North Basque--FFPP 2018 Annual Report--a Hidden Result Archive Treasure Chest

On March 30, 2019, the Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque (FFPB) released its 2018 ASSEMBLEE GENERALE ORDINAIRE EXERCICE (.PDF FORMAT, 145P.) It is the standard "annual report" of the Federation, the oldest Basque Pelota Federation in the world (1921). For more on the Federation's history click here. Among its many responsibilities is the organization of the North Basque Country's many national competitions in various modalities (Main Nue, various forms of Paleta Pelote and Pala, Cesta Punta/Grand Chistera, Joko Garbi, Pasaka, Rebote, Frontenis, and Frontball). These sports are played on Trinquets; 30, 36, and 54 meter Frontons Mur a Gauche  (1) (2); and outside on Frontons Place Libre. The non-crash helmet Paleta sports and Frontenis are played by men and women). Most of the sports are amateur but FFPB also organizes Cesta Punta and Main Nue competitions that are played by professionals. 

Most of these competitions are split into age groups from "Poussins" (the youngest) to National A and B. It is a large responsibility to organize all these things and the AGOE is the annual summary of FFPB's activities.

Within this report is a hidden treasure for fans of the sports who want to keep up with the results. This can be done by consulting the FFPB's competition databases, which track back to 2016-17 and have complete results of the competitions. But it takes a little work and it is easy to retrieve much more information than needed.

On P. 8-24 of the 2018 Exercice is a simple listing of the championship final results in the national competitions the FFPB sponsors. I wish I would have found out about this sooner. It would have saved me hours of research. 

The 2018 Exercice was published in 2019. The FFPB, on a single page (scroll to "Assemblee Generale" for any of the years 2018-2012--covering the years 2017-2011), click on the "Assemblee Generale" links, and presto, you have an archive (all .pdf format) of championship results for the past 7 years. It is a magnificent, easily accessible archive. And one I plan on using, constantly, from now on. 

BASQUE PELOTA BREAKING NEWS--FEBRUARY 24, 2019

BIXINTO BILBAO HAS BEEN SANCTIONED BY THE FIPV (FEDERACION INTERNATONAL DE PELOTA VASCA) FOR WAVING A BASQUE FLAG AT THE FRANCE MAIN NUE GOLD MEDAL CEREMONY IN THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED (OCTOBER 2018) BASQUE PELOTA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BARCELONA. THE FIPV HAS BANNED HIM FROM INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR 1 YEAR (WHICH WILL EXCLUDE HIM FROM PLAYING IN THE 2019 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING FOR 2022 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS). THE FIPV SAYS IT IS A "SERIOUS OFFENSE." BILBAO SAYS (GOOGLE TRANSLATE:)

I FEEL IT SAD THAT THEY GIVE ME A PENALTY LIKE THAT. I DID NOT KNOW THIS REGULATION. FOR ME THE IKURRINA (BASQUE FLAG) IS NOT A FORBIDDEN FLAG, IT REPRESENTS OUR LANGUAGE AND OUR CULTURE AND THERE IS NO HARM IN SHOWING THE BASQUE FLAG.

BILBAO, ALONG WITH THE FFPB (FEDERATION FRANCAIS DE PELOTE BASQUE) WILL APPEAL THE SUSPENSION.

"THE INCIDENT" (EITB VIDEO)

RELATED ARTICLE (PILOTA TTIKI)

Multiple Modalities--Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque (FFPB) Championnat de France--4 National A Finals in two weekends

FFPB completed its CdF National A Finals in Pasaka, Women's Paleta Gomme Pleine (Trinquet), Paleta Cuir (Trinquet), and Xare on the March 11, 17, and 18. The wonderful thing about these finals is that three of them were covered live via Facebook (and later on demand via Facebook and Youtube), and the other was covered with a match article. All were accompanied by a large number of photos.

The Paleta and Xare finals were covered extensively by pelotelive.free.fr, which provided full linescores, match charts, selected match statistics, and links to videos and photos. The Pasaka match was covered by Pilota Ttiki. FFPB also covered all of the events and contributed the photos.

