the pediment is located, there is a miniature museum telling about the history of the Basque pelota.
- Address: Carlos Gangoiti, 14, Gernika-Lumo
- Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 16:00 to 19:00
Atano III (San Sebastian)
This small municipal pediment is located in the special sports area of San Sebastian, next to the football stadium. A 10x35 m high polished concrete wall with a height of 14 m is under the roof so you don't have to worry about bad weather. The pediment was first opened in 1963, and then reconstructed in 1995 and named after one of the the best players in the pelota. For more than 35 years, it has been the venue for the finals of the main Basque pelota championship. The stands can accommodate 2353 people.
- Address: Anoeta pasealekua, s/n, San Sebastian
- Opening hours: Monday-Saturday from 9:00 to 22:00, Sunday - 9:00-13:00, closed on holidays
Galarreta (Hernani)
Since 1970, the official sports championships in the game of Basque pelota have been held on this site. The pediment, measuring 54x10 m and over 10 m high, is made of polished concrete and is located indoors. The stands can accommodate 1140 spectators. In addition to training and championships, cultural events are sometimes held here.
- Address: Calle Jauregi, s/n, Hernani
- Opening hours: 16:00-20:00
Ogueta (Vitoria-Gasteiz)
Capital pediment with a capacity of up to 2000 people. It was opened on the territory of a large sports complex Mendizorrotza in 1975. The most important pelota games are held here in August. during the annual holidays of the White Mother of God.
- Address: Plaza Amadeo Garcia de Salazar, 2, Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 8:00 to 22:00
Bizkaia (Bilbao)
The gable is located near the Bilbao Arena stadium. It is considered the largest in the region, because it is designed for 3,000 spectators. Here is the House of Sports with a height of 7 floors, which accommodates all local sports federations, as well as an assembly hall, conference rooms and press rooms. From time to time, guided tours are held around the territory, and the pediment itself can be rented.
- Address: Luis de Castresana, 2, Bilbao
- Opening hours: depending on the events
(Basque game "pelota" in Spain and France)
... Each blow to the wall rattles like a rifle shot, a blow on the palm splashes like a resounding slap in the face. With a very strong swing, the player throws the ball into a dense stone wall. The ball bounces, with a whistle flies back. The second player - the opponent - is ready: he intercepts the ball and launches it into the same wall. Now he catches the first one - and everything repeats.
The ball is made of hard rubber, sheathed with thick fabric and covered with tight leather. It is called "pelota", and it is from him that the whole fun got its name - the national game of the Basques, a people living on both sides of the Pyrenees in Spain and France.
The rules of the game are not very complicated: catch the ball thrown by the opponent into the wall and throw it there. If one of the players - "pelotari" - misses the ball, and he hits the metal partition at the opposite end of the field with a ringing sound, his opponent will receive a point. The referee almost does not look at the players (this is a special chic!). He determines by the sound who hits and who intercepts, distinguishing each blow - light or heavy, "hot" or "cool".
If we talk about the original, ancient Basque sports, then pelota is not among them. In ancient times, competitions in cutting a tree, swimming in the sea against the current and lifting stones were popular here. Their rules are simple and strict. Whoever splits the firewood the most wins. Whoever goes further against the current, wielding heavy oars, is the winner. And even easier with stone. You need to raise the block above your head as high as possible and hold it for as long as possible.
All these "joyful funs" are in some way alive to this day, but you can see them only at folklore holidays. The pelota is perceived as completely modern look sports - just with very ancient "roots".
“Pelota is as old as the Basque people,” any zealous admirer of her is convinced of this. But this question is, to put it mildly, controversial. Historians have recently agreed that the ball game was brought to the Basque Country by the Navarrese kings who occupied the French throne, and this happened only in the 16th century. In Paris, at that time, at the court, a ball game was in vogue - “jeu de paume”. It is this game that is considered the forerunner of modern Olympic tennis and English squash. And when turning it into a pelota, the main thing was the manifestation of physical strength in the game - just in the spirit of the "original sports" of the Basque Country.
There are practically no people among the Basques who are indifferent to the pelota, all of them are her fans. Only some play pelota, while others cheer for them. Any child in the Basque Country knows the names of champion pelotari for many years and can spend hours discussing the intricacies of the game. But both players and fans are divided into three groups according to their preferred way of playing.
The stronghold of the "manists" is the small town of Banos de Rio Tobia. "Manists" play bare hand. The ball is very hard and flies with such speed that the pelotari, having beaten it off, turns around its axis. "Manists" are suffering great with broken and wounded hands. Nowadays, before the game, they glue porous rubber rings on their fingers and palms. This at least slightly softens the pain of the blow, but serves as a source of irritation for supporters of the "traditional game".
