"Jai alai Jai alai (; Basque: ) is a sport involving a ball bounced off a walled space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held device (cesta). It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term, coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also often loosely applied to the fronton (the open-walled playing area) where the sport is played. The game is called ""zesta-punta"" (basket tip) in Basque. The Basque Government promotes ""jai alai"" as ""the fastest sport in the world"" because of the speed of the ball. The sport once held the world record for ball speed"
"the fastest. Today the competition usually lasts one hour but two-hour competitions also are still held. At the end, the grass is raked, weighed and baled to establish the winner. Traditionally, as with most Basque sports, the competitors would make a profit by betting but monetary prizes have been put up since the 1950s. There are few actual records in this sport as it very much depends on the terrain and is thus difficult to compare. But a number of ""segalari"" have achieved fame nonetheless, for example the legendary Pedro Maria Otaño Ezeitza, commonly known as ""Santa Ageda"" from Beizama"
"was the last to win the cup before the banning of rugby league, along with other professional sports, by the German collaborating Vichy regime after the defeat of France in 1940. Pelota (jai alai) is the Basque version of the European game family that includes real tennis and squash. Basque players, playing for either the Spanish or the French teams, dominate international competitions. Mountaineering is popular due to the mountainous terrain of the Basque Country and its proximity to the Pyrenees. Alberto Iñurrategi Iriarte (Aretxabaleta, 1968) is one of the most respected mountaineers in the world. The Basque mountaineer has"
"Basque. In Spanish this is called ""levantamiento de carro"" and in French ""lever de charette"". Literally ""scythe game"", this sport is also known as ""segalariak"" (scythers), ""sega proba"" (scythe test), ""sega apustua"" (scythe bet) or ""segalaritza"" (scything). The earliest record of this sport comes from a bertso dating back to 1880 about a competition in Iturriotz. In this sport competitors (called ""segalari"") either compete to cut the most grass in a given period of time (usually one hour) or they are each given plots of grass of the same size and the competition is to see who can scythe theirs"
"first woman climbing the fourteen eight-thousanders. Related to mountaineering is trail running, where the Basque Country plays host to the popular Zegama-Aizkorri skyrunning races, held annually since 2002. One of the top basketball clubs in Europe, Saski Baskonia, is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Bilbao Basket and Gipuzkoa BC also play in Liga ACB, Spain's top league. In recent years surfing has taken off on the Basque shores, and Mundaka and Biarritz have become spots on the world surf circuit. The Basque country sporting tradition is linked to agricultural pursuits such as mowing with a scythe, or loading carts, but adapted as"
"teams in Gipuzkoa and Biscay, like, Getxo Rugby Taldea, AMPO Ordizia and more playing in the Spanish Top League. Basque rugby does hold a higher, professional profile in the French Rugby League, with the Biarritz Olympique (BO) and the Aviron Bayonnais playing in the top-flight. Mountaineering (hill walking, trekking) is a signature Basque sport with early entrenched roots in its history. The territory numbers 40,000 plus members associated in local federate mountain clubs, one of the highest concentrations in the world, ranging from family outings to the most competitive specialities (skiing, rock climbing, high mountain trekking...). The leisurely activity took"
"2011 EuroBasket, Fernando Alonso's back-to-back (2005 and 2006 Formula One championships), the football team bringing home Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 trophies and Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre's 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 triumphs in Tour de France more recently, several papers have looked beyond Sastre's win to claim that Spain is enjoying something of a sporting ""Golden Age""-similar to the Spanish 17th century achievements in painting and literature. Football is the most popular sport in Spain. La Liga or ""Primera División"" (The Spanish League) is considered to be one of the world's best"
"an illustration of a Basque woman carrying a ""pegarra"". In Spanish this is called ""carrera de pedarras"" and in French ""course de pedarras"". The Basque sport best known outside the Basque Country is Basque pelota. It is a Basque version of the family of ball games that covers squash, tennis, and real tennis, all of them thought to derive from the Jeu de paume and hence a relative of Valencian pilota. But the main innovation of Basque pilota is that players share a common playground and throw the ball to a wall, making it an ""indirect game"", while the other"
"Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Philippines, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela, Netherlands, Sweden, India and Greece. Due to the origin of the game, there are many good players who are Basques, either natives or from the Basque diaspora. Basque pelota was an official Olympic sport once, in the 1900 Paris Games, and a demonstration sport in 1924 (men), 1968 (men) and 1992 (men and women). See also Basque pelota at the 1900 Summer Olympics. In the 1900 Paris Games there were only two teams competing, France and Spain. The Spanish team:"
"of the pelotaris who are capable of reaching balls considered impossible for pelotaris of other specialties. It is also traditionally strong in South American countries. It is a modern Mexican fusion between tennis and Basque pelota. It uses tennis rackets in a short court, although the ball has a different surface to the tennis one. Men and women both play this game. It is played only in 30 meter courts. Professional competitions and exhibitions in the Basque Country are organized by Asegarce and ASPE for the discipline of handball, Orriamendi for Remonte, Inpala for Pala Larga. Various tournaments exist for"
"Basque pelota companies operating in Spain, focus in the Basque Country, Asegarce and ASPE. Spanish Federation of Basque Pelota The Spanish Federation of Basque pelota or Federación Española de Pelota Vasca is the main governing body of Basque pelota in Spain and one of the most important in the world along with the International Federation of Basque Pelota. Basque pelota first gained popularity during the 1920s. Several tournaments were organized and the ""Hand-pelota"", ""remonte"" and ""pala"" championships were introduced for the first professional ""pelotaris"". In 1924 Basque pelota was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1924 Summer Olympics, and"
"its armed struggle, after six decades of political conflict. The Basque Country has also contributed many sportsmen, primarily in football, rugby union, cycling, jai-alai and surfing. The main sport in the Basque Country, as in the rest of Spain and much of France, is football. The top teams – Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Eibar, Alavés, Real Unión and Barakaldo – play in the Spanish football league system. Athletic Bilbao has a policy of hiring only Basque players, which has been applied with variable flexibility. Local rivals Real Sociedad used to practice the same policy, until they signed Irish striker"
"is celebrated annually with a special bullfight called the ""Corrida de Aniversario"". The Plaza México has been host to many of the world's best and most famous bullfighters. Basque pelota is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat, or a basket propulsor, against a wall. Since 1952, the International Federation of Basque Pelota has organized the World Championships of Basque pelota every four years. Mexico hosted the world championships in 1982, 1998 and 2006. Mexico gave its best performance at the 2006 games when they led all"
"especially prominent in Spanish selections prior to the Civil War, with all of those at the 1928 Olympics, and the majority of the 1920 Olympics and 1934 World Cup squads, born in the region. There is an unofficial 'national' team which plays occasional friendlies, however its squads pick players from the wider territory including Navarre and the French Basque Country. Cycling as a sport is popular in the Basque Country. Abraham Olano has won the Vuelta a España and the World Championship. The UCI World Tour hails from the Basque Country. The Caisse d'Épargne cycling team traces its history back"
"country. This sport translates as ""Human-animal tests"" and is a collective term for a number of sports in which humans and animals are involved in dragging heavy weights. There are four main categories: These normally take place on specially built trial grounds. The aim is to cover a certain distance within a given time or to cover as many circuits as possible. The ""idi probak"" are by far the most popular in this category. The lifting of stones is one of the most widely known Basque rural sport outside the Basque Country, largely thanks to the prowess of Iñaki Perurena,"
"as rural or marine activities connected to everyday life and have become rare but many have managed to transform themselves into popular sports instead, some of which have become extremely popular. Winners receive a Basque beret (""boina"" or ""txapela"") as a trophy, hence the Basque word for ""champion"" - ""txapeldun"", literally ""one who has a beret"". Betting, both by the competitors and the audience, is very common and popular at such sporting events in the north of Spain. In 2006 the Basque Government identified 18 particular rural sports, called ""H18K"", in its Strategic Plan for promotion. These 18 categories are"
"Sport in Spain Sport in Spain in the second half of the 20th century has always been dominated by football. Other popular sport activities include basketball, tennis, cycling, handball, motorcycling, Formula One, water sports, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, bullfighting and skiing. Spain has also hosted a number of international events such as the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon championships in 2008 and 2010, the tennis team winning the Davis Cup five times (2000, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2011), basketball team winning the 2006 World Basketball Championship, the 2009 EuroBasket, and the"
