If you ask the average person on the street to name something Basque, one of the few things they might come up with is jai-alai. They’d be right, for sure. But they probably wouldn’t know that Basques still play the game that gave birth to jai-alai — bare-handed pelota.
Jai-alai is one member of a family of sports collectively known as Basque Pelota. Bare-handed pelota is the game that started it all. It’s still popular in Basque country today.
Bare-Handed Pelota
Bare-handed pelota is also popular in Ireland, Mexico, and the United States. But here we call it handball. It’s the same game.
Irish immigrants brought handball to the U.S. They were dirt-poor and lived in urban areas so for them, handball was the perfect sport. As they used to to say, all you need to play handball is a ball and wall.
Irish handball goes way back. Hundreds of years ago in Ireland, they built churches with exterior wall extensions that were perfect for a 3-wall handball court. The extensions were there for structural support. Sure they were!
Handball in Ireland
I played handball in a tournament in Ireland. The main courts were in Kilkenny, but matches were held in towns and villages throughout the region. Every day, as long as you kept winning, your match would be held in a different village.
On the way to these matches, we drove past the ruins of moss-covered handball courts from another age. For a handball player, that’s a sight to see.
The Irish brought handball to America, but who brought handball to Ireland? It may have been Basque seamen. They traveled far and wide to trade, fish, and hunt whales. They probably stopped in Ireland on their way to the Labrador Sea. Chances are they brought along a ball or two.
People always want things to be faster. To make the ball go faster in pelota, players started using wooden paddles. Now there are several types of paddles used in various forms of pelota.
Jai-Alai
To make the ball go even faster, Basques with the need for speed came up with the game of zesta-punta – known to us as jai-alai.
Jai-alai players use baskets called cestas to catch, then throw the ball toward the front wall of the court. The ball will travel as fast as 180 mph.
Jai-alai courts are called frontons. They’re long – 176 feet – so they’re perfect for putting bleachers for spectators alongside. And since it’s a good spectator sport, it’s also a good betting sport. In Basque country and many other places around the world, jai-alai is a popular betting sport.
The Fédération Internationale de Pelota Vasca manages all forms of Basque pelota. (“Vasca” is the Spanish word for “Basque”). Major Pelota Vasca tournaments will draw entries from 20 or 30 countries. It’s a big deal.
Even here in little St. Jean de Luz, there are three frontons. I’m getting excited. C’mon! Let’s go!
To be continued…