All in all, it was a wonderful example of what can be done to provide full coverage of BP on a small budget. Canal+ and EITB are incomparable in their commercial coverage, but it is limited, for the most part, to important professional matches (although EITB does cover many amateur events in the South Basque country). With the improvement in computer, photo, and Internet technology, many more of these matches that are slightly "below" the radar of the commercial or large public networks can be enjoyed by BP fans around the globe.

For the purposes of this post, we will link to all of these finals (and their competition contexts) through pelotelive.free.fr. All of the videos are also avalable via Facebook and/or Youtube outlets that you can link to directly from the PFF sites. However, if you wish to watch the matches directly via PFF, make sure to click on "desactiver" below the videos to disable PFF's auto-refresh function, which is used for live coverage, but which is always "on." Otherwise the videos will stop.
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March 11, 2017

Pasaka

Saint Andre, Bayonne (1)(2)

Azcaindarrak Bat (Ascain) (Albistur-Mascotena) defeated Zaharrer-Segi (Saint Etienne de Baigorry) (Izoco (substituting for Ospital)-Dutaret-) 13-8.

Competition context

Match page with link to match article and photos

Preview article

Direct link to match article (which includes non-FPP photos)

FFPB photos:

If you research the FFPP competition results and archives and the results archive of the Ligue de Pelote du Pays Basque, you will see that these two teams have been the best in the North Basque country for several years. They have met (with changing personnel) in many finals in both competitions. Ascain has won most of them, and most have been very competitive, This final was also very competitive until Ascain dominated at the end.
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The other three finals were all played at Chiquito, Paris (1)(2)

March 17,2017

A. Paleta Gomme Pleine (Trinquet) (Women)

Saint Pee Union Club (Saint Pee Sur Nivelle) (Halsouet-Comet--blue) defeated Zaharrer-Segi (Saint Etienne de Baigorry) (Leiza-Serre--red) 40-31

Competition context

Match page--includes full linescore, match chart, match commentary, multiple match videos (Youtube and Facebook) and photos (FFPB)

Match article--also links to photos (FFPB)

B. Paleta Cuir (Trinquet)

Biarritz Athletic Club (Biarritz) (Thibault-Cambos-red) defeated Urrunarak (Urrugne) (Larretche-Bourrus--blue) 2-1 (14-15, 15-9, 10-5)

Competition context

Match page--includes full linescore, match chart, match statistics, match commentary, multiple match videos (Youtube and Facebook), and photos (FFPB)

Match article--also links to photos (FFPB)

March 18, 2017

Xare

Hardoytarrak (Anglet) (Driolet-Sistiague--blue) defeated Nozbait (Hasparren) (Lopetegui-Funosas) 40-30

Competition context

Match page--includes final score, match chart, match statistics, match commentary, multiple match videos (Youtube and Facebook), and photos (FFPB)

Match article--also links to photos (FFPB)

For more 2017 FFPB CDF National A and B videos including videos from poule to final stage, arranged by modality, see the FFPB CDF 2016-2017 National A and B match videos page on the right side of the blog.

Pasaka--LPPB (Ligue Pelote Pays Basque) Premier Series Quarter-final.

For more information on Pasaka and its importance in Basque culture and history, as well as an explanation of the game, see the blog post here.

LPPB, which is formally known as Comité Territorial Pays Basque de Pelote Basque/Euskal Herriko Eusko Pilota Batzorde, is one of the amateur club regional leagues of the Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque (FFPB).

One of 4 quarter-final matches in the LPPB Premier Pasaka Competition, which began on November 13, 2016 and will end with a final on February 5, 2017, was held on January 15.

Urrugne (1)(2) : Urrugne (Urrunarrak) (Ourquia-Ussaralde--white) defeated Saint Pierre d'Irube (Hiriburuko Ainhara 2) (Lapergue-Latxague--red) 13-9

Full match video (Urrunarak Youtube)

Score source: LPPB Resultats and Pelotelive.free.fr

Competition Context

A. LPPB (pick "Championnat d'Hiver 2016-17" for Competition and "Trinquet / Pasaka" for Specialite. Then click on "voir..")