"(especially ""esku-huska"", handball) and rowing races are highly popular, while traditional bowls or hole drilling have remained largely local, limited to occasional events and celebrations. Like overall in Europe, football (soccer) caught on early on in time expanding from its main influence focus in Bilbao (early 20th century), after it was imported by English iron industry operators from southern England. Spanish 1st League teams include Athletic de Bilbao, Real Sociedad, and SD Eibar in the 2014-15 season. Rugby union is not played at a professional level in the Southern Basque Country, but bears witness to a loyal following and important"
"sport is played essentially in France by 2 teams of 3 players on an outside court referred to as ""place libre"" meaning free space in French or ""Cancha"" meaning court in Spanish. The court is 16 m wide and 100 m long with the limit for play being at 80 m from the wall or Fronton and has no side walls. The sport is played with the same glove as the zesta punta. A variant of the above. The basket-glove is shorter and less deep and it is allowed to retain the ball only momentarily. The Basque name ""joko garbi"""
"Bayern Munich. Other notable Basque players include Mikel Arteta, Javi Martínez, Iker Muniain, César Azpilicueta, Asier Illarramendi, Andoni Iraola, Aritz Aduriz and Ander Herrera. Both Athletic and Real Sociedad have won the Spanish league, including dominating the competition in the early 1980s, with the last title won by a Basque club being Athletic's 1984 title. At international level, Basque players were especially prominent in Spanish selections prior to the Civil War, with all of those at the 1928 Olympics, and the majority of the 1920 Olympics and 1934 World Cup squads, born in the region. Football is not that popular"
"institution focused on higher education and research in the areas of gastronomy and nutrition. Basque food is one of the reasons for tourism to the Basque Country, especially the ""pintxos"". A popular way to socialise is """"ir de pintxos"""" or ""txikiteo"", a Basque version of a pub crawl, albeit generally more civilised. Basque rural sports, known as ""Herri Kirolak"" in Basque, are a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people, for example Basque pelota, the Basque version of the European game family that includes real tennis and squash. Basque players, playing for either the"
"by a group of ""blusas"" called batasuna. At one o'clock in the morning, Celedón goes up to San Miguel Church the same way he came down on 4 August. This marks the end of the celebration in the city. Every year several traditional basque sports tournaments take place to entertain spectators and increase tourism. The most popular and traditional basque sport is ""eskupilota"" and every year the ""Virgen Blanca Eskupilota Txapelketa"" Championship is organized and other traditional Basque sports can be followed every morning in the 'Fueros' Square. Concerts are one of the most important highlights these days. Famous local"
"Basque pelota Basque pelota ("""" in the original Basque language also """" in Spanish, """" in French) is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (""frontis or Fronton"") or, more traditionally, with two teams face to face separated by a line on the ground or a net. The roots of this class of games can be traced to the Greek and other ancient cultures. The term """" probably comes from the Vulgar Latin term ""pilotta"" (ball game). It is a diminutive"
"children would race down the slopes found in many Basque towns. The earliest documented races date back to the mid-1970s, when races were held during local festivals. The first Basque national competition was held in 1976, and they are common events all over the Basque Country today. One of the biggest events, the ""Goitibehera Munduko Txapelketa"" (World Goitibehera Championship) was first held in 1985 in Pamplona during the San Fermínes and has been held at irregular intervals since, the last time on 28 June 2008 when the IX World Championship was held. The normal soapbox races are called ""carreras de"
"1000 singles titles. Marc Márquez is the leading Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and is four-time the MotoGP world champion. Carolina Marín is the leading Spanish badminton player being one-time Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion and four-time European Champion. Miguel Induráin is the leading Spanish cyclist and has won several titles including five Tour de France titles and one-time Olympic Champion. Pau Gasol is the leading Basketball player and has won two NBA championships, he is a six-time NBA All-Star, and a four-time All-NBA selection. In their respective regions, the games of Basque pelota and Valencian pilota are populars."
