This is one of a sampling of some regional and special amateur competitions that are themselves a prelude to the national competitions that follow toward the end of this year and through the first half of next year. Link to EEPF and its regional links page or the GMGZ Events Facebook page for competitions in the South.
On October 1, 2016 GMGZ Events, along with other sponsors, brought the final and 3rd place match of this Mano tournament to San Nicolas. I was unable to find any matches in this tournament that were played before the final and third place match.
Source for match information and photos: GMGZ Events Facebook page. Match video: EITB
October 1, 2016:
Frontón Municipal de la Plaza San Nicolás de Algorta (Getxo)(1) (2)
Third place match:
Gordon-Etxebarria (Red) defeated Ugarte-Ziarrusta (Blue) 30-19.
Final:
Arabiourrutia-Aspuru (Blue) defeated Gonzalez-Uribe (Red) 30-14.
Match information and photos
Note that the Facebook page information has the correct finals winners but the wrong colors.
Full match video for both matches: 3rd place match: 0:00-40:37 on the video, final: 40:38-1:18:00
This was yet another example of the various forms that Basque Pelota modalities can take. This was a mur a gauche Mano match with a few twists and ornamentations. First, it was played on the same San Nicolas Arkupe that last June-July's San Nikolas (San Nicolas) Pala Txpelketa Finals were played on. The Arkupe is an alcove to what was originally a municipal building but is today a library. The match looks somewhat like Pasaka without a net but I have been informed that it is Mano and has no relationship to Pasaka. The pilota (called a goxua) is softer than a regulation mano pilota. The ceiling is in play as long as the ball hits the front wall. The floor is made of cobblestones, which introduce some of the complexities of ornamentation that are seen more in Main Nue than Mano. Judging the bounce off of cobblestone is a challenging task, as you will see. Neither match, unfortunately, was particularly competitive (although the third place match was close (20-18) at one point, so the game itself and venue are what is compelling about it. Note that Iker Gordon is also an accomplished amateur Pala player who partnered with Fusto in the 2016 Bizkaia Open.
Showing posts with label Arkupe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arkupe. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Pasaka--Oiartsun V. Txapelketa Final
The Oiartsun V. Txapelketa Final was contested at Oiartsun Kontzejupea Arkupe (1--click on video to the left of photo for a more intimate look) (2) on August 3, 2016. The arkupe is in the alcove of a building that dates to the late 17th Century.
Urbieta-Esnal (an ex professional mano player) defeated Nazabal-Zabala (last year's defending champions) 13-1
Note that the back courters are listed first in this modality.
Esnal simply hit the ball too hard, too often for N-Z to handle. Urbieta contributed many excellent rebotes (rebound shots). A very easy victory was the result.
Line score:
8-0; 8-1; 13-1
Full match video (Source: EITB) (Match begins at 12 minutes 7 seconds on the recording). The first twelve minutes are interviews, mostly with a very strong promoter of the sport, Anton Mendizabal.
EITB televised this match because Pasaka has great historical and cultural significance in Basque Pelota. It is one of the ancestor games of all the modalities that exist today. It is a "direct" court game, that is to say, there is no wall. A net separates the two teams. The sport is played with either bare hands or a small glove. This match was played with bare hands. There is no serve. The ball is tossed across the net into play. Tennis is scored the way Pasaka is, and some Basques will tell you that tennis modeled its scoring after Pasaka. 4 points wins a game. Games must be won by 2 points. Service only changes when a team with the 40-30 advantage loses the point and the game reverts to 30-30. The match is played to 13 games. The ball is soft but very heavy (about 235 grams, over 1/2 pound for the game played with the glove--the bare hand modality uses a smaller ball). The evolution of the small glove, begun in the 19th century, has taken Basque Pelota to all the modalities it has today. EITB has a short documentary about early Basque Pelota.
This particular match is difficult to follow because there is no scoreboard for a good deal of it. Another match played as part of Aste Negusia in Donastia (San Sebastian) in 2013 at Donostiako Trinitate plazako frontoian shows the last few games of a festival match (bare hand, three on each side) with a scoreboard that makes it easy to figure out what is going on. That match can be seen here. (You will recognize the front courter in red. He is Esnal of the final match above, and he hits the ball equally hard in this match).
Watch and enjoy this ancestor game. And enjoy also that it is still taken seriously as part of the culture, though more modern games have the limelight today. Also, that EITB broadcast this match tells us much.
MY ARTICLE: How these two teams got to this match
Urbieta-Esnal (an ex professional mano player) defeated Nazabal-Zabala (last year's defending champions) 13-1
Note that the back courters are listed first in this modality.