B. Pelotelive.free.fr

Normally, an amateur competition below the level of FFPB Championnat de France wouldn't be covered in this blog, but I couldn't resist because of the excellent quality of the video provided by the Urrunarrak Club (note that it is not a commercial quality video--you must listen closely to keep score--more explanation is available in the "MY ARTICLE" link below). This Pasaka is quite different from the Oiartsun V. Txapelketa Final covered in the blog in August (See the link above). That match was played with bare hands and a somewhat smaller ball in an Arkupe (alcove of a municipal building or church). This form is played with a small cesta strapped to the right hand. The pelota is the biggest and heaviest of any Basque pelota modality (up to 250 grams--about 1/2 pound), around twice as heavy as a Jai Alai or Remonte pelota. It is a bit smaller in circumference than an American 12 inch softball. It is not easy to propel it to all corners of a 28 meter trinquet court.  It takes a combination of strength and finesse to play Pasaka successfully.

The implement used is the direct ancestor of the larger and more modern cestas used in Jai Alai, Remonte, and Joko Garbi. And if you watch the match closely, you can see how the strategy, tactics, and mechanics of those modalities evolved from this form.

This was a very competitive and attritional match. Its 22 games, lasting a little over an hour (individual game scoring is identical to tennis), consumed nearly 750 balls in play. The mammoth 20th game, won by the eventual losers of the match, consumed 92 balls in play and took nearly 10 minutes. Watching Pasaka provides a look back in time to the beginnings of the modernization of Basque Pelota, what might be called its industrial revolution, as the artisan tool (the hand) evolved into various tools whose purpose was to propel the pelota further and faster, very much faster.

MY ARTICLE: Details of the match.

Mutiple Modalities--The amateur scene regional and national scene in the North Basque at the end of 2016.

Several regional tournaments in various modalities were completed before the end of 2016. The easiest way to find them is a specialized lookup at pelotelive.free.fr.

Click on "Voir" to look at any of the competitions. Cut and paste the Organization name or abbreviation along with "pelota" and do a google search in order to link to the regional organizations that sponsor these tournaments. The Federation Francais de Pelote Basque (FFPB) also has a listing (unfortunately not live linked at present) of the major regional organizations.

For regional competitions with match videos another specialized search of PFF will retrive most of them. Click on "voir" and search for matches with the film icon.

With the beginning of the new year the FPPB National Championnat de France competitions begin in earnest. The easiest way to follow them is the Calendar at FPPB.

Check results at FFPB or at PFF.  As these tournaments come on line, there are likely to be match videos. Watch the media box for a film icon.

Following any of the amateur competitions in the North Basque Country may seem daunting, but a little creative use of PPF or FFPB results pages will go a long way toward enjoying the feast of North Basque amateur competition that takes place through the winter and spring months.

A selection of Mammoth points--through Feb. 22, 2017

Note: this page is now also available with the recurring results pages on the right side of the blog.

The  recent Tournoi de Garindein Main Nue final was amazing in the ferocity of the fight for points in the latter stage of the match that led to points with 43, 68, and 98 balls in play. Some may say that long points are boring, lets get on with it, etc. In my opinion these long points are one of the best things about Basque Pelota. That these players are able to keep a point going for so long is a testament to their talent, fitness, strength, and psychological toughness. Watching such points is like watching a match within a match.

In that spirit, I would like to present the longest points I have seen in the short time I have been watching these sports. These, of course, are not the longest points ever played. They are just the longest ones I have seen and counted. Note: for the EITB points below (Mano, Pala, Remonte, and Partido Jai Alai), you must use the slider bar below the video to move to the time given for the beginning of the point. For the other points, in theory, you should be taken directly to the point. If that doesn't work, use the times to move the slider bar to the beginning of  the points.

Some of the Youtube links in this post may return a "Youtube Page can't be found--reload message." If you hit the reload button, the video should resolve.

Main Nue:  Tournois de Garindein Final in September 2016. Ospital-Ducassou v Larralde-Amulet 35-34. 98 balls in play. (1:09:12-1:13:24). 36-34. O-D won 40-37.  (Source: Esku Pilota Youtube site).

Mano: Antiguako Pilota Txapleketa Amateur Finals played at Donastia (San Sebastian) in August 2016. Zubizarreta-Salaverry (red) v Salaberria-Eskiroz (blue). 1st point of the match. 91 balls in play. Z-S 1-0. (32:01-36:06 on the video) Z-S won 22-15. (Source: EITB).