"travel far and it provided them with a chance to socialise. Jai alai (cesta-punta) is a form of pelota. The Guernica jai alai court is the biggest operational court of its type in the world. It was designed by Secundino Zuano, one of Spain's leading architects of the 20th century and first opened in 1963. It is acknowledged by players of the game to be the world's finest court. Bare-handed pelota games are held at the Santanape court. This is the most popular form of the sport. Guernica Guernica (), official and Basque name Gernika, is a town in the"
"national team has won the World Championship 14 times with 12 second places and 7 third places and also won the European Championship 14 times with 15 second places and 5 third places. The Spanish teams as FC Barcelona, Reus Deportiu, Igualada HC and HC Liceo La Coruña has won the European Clubs Cup in 44 editions, losing only in 7. Basque pelota and Valencian pilota are traditional Spanish sports. Tournaments includes trinquete, Trofeu Individual Bancaixa, Circuit Bancaixa, raspall singles championship, and raspall team championship. Skiing is a popular sport. In the past, this sport was under development for economic"
"Spanish Federation of Basque Pelota The Spanish Federation of Basque pelota or Federación Española de Pelota Vasca is the main governing body of Basque pelota in Spain and one of the most important in the world along with the International Federation of Basque Pelota. Basque pelota first gained popularity during the 1920s. Several tournaments were organized and the ""Hand-pelota"", ""remonte"" and ""pala"" championships were introduced for the first professional ""pelotaris"". In 1924 Basque pelota was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1924 Summer Olympics, and the popularity of the event was the main reason for the creation of the"
"ball games has its unique offspring among Basque ball games, known generically as pilota (Spanish: ""pelota""). Some variants have been exported to the United States and Macau under the name of Jai Alai. There are several sports derived by Basques from everyday chores. Heavy workers were challenged and bets placed upon them. Examples are: The encierro (bull run) in Pamplona's fiestas ""Sanfermines"" started as a transport of bulls to the ring. These encierros, as well as other bull and bullock related activities are not exclusive to Pamplona but are traditional in many towns and villages of the Basque country. There"
"Basketball in Spain Basketball is a popular sport in Spain, second in popularity only to association football. The top Spanish League is a member of ULEB, and the top Spanish League teams can compete in Europe, most notably in the Euroleague and Eurocup, and also under the FIBA Europe umbrella, in the FIBA Europe Cup. The Spanish teams also compete in a national domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, which is played by the top eight teams in the standings of the Liga ACB, at the end of the first half of the regular"
"Idi probak The idi probak (Basque for ""oxen tests"", also called ""idi probak"" (oxen wagers)) are the most popular form of Basque dragging games. It involves oxen, usually a pair, dragging a rock from one side of a square to another. In Spanish this sport is called ""arrastre de piedra"" (stone dragging) or ""prueba de bueyes"" (oxherd test) and ""concours de bœf"" (oxen competition) in French. Although ""idi probak"" can in theory be carried out on any reasonably flat surface, the preference is to conduct them on specially constructed ""proba tokiak"" (test places). They are ideally: Some have a paved"
"pastor"" and in French ""concours de chien de berger"". Basque rural sports Basque rural sports, known as ""Deportes Rurales"" in Spanish or ""Herri Kirolak"" in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. The term ""force basque"" is used in French. Virtually all regional Basque rural sports have their origin in the two main historical occupations, the or ""baserritarra"" (farmer) and ""arrantzalea"" (fisher), with a larger percentage hailing from the rural background. The sociological changes in the Basque Country have led many of these becoming technically obsolete in"
"the provincial competitions. An annual nationwide event with the final taking place in Azpeitia. The winner or winning pair in the adult categories are given in bold. The championship of the Basque Country where aizkolaris from all over the Basque Country compete. The ""open championship of Biscay"". The championship of Gipuzkoa, a province level championship held annually. The championship of Navarre, a province level championship held annually. The ""golden cup of San Sebastián"", held annually with 5 finalists competing in the final event. To date, the best time is held by Donato Larretxea who completed the task in a record"