BERRIAK:
Latest news
2007 Pilota
Championship results
ANNUAL NABO DUES. 2008 NABO Pilota dues are past due - please have your
clubs send a check to Grace.
IKASPILOTA. We got word from the World Pilota Council that they will not
be able to send us a coach for Ikaspilota this summer. It will be up to
the clubs to organize their own Ikaspilota and to find an instructor. We
are working on organizing one in SF, if you have any kids that would be
interested in attending - please let me know ASAP. Edu is organizing an
open Paleta Goma and Baleen tournament up in Boise. Everyone is invited
to play. They were going to have it in May, but it looks as though it is
going to be in July. We will let you know the details once the date is
set so you can put it in your clubs newsletter. Does Chino still want to
set up Gazteak games for the Convention? If so, we need to let the
participating clubs know soon.
2008 NABO TOURNAMENT. The NABO finals are being held in San
Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 13th. I really hope we will have some
children's and women's games in addition to Handball and Goma. I will
need the names of those representing your clubs by August 15th. Please
make sure your NABO selections/tournaments are completed by then.
EQUIPMENT. Check out this web page, pilota equipment just a click
away...
http://www.fipv.net/eng/tienda/index.htm
BASQUE
HANDBALL HISTORY
Handball
is an ancient game. The Maya tribes of pre-Columbian America and the
ancient Greeks and Romans knew versions of the game. The Romans spread
it throughout western Europe. In the area of modern-day France, a
variation of the Romans’ game of pila emerged, and during the
Middle Ages it became known as jeu de paume. Basque handball is a
derivative of this game.
Andrea
Navajero, a Venetian historian, traveled through the Basque Country in
1528 and commented on how all the males played this game. Indoor [courte
paume] and outdoor [longue paume] versions endured into the
18th century, but following the French Revolution the games
were nearly abandoned for being associated with royalty and nobility.
Their popularity, however, endured in small circles. From the early
outdoor version evolved our modern tennis; the indoor version meanwhile
spawned English court tennis, and in the Basque Country it became the
present manifestation of Basque handball. Despite its documented
prevalence, it is odd that little is said of handball in Basque
proverbs, old songs or family emblems. It is not because of prohibition;
even priests could enjoy the game. Jonanes Lange commented in 1526 on
his travels through Nafarroa [Navarre] that even priests were allowed to
take part in what was soon becoming the national sport.
Originally played face-to-face, the introduction of more rapid rubber
balls compelled a change in the game: returning the ball to a wall
instead of over the net. Thus Basque handball was born. Three courts
developed over time: the plaza laxoa or open court with only one
wall at the front; the ezker pareta or left-wall court with one
wall at the front and one on the players left and the trinketa or
original court of the indoor form with four walls.
As the
speed of the ball increased, so did the pain endured by the players who
up to that time played with bare hands. This triggered the development
of instruments with which to return the ball. Numerous variations
emerged, including a wooden paddle or different sizes and weight [pala &
paleta], different types of racquets [xare & frontenis], leather gloves
[rebot & pasaka] and finally a curious glove and basket combination
known as xistera or cesta that spawned jai-alai, remonte,
rebote & joko garbi.
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Basque sports