1. Pala: The below listed longest point was surpassed twice in the same match, In the final of La Liga Kutzabank, played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in January 2017. (Added February 11, 2017).

A. Joko 1: Point beginning 4-3 Gaubeka--Ibai-Perez. 50 balls in play (11:42-13:50). 5-3 G--I-P. G--I-P won 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

B. Joko 2: Point beginning 0-0. 68 balls in play (20:22-23:16). 1-0 G--I-P (Source for both points: EITB) G--I-P won the match 3-0 (10-4, 10-7, 10-9).

2. Pala: Bizkaia Open Final played at Bilbo (Bilbao) in June of 2016. Necol--Ibai-Perez v Zubiri-Imanol. 3rd Joko (set). Point beginning at 2-0 N-I. 49 balls in play (1:36:14-1:38:20). 3-0 N-I. N-I won the match 3-1 (10-6, 5-10, 10-8, 10-9). (Source: EITB).

Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet): Federation Francaise de Pelote Basque 2017 Championnat de France National A Final, February 2017. Luzean (Saint Jean de Luz) (Ramuntcho Amestoy-Stéphane Suzanne--red) v Section Paloise (Pau) (Olivier Laberdesque-Baptiste Hourçourigaray--white). Point beginning 15-20 Pau. 61 balls in play (16:12-18:33). 15-21. Luzean won the match, 40-37. (Source: Tout sur la Pelote Basque Youtube). (Added February 22, 2017).

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Quinella): Dania Jai/Alai, June 2016. Final point of an 8 team doubles match. Erik-Urbieta (white) v Iturbide-Leke (red). 39 balls in play (11:18-13:54). E-U won the point and match.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta (Partido): Internationaux Cesta Punta SLAM final, played at Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Donibane Lohizune) in August 2016. Beaskoetxea-Irastorza v Olharan-Lekerika. 1st point of the match. 35 balls in play. (3:22-5:38) 1-0 B-I. B-I won the match 2-1 (15-7, 12-15, 5-3). (Source: ICP Youtube page).

Remonte:

1. I recently re-discovered a video of the winning point of the 2016 Casco Viejo de Pamplona tournament final in April 2016. Uterga-Barrenetxea IV v Urriza-Etxeberria III. Point beginning at 34-32 U-B. 32 balls in play. (0:02--1:14). U-B win 35-32. (Source: Youtube site of one of the spectators who recorded it) (Added October 2, 2016)

2. Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa, played at Zumarraga in June 2016. Uterga-Aizpuru III v Urriza-Zaldua. Point beginning at 20-17 U-A. 22 balls in play. (1:36:44-1:37:33). 20-18. U-A won 35-25. (Source: EITB)

Pasaka (Glove): LPPB (Ligue Pelote Pays Basque) Premier Series Quarter-final, played at Urrugne in January 2017. Urrugne (Urrunarrak) (Ourquia-Ussaralde--white) v Saint Pierre d'Irube (Hiriburuko Ainhara 2) (Lapergue-Latxague--red). Point beginning at 0-15 Game 4. 22 balls in play.  (10:38--11:36) if your device doesn't parse this segment. 0-30. (Added January 20, 2017).

One interesting thing to notice is the time it took to play these points:

49 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the 2nd Remonte match (short court).

58 seconds for the 22 balls in play in the Pasaka (glove) match.

72 seconds (1:12) for the 32 balls in play in the 1st Remonte match (short court).

125 seconds (2:05) for 50 balls in play in the 1st Joko of he 1st Pala match (short court)

126 seconds (2:06) for the 49 balls in play in the 2nd Pala match (short court).

136 seconds (2:16) for the 35 balls in play in the Jai Alai Partido match.

141 seconds (2:21) for the 61 balls in play in the Palete Pelote de Gomme Pleine (Trinquet) match.

156 seconds (2:36) for the 39 balls in play in the Jai Alai Quinella match.

174 seconds (2:54) for the 68 balls in play in the 2nd Joko of the 2nd Pala match.

245 seconds (4:05) for the 91 balls in play amateur Mano match.

252 seconds (4:12) for the 98 balls in play in the Main Nue match.

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

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.