San Sebastian is the stronghold of the Sesta Puntat adherents. The name is translated as "sharp basket". To Karel Capek, who traveled to Spain before the Second World War, she seemed like a bean pod - and no one has yet come up with a better comparison. The one who plays in the style of "sesta" participates in the most quick game in the world: the speed of the ball reaches three hundred kilometers per hour.
"Sestas" are weaved by masters whose names are widely known. A curved frame is cut out of strong, hard chestnut wood and braided with willow twigs - a good "sest-punt" will withstand two hundred meetings. There is also a worthy answer of one of these masters to a visitor who asked if it was not easier to make baskets from plastic - “Maybe you would advise making a violin from plastic?”.
And in Bilbao they play with the help of a "pala" - a hefty wooden bat. At the same time, the rules are about the same, you just have to specify some particulars. And for every supporter of his kind of pelota, the adherent of the other two is, at best, delusional. But most likely - not a Basque, but a foreigner, an outsider, a stranger who does not understand the pelota and does not have the right to judge it.
With all the love of the Basques for the pelota in the Spanish Basque Country, one can very often see ads pasted to the walls: “Pelotka haritzea debacatua!!!” - "It is forbidden to play pelota !!!" The fact is that children and teenagers practice for hours, throwing a ball at the wall three hundred, five hundred, a thousand times in a row ... And the walls most suitable for pelota in the mountainous rural Basque Country, as a rule, have two buildings - the church and the municipality.
But here's what's funny - they start playing pelota much more carefully with the beginning of the tourist season - and there are very, very many tourists here. ball launched from huge force may seriously harm the health of a passerby. He will dodge his own - after all, the Basque himself, at least as a child, played. And the visitor, inexperienced, should be protected. After all, the Basques are a people who value not only strength, but also hospitality ...
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To the question What is a pelota? given by the author Yojin the best answer is national Basque sport, the prototype of modern squash.
Source: wikipedia
Answer from User deleted[guru]
Answer from Autumn[guru]
Pelota is the national Basque sport, the prototype of modern squash.
Rules of the game
The player (pelotari) with all his strength throws a hard ball with a diameter of 6.5 cm with his bare hand or hits it with a racquet-trap (slightly curved, like a beak with a bat “chiestra”, “clean”) against a wall 9 m high. The opponent must hit the ball with air or after one impact on the surface of the site (60 x 16 m).
The ball is made of hard rubber, sheathed with thick fabric and covered with tight leather. It is called "pelota", and it is from him that the game got its name. If one of the players misses the ball, and he hits the metal partition at the opposite end of the field with a ringing sound, his opponent will receive a point. During the game, opponents do not have the right to interfere with each other. Each mistake is counted as a penalty point, the draw is carried out up to 60 points. The referee hardly looks at the players. He determines by sound who hits and who intercepts, distinguishing each blow - light or heavy.
Pelota can be played, like tennis, by singles and couples, as well as teams of four and even six people. For such large teams, areas are broken up to 60 m long and 16 m wide, while the wall is 18 m wide and 9 m high, the back line is raised above the level of the site by 80 cm, from the back line to the feed 16-20 m .
Was included in Olympic Games 1900 in men's competitions and demonstrated at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992.
Answer from Vladimir Nikitinsky[guru]
BASK PELOT (Spanish: Pelota Vasca).
Team game (2-3 people per team) with a ball and special rackets-gloves (chiesters). Players direct the ball with a chiester kick into the wall, trying to do it in such a way that the opponents cannot return it back after bouncing off it. Distributed in Spain, France, a number of countries in Lat. America (especially in Mexico). At the 1968 Olympics, demonstration performances according to B. p.
Answer from Viorel Seredenco[guru]
Pelota (Spanish) - BALL!!!
Answer from Jhjhlklh[guru]
Pelota (Basque pilota) is a national Basque sport, a prototype of modern squash.
Rules of the game
The player (pelotari) with all his strength throws a hard ball with a diameter of 6.5 cm with his bare hand or hits it with a racquet-trap (slightly curved, like a beak with a bat “chiestra”, “clean”) against a wall 9 m high. The opponent must hit the ball with air or after one impact on the surface of the site (60 x 16 m).
The ball is made of hard rubber, sheathed with thick fabric and covered with tight leather. It is called "pelota", and it is from him that the game got its name. If one of the players misses the ball, and he hits the metal partition at the opposite end of the field with a ringing sound, his opponent will receive a point. During the game, opponents do not have the right to interfere with each other. Each mistake is counted as a penalty point, the draw is carried out up to 60 points. The referee hardly looks at the players. He determines by sound who hits and who intercepts, distinguishing each blow - light or heavy.
Pelota can be played, like tennis, by singles and couples, as well as teams of four and even six people. For such large teams, areas are broken up to 60 m long and 16 m wide, while the wall is 18 m wide and 9 m high, the back line is raised above the level of the site by 80 cm, from the back line to the feed 16-20 m .