The Euskadiko Euskal Pilota Federakuntza is a main sponsoring organization of amateur pelota in the South Basque. They organize tournaments and competitions in several modalities.
EEPF:
For information on the history of pilota and specifications of modalities, along with links to important regional federations, click on the "Federacion" tab. Note that the site is completely bilingual (Basque and Castilian). I use the Castilian here for my own convenience, as I am more familiar with Castilian than Basque. Click on the EUS tab at the top of the page for Basque.
One of EEPF's major competitions, the Basque Country City Championships (Herriarteko Txapelketa), with finals in four modalities, ended in July 2016. The modalities are Mano Parejas (Eskuz Binaka, Doubles Handball), Pala Corta (Pala Motza, Short Bat Pala), Paleta Cuir (Paleta Larruz, Leather Ball Paleta), and Zesta Punta (Cesta Punta, Jai Alai).
Results:
Click on "CTO. EH Interpueblos", then on any of the modalities. Note that all modalities except Pala/Paleta had three age/ability based competitions. Pala/Paleta had two senior championship finals. Click on "Calendario de Resultados." This is the easiest way to find out the overall winners of each competition. The score of the individual final is also given.
EITB televised these finals.
1. Jai Alai/Zesta Punta: July 23, 2016 at: Mutrikuko Miuruaitz Pilotalekua (1) (2)
Mutriku v Markina-Zemien
Three finals were played: Kadets, Gazteak (Juveniles), and Seniors. The matches were scored in single partido fashion.
Match article for all three matches (match stories give players names and times of each match, which are in order of age group from youngest to oldest, to help you navigate the video).
Full match video of all three matches
2. Ezkuz Binaka (Mano parejas): July 22, 2016 at Zarauzko Aritzbatalde Pilotalekua (1) (2).
Azpetia v Doneztebe
Three matches were played: Kadets, Gazteak (Juveniles), and Seniors
Match article for all three matches (match stories give players names and times of each match, which are in order of age group from youngest to oldest, to help you navigate the video).
Full match video of all three matches
3. Larruzko Paleta (Paleta Cuir) and Pala Corta: July 15, 2016 at Ordiziako Beti Alai Pilolekua (1) (2).
Andoain v Gasteiz
Two senior championship matches were played. The matches were scored in single partido fashion.
Match articles for both matches (match stories give the names of the players).
Full match video of both matches
These two matches are quite illustrative for those trying to find their way through the thickets of the many sub-modalities of Pala/Paleta. Watch the pelota and the implement in both matches closely. You will see the difference between paleta and pala. The pala corta has a smaller hitting area but is thicker and heavier than the paleta used in larruzko paleta. A bigger pelota is used in pala corta. Listen closely to the sound of paleta/pala on pelota.
Note that the Larruzko Paleta match features the Tuesta Brothers playing for Gasteiz (blue). We have seen them recently also playing paleta cuir in the Paleta Tour in the North Basque, a competition covered in this blog in July. (If you are interested in that, simply search "Paleta Tour" in the search box on the right side of this page). There are videos of two Poule A matches they played for Alava on June 18. Those matches are the first two poule matches on the pelotelive.free.fr competition page. If you would like to watch them, make sure to click on "desactiver" tab under the video to disable the PFF auto-refresh.
