Pala/Pala Larga--Sylvain Brefel to Retire from InnPala February 15, 2019

Sylvain Brefel, (1) (2) veteran InnPala zaguero (back court), has announced his retirment from professional Pala after 5 years with InnPala. The reason is the distance he must travel to play--about 1,000 km (about 620 miles round trip). He won three major championships while with Innpala. Last October, with Dan Necol, he won the Federation International Pelota Vasca (FIPV) Pala Corta Campeonato del Mundo Gold Medal, defeating Gaubeka-Skufca (Spain), in a brilliant final (10-15; 15-12; 10-8)

Full match video, (Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube, match begins at 21:23 on the video).

Match article (FIPV)

According to the Deia article announcing the retirement, the World Championship was the achievement of a lifelong sporting dream for Brefel. His power, hustle, and love of the game will be missed. It is the third back court retirement in the last three years, following Mikel Ayerbe (2016) and Imanol Ibanez (Mundo Deportivo) (2017). They were replaced by Iker Gordon (1) (2) and Inaki Urrutia (1) (2) respectively.

Interview with Brefel (Deia)

Video tribute produced by Dan Necol, along with other InnPala players and friends (Ligue Occitanie de Pelote Basque Facebook)

Brefel will be honored on February 15, at Bizkaia, Bilbo (Bilbao) on the day of the Mundial Individual Final.