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Valencian pilota (Valencian:pilota valenciana[piˈlɔtavalensiˈana],also[piˈlɔtɔvalensiˈana]; "Valencian ball") is a traditional handballsport played in theValencian Community.[1] Its origins are not known.
Rules variations within the genericPilota Valenciana category are frequent from area to area but the common trait is that the ball is struck with a bare, or almost bare, hand (only minimal protection is applied in some versions of the sport). The general rule involves two teams made from two up to five players each (the numbers depend on the particular version played). Exceptionally, individual matches are also played (mostly inEscala i corda andRaspall) between the most renowned players.
The second characteristic is that it is not played against a wall. Instead, similar to modern tennis, two individuals or teams are placed face to face separated either by a line on the ground or a net in all of modern modalities except for thefrontó.A distinctive trait of Valencian pilota is that the spectators are often seated or standing very close to the court which means that they may be hit by the ball and thus become an (unwilling) part of the game.
The origins of Valencian pilota are not known with certainty, but it is commonly supposed to have been derived from the medievalJeu de paume along with several other European handball sports (for example theBasquelaxoa, FrenchLongue paume,Frisian handball and ItalianPallone) similar to the actual Valencianllargues variant.
Jeu de paume is documented atParis in 1292 since there were 13 ball workshops and manytripots (courtfields); it was first played with the hands, and the scoring system was very similar to the current Valencian one. There were so many resemblances with theValencian pilota sport that, in the 16th century, thehumanistJoan Lluís Vives compared both games in hisDialogues and claimed them to be exactly the same despite some minor differences.
Being played by low-class people and high-class nobles,Valencian pilota was very popular: on 14 June 1391 theValencia CityCouncil fruitlessly forbade it to be played on the streets, but this caused the expansion oftrinquets (courtfields); there were as many as 13 in that city alone in the 16th century. Later on, nobles abandoned the handball game in favour of "cleaner" sports and sopilota became the property of the middle and lower classes, which led to the appearance of the first professional players and the rise of gambling and challenge matches.[1]
The break between indoor and outdoor forms caused many variants to diverge from the originalLlargues version. ThusPerxa evolved intoGalotxa, and which in turn gave rise toEscala i corda, whileRaspall was still played in both courtfields.llargues is the only variant that uses the original "ratlles" rule, the others using a net to separate two sides on the playing area (asgalotxa, andescala i corda), or with no court division at all (raspall). Another case is theFrontó variety, which was first documented in the late 19th century, influenced by the popularity of the mainBasque pelota variant, which involves players throwing the ball against a wall.
Nowadays,Valencian pilota is played in the wholeValencian Community, but every area has its preferred variety. Professional players ofEscala i corda andRaspall are hired to play at thetrinquets or in streets during the towns' festivals. The popularity of this sport is rising again with the building of new cortifields at schools, weekly broadcasts onValencian public TV, the management of a professional company (ValNet) and theHandball International Championships with countries where these sports with a common origin are played.
There are two basic versions of the sport depending whether it is played outdoors in a designated street or indoors.
With the basic set of rules for either street or indoorpilota, there are many different variations, some of them are played only locally, but most of them are played in wider areas. The only modalities with professional players areEscala i corda andRaspall.
Another way to categorize variations is whether they aredirect orindirect. Thedirect games are those whose players are opposed face-to-face in different sides of the court, which is sometimes divided by a net; theindirect games are those with a wall where both teams throw the ball from a shared court. The traditional variations ofPilota Valenciana are direct, even though recently some indirect games ("Frontó" and "Frares") have been introduced based on theBasque Pelota.
The only Valencian pilota variety played outside the Valencian community isLlargues. Every year a European championship is held by theInternational Ball game Confederation with players from Valencia,Belgium,France,Italy, and theNetherlands. There is also a world championship with those teams plusArgentina,Colombia,Mexico andPeru.
TheHandball International Championships combine local handball variations from all over Europe to create the "international game" using the shared traits from all the sports related or derived from thejeu de paume. Valencian professional players do not need much adaptation, sinceLlargues is very close to the international rules.
Another case is theinternational fronton, another invented variety that takes back theindirect style to its basics: one wall where the ball must bounce.
From theBasque Pelota modalities played in theBasque Country the ones called "bote luzea", "mahi jokoa" are extinct but, by all accounts they were extremely similar to what has been preserved in Valencian Pilota asLlargues, but using a bigger and heavier ball.
An example of the compatibility there used to be between ValencianLlargues and Basquea la larga modalities was the existence during the 19th century of a sort of early professional side to the sport, with players from elsewhere earning high amounts of money, such asAragonese Lagasa andValencian Amigó, who, for example, toured inNavarre during September 1680.
In October 2006, for the first time, a Navarrese youth team playedLlargues against a Valencian one during the "Pilota Day" celebrated inValencia (in the adult match, the Valencian community team playedthe Frisian team from the Netherlands). At the moment the only exchanges between both sports are friendly matches ofFrontó, which is the main modality for Basques but a mostly irrelevant one for Valencians. In summer, or for special events, exhibition matches are organized, as the "Open Ciutat de València", with particular rules (such as the length of the court), and balls of intermediate size and diameter (70 gr.) between the kinds that both regions are accustomed to.
The Valencian pilota was ademonstration sport in the1992 Summer Olympics hosted inBarcelona.
Every version of the game uses its own kind of ball. Each kind is different in weight, size, the way it bounces and other aspects. They are all handmade by specialized crafters.
Betting is inherent to the sport in its professional version and it is arguably the main factor which has kept the game alive, unlike similar games played elsewhere which ended up fading away. This is because betting allows professional players to exist, which creates rivalries and increases the entertaining dimension of the sport for the audience. Spectators of Valencian pilota can bet on one of the two sides, and thetrinquets and themarxador gets a commission from these bets.
The two teams dress either with red or blue shirts. Bets are made for one color (red or blue) winning, for a certain margin of victory points, or for an expected way to score each particular point.
Remarkably high amounts of money may be bet during relevant games involving famous players. The more famous players become, the more betting is involved and so their personal revenue.
Valencian pilota players are calledpilotaris orpilotaires. Usually amateur players are only proficient in one variant, but professional players tend to be hired for social events and exhibitions in other variants. There are now only two variants with professional players:Escala i corda andRaspall.
Traditionally, each player managed his own agenda and arranged his fees, but in 2005 a new company,ValNet, presided over by the retired pilotariFredi contracted almost all professional players.
For a list of relevant historical or active players, seeValencian pilotaris. Also, see below for the existing professional leagues and competitions.
Escala i Corda
Raspall
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