Jai Alai: An ancient game of ball played after Sunday masses
Have you ever played racquetball? If yes, you would know that it’s identical to tennis, except the players stand side by side instead of facing each other. What else? Oh, it is played with a small racquet on a walled indoor court (called a racquetball court) minus the net at the centre. Are you wondering how the game proceeds if the players stand side by side? Well, they hit the ball against a large wall on their opposite side. As you can possibly guess, the goal is pretty straightforward - when one person hits the ball against the wall, the opponent should return the shot, as soon as it bounces off it.
Now imagine this, instead of a racquet, you propel the ball using a long, curved basket attached to your wrist. Instead of a racquetball court, you are standing on a ‘fronton’ (much like a double-sized basketball court). Sounds rather far-fetched, no? Well, guess what, this is exactly what used to happen in jai alai. Here’s an overview of this ancient game of ball.
Jai alai: When did it begin?
If you want to trace the origin of jai alai, you have to turn back the clock to the 14th century when it was first played in the Basque region of the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain. It was a variation of Basque pelota, a kind of court sport played using a hard ball and a hand-held hitting tool, such as a basket or wicker cesta in this case. However, what’s interesting is, the name of the sport arrived much later, when it was coined by a Basque-based author called Serafin Baroja in 1875.
Are you wondering what ‘jai alai’ means? Well, it’s the Basque term for ‘merry festival’. The game was often played at churches after Sunday masses. It also has a nickname called ‘cesta-punta’ (derived from wicker cesta) or ‘basket tip’ in Basque.
Today, it is played in countries such as Spain, France, USA and other Latin American nations in special jai alai arenas called ‘frontons.’ Interestingly, jai alai, since its inception in the US in 1904 at the St. Louis World Fair in Florida, has been popular all along the east coast of the country. Here, spectators even indulged in gambling, calling it the ‘fastest sport in the world’ or ‘ballet with bullets.’
What all does the game require?
Before going on to discuss how a game of jai alai is played, let us first get to the things used. As already mentioned, it requires a large, basket-like object tied to a player’s wrist that is used to hurl the ball across the court. It’s called wicker cesta and is usually hand-woven from reeds that are grown on the local Pyrenees Mountains. Players hold the ball or ‘pelota’ in their cestas, and throw it at high speed, almost 150 miles per hour. Although the ball is smaller than a baseball, it is perhaps the hardest (as hard as a rock) ever played in sports. Why? Because it is made from Brazilian rubber, which is wrapped in thread and then coated by layers of two hard goatskin. But, how can a concrete wall withstand the repeated impact of such a hard ball? Well, the wall in frontons is made up of granite, and is called “cancha.”
How is it played?
As you can understand, not anyone can play jai alai. One needs to be fast, well-trained and highly acrobatic. As for the rule, it’s fairly straightforward. One of the players serves the ball, that hits the cancha with a significant force. As soon as it bounces off it, the opponent must return it. If the pelota drops to the ground and bounces more than twice, the opponent loses the point, and the server gains it. Wait, that’s not it. The players should also be careful as to catch the ball and return it in a single and uninterrupted motion. How awesome is that!
Jai alai was one of the fastest growing sports in the USA in the 20th century. Wondering why it didn’t catch up in today’s world? Well, because in the 1980s, most frontons became the centre of organised crime, such as gambling, extortion and match-fixing. That’s why it no longer retains its former glory. Sad, isn’t it?