Valencian Pelota: sporting and cultural tradition in the Valencian Community Today's article is about a typical sport of Valencian culture. In the bright and passionate city of Valencia, a traditional and fascinating sport has endured throughout the centuries: Valencian pilota. In
Today's article is about a typical sport of Valencian culture.
In the bright and passionate city of Valencia, a traditional and fascinating sport has endured throughout the centuries: the Valencian pilot.
In this article we will explore why this sport is so interesting, the rich history of Valencian pilota, the modalities it offers, its rules and where you can go to play it.
If you are Spanish student If you are looking to immerse yourself fully in the Valencian culture and you also like sports, you should try playing a game with your friends in Valencian pilota.
Don't know how to do it? We tell you.
Practicing a sport like this with friends from here can be a great idea to practice and improve your spanish.
Is your level not high enough to start a conversation? Then you need to attend a Spanish school.
In Hispania, Spanish school, we have courses for all levels that may interest you, whether you are a beginner or advanced.
Learn Spanish together with our face-to-face Spanish courses u online, make friends in Valencia and be happy.
Now, yes, let's talk about the valencian ball.
Let the game begin!
The valencian ball (pilot in Valencian) is a very old sport.
It is believed that the Romans and GreeksEarly versions of ball games were already played in the region, and these games merged with local customs over the years.
In the Middle Ages, Valencian pelota began to acquire a more structured and regulated character, becoming a popular pastime in the streets and squares of Valencia and its surroundings.
The game evolved over the centuries, giving rise to various modalities, each with its own rules and unique characteristics.
Later we will talk about these modalities, with the different particular rules of Valencian pelota, so you will see which one you like best.
Now that you know a little more about the Valencian pilota and its history, we are going to show you how to play.
Although there are several modalities of valencian ball, then I will provide you with a overview how to play the most common modality, known as i corda scale.
The Valencian pelota rules They may vary slightly depending on the modality, but this is a basic introduction:
Game objective
It is played with a rubber or leather ball on a rectangular court called ratchet, which includes a rope in the center of the field and some stands on one side of the field.
In this scenario, two teams compete throwing the ball and getting points. Teams are made up of one, two or three players each.
The main objective is to send the ball throughon top of the rope and towards the opposing team's field in an attempt to win the point.
The ball can only touch the ground once before being returned to the opposite field. If he dribbles more than once in your court, it will be a point for the other team.
Furthermore, the bouncing on stairs They are not counted as pots, meaning players make strategic use of this resource in their game.
Teams
The game is played individually, in pairs or with three players on each team.
When playing in teams of 3, usually the players they position themselves strategically: one more advanced, the pointer Another in the middle, the mitger. And another more late one, the rest.
Valencian pilot rules:
Players must throw and return the ball using your hands with special gloves.
The ball can bounce only once on the ground before being returned.
The team that fails to return the ball or commits a foul awards points to the opposing team.
There is a foul if the ball does not reach the other court, does so below the net or hits a part of the body other than the hand.
The points system of the Valencian pilota is very similar to other sports such as tennis or padel. You get games that are divided into four points.
Each point corresponds to a fifteen.
We therefore have the following scores:
Normally the Valencian pilota matches are played at 5 or 8 games. The first one to get them wins.
There are many different places where you can play this game. Let's talk to you about the 4 main.
The Valencian ball ratchet It is the most emblematic place for this particular sport.
It is a closed space rectangular shape which measures 40 to 60 meters long and 9 to 11 meters wide.
The two longest walls, known as ramparts, have a height similar to the width of the site. One of these walls has a special element, which is a ladder.
This staircase is made up of four steps, the first being higher than the others. People can sit on these stairs to enjoy the game.
In the past, Valencian pilota was also practiced on the street. These streets had to be flat and have enough space to play.
Nowadays it is difficult to find such a spacious street to play a game of Valencian pelota. However, artificial streets have been made exclusively for playing this sport.
The funny thing about these streets, called pilot careersto, is that they imitate the original streets with doors, windows or even balconies.
You can find some of these streets in towns like Torrente, Serra, Meliana or Chirivella.
The pedimentIt is a similar installation to the ratchet, but is usually larger and may have standard dimensions that vary depending on local regulations.
Like the ratchet, it has three walls, but the main difference is that in the fronton you play against the biggest wall.
Instead of using the field to pass the ball, the ball is thrown on the fronton against the wall so that it bounces.
This installation uses a rectangular space that measures approximately twenty meters long and three and a half meters wide.
It is a space quite narrow, it almost looks like a hallway.
In the center of this area, there is a rope that is not tense.
Valencian pelota has two great modalities, which in turn are subdivided into others.
These two major modalities are the direct style and the indirect speech.
In the direct style, the teams are facing each other, sending the ball to the opposite field of play.
In this style there are several types of Valencian ball games. Some we have already explained, such as i corda scale, street or galotxeta.
There is also the raspall. In this modality, the pelotari (name given to the players of the Valencian pilota) can scrape the ground with their hand to return the ball.
There are two ways to do this move: "scrape" (hitting the ball low to the ground so it rolls) and "hooking" (hitting the ball low to the ground so it rises).
Due to these hits, it is common for the ball to roll a lot on the ground. The way to get a point in raspall is to get the ball to go over the line that the opponent has behind him or to touch the bottom of the ratchet.
Another game within the direct style is long. In this mode you play in the street, in teams of three, four or five players.
To score a point, you must make the ball bounce beyond a line called «fault line» or «line of fifteen».
In this style, the two teams face each other by throwing the ball against a wall called pediment.
After the ball bounces it is the opposing team's turn to hit the ball against the wall.
There are two characteristic materials that are used in the sport of Valencian pelota are the balls and the gloves.
There are several types of Valencian pelota depending on the modality. Let's see the four most popular.
The Valencian pilot glove It is an essential component to protect players' hands while hitting the ball.
They are made of lambskin and do not cover the fingers, although you can add some Valencian pilota thimbles to cover them.
These gloves consist of a leather triangle designed to protect the palm of the hand and have support at knuckle level. They are tied to the hand with two ropes.
After everything that has been said, do you feel like playing a game of Valencian pilota?
For sure yes! Some of the places where you can play are:
Is there competitions in this sport? The truth is that, despite being a minority and local sport, it has quite a life and many competitions and events are held.
We are going to review the most important ones organized by the Valencian Pilota Federation. So you know where to go if you want to watch Valencian pilota matches live.
The Generalitat CupIt is considered the reference tournament in the field of Valencian pelota. It is held annually and brings together the best teams in the Valencian Community in exciting confrontations.
This championship is followed with great enthusiasm by fans and constitutes a meeting point to enjoy the sporting spectacle.
The Individual Raspall Championship It is the maximum competition at the individual level in the raspall modality.
The best Valencian ball players face each other in intense duels to achieve the title of champion. This tournament stands out for the skill, agility and ability of the participants, who demonstrate their mastery in the game of Valencian pelota.
And that's it, our article about the Valencian pilota. We hope you found it interesting and that you leave home wanting to learn how to play this fun sport.
If you come to classes Hispania, Spanish school, you can propose this plan to your classmates and they will surely think it is a great idea.
At our school we offer many activities in Valencia. This could be one of them, why not?
In addition to playing sports and having fun, it can be a means to make new friends Valencians and speak Spanish with natives. They are all advantages!
Which modality that we have told you about draws your attention the most?
Is there a similar sport in your country?
You can answer these questions directly in the comments.
See you soon!
Article written by Carlos Martinez for Hispania, Spanish school.
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