Esnal simply hit the ball too hard, too often for N-Z to handle. Urbieta contributed many excellent rebotes (rebound shots). A very easy victory was the result.
Line score:
8-0; 8-1; 13-1
Full match video (Source: EITB) (Match begins at 12 minutes 7 seconds on the recording). The first twelve minutes are interviews, mostly with a very strong promoter of the sport, Anton Mendizabal.
EITB televised this match because Pasaka has great historical and cultural significance in Basque Pelota. It is one of the ancestor games of all the modalities that exist today. It is a "direct" court game, that is to say, there is no wall. A net separates the two teams. The sport is played with either bare hands or a small glove. This match was played with bare hands. There is no serve. The ball is tossed across the net into play. Tennis is scored the way Pasaka is, and some Basques will tell you that tennis modeled its scoring after Pasaka. 4 points wins a game. Games must be won by 2 points. Service only changes when a team with the 40-30 advantage loses the point and the game reverts to 30-30. The match is played to 13 games. The ball is soft but very heavy (about 235 grams, over 1/2 pound for the game played with the glove--the bare hand modality uses a smaller ball). The evolution of the small glove, begun in the 19th century, has taken Basque Pelota to all the modalities it has today. EITB has a short documentary about early Basque Pelota.
This particular match is difficult to follow because there is no scoreboard for a good deal of it. Another match played as part of Aste Negusia in Donastia (San Sebastian) in 2013 at Donostiako Trinitate plazako frontoian shows the last few games of a festival match (bare hand, three on each side) with a scoreboard that makes it easy to figure out what is going on. That match can be seen here. (You will recognize the front courter in red. He is Esnal of the final match above, and he hits the ball equally hard in this match).
Watch and enjoy this ancestor game. And enjoy also that it is still taken seriously as part of the culture, though more modern games have the limelight today. Also, that EITB broadcast this match tells us much.
MY ARTICLE: How these two teams got to this match
Monday, August 8, 2016
Pala--Paleta Goma--San Nicolas Pala Txapelketa Finals, 2016
This club tournament was contested in late June-early July 2016, and is of interest not only for the competition itself, which took place in the Algorda neighborhood of Getxo, but for the venue. The frontón municipal de la plaza San Nicolás de Algorta (updated with a new link--March 5, 2022) is a very different venue from any that have been linked to in this blog. It is an "Arkupe". Arkupes are normally the atriums of churches or city halls. They usually host one of the most ancient of Basque Pelota modalities, pasaka, which can be played with bare hands (video) or a "glove" (video) (1) (2). Look closely at the glove and you will see the ancestor of the xisteras (cestas) of the modalities of joko garbi (video), which in turn is the direct ancestor of Jai Alai/Cesta Punta, and Remonte, which evolved along a different line. Arkupes are rare in the Basque Country these days, probably less than one hundred remain. For more on the history of this arkupe see this blogpost.
In this case the fronton was used for a paleta goma tournament (watch for the large hitting area of the paleta, and the large rubber pelota). Three championship matches were held, for which full video is available for the first and third, and partial video for the second.
Video for all matches (Source: EITB)
For the record, in the first match, a women's final
Ane-Txaso (red) defeated Maria-Xandra (blue) 30-23 (0:00- 30 minutes 26 seconds on the recording).
In the second match, a men's 2 match
Aitor-Txoper (red) defeated Alaintxo-Txiki 30-26 (last few points, 31:18-36:41).
In the third match, the men's final
Batis Albonica-Natxo Garcia (blue) defeated Jon Arrieta-Alex Gonzalez (red) 30-29 (38:34-1:46:22).
The last point of this match was a fantastic point.
After the match there were the usual wonderful closing ceremonies that capped a great day of competition.
In this case the fronton was used for a paleta goma tournament (watch for the large hitting area of the paleta, and the large rubber pelota). Three championship matches were held, for which full video is available for the first and third, and partial video for the second.
Video for all matches (Source: EITB)
For the record, in the first match, a women's final
Ane-Txaso (red) defeated Maria-Xandra (blue) 30-23 (0:00- 30 minutes 26 seconds on the recording).
In the second match, a men's 2 match
Aitor-Txoper (red) defeated Alaintxo-Txiki 30-26 (last few points, 31:18-36:41).
In the third match, the men's final
Batis Albonica-Natxo Garcia (blue) defeated Jon Arrieta-Alex Gonzalez (red) 30-29 (38:34-1:46:22).
The last point of this match was a fantastic point.
After the match there were the usual wonderful closing ceremonies that capped a great day of competition.
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