Basque pelota

But when someone had the bright idea to add rubber to the pelota ball, playing areas had to be enlarged due to the added bounce. This wasn’t always possible. Hence came the idea to divide the ball’s trajectory in half by playing against a wall. This is how pelota became an original Basque game. The Basques didn’t stop with the invention of pelota – they also founded the first order of Jesuits (Francois Xavier, Ignace of Loyola) who put up frontons at all of their missions around the world. The end result is that about fifteen countries participate every four years in the Basque Pelota world championship.
During your stay at Irigoian, Philippe will tell you which pelota games to see. And if your heart is set on it, you can even take an initiation class and learn firsthand how to play this ancestral game that the Basques have managed to preserve.

<

The site of the French Federation of Basque pelota