Jai alai
First played | 14th century |
---|---|
Characteristics | |
Contact | No |
Team members | Various |
Type | Indoor–outdoor |
Equipment | pelota, xistera/cesta |
Jai alai (/ˈhaɪ.əlaɪ/: [ˈxai aˈlai]) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker, commonly referred to as a cesta. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term jai alai, coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also often loosely applied to the fronton (the open-walled playing area) where matches take place. The game, whose name means "merry festival" in Basque, is called cesta-punta ("basket tip") in the Basque Country. The sport is played worldwide, but especially in Spain, France, the U.S. state of Florida, and in various Latin American countries.
Rules and customs
The
The most common American version of the game of jai alai game is played in round robin format, usually between eight teams of two players each or eight single players, although in rare instances the teams may consist of three players each or triples. The first team to score 7 or 9 points wins the game. Two of the eight teams are in the court for each point. The server on one team must bounce the ball behind the serving line, then with the cesta "basket" hurl it towards the front wall so it strikes the front wall first and if it is not caught by the other team before it bounces, must bounce between lines 4 and 7 on the floor. The ball is then in play. The ball used in jai alai is hand crafted and consists of wound virgin rubber strands tightly wound together and then wrapped in 2 layers of goat skin. Once the ball is in play, the other team must catch and return it before it bounces twice. The process of catching and throwing must be completed in one fluid motion with no "juggling" or "holding" of the ball. The ball may be caught either on the fly or after bouncing once on the floor but cannot bounce twice. A team scores a point if an opposing player:
- fails to serve the ball directly to the front wall so that upon rebound it will bounce between lines No. 4 and 7. If it does not, it is an under or over serve and the other team will receive the point.
- fails to catch the ball on the fly or after one bounce
- holds or juggles the ball
- hurls the ball out of bounds
- interferes with a player attempting to catch and hurl the ball. These interference plays are called at the judges' discretion and most times, the point is replayed.
The team scoring a point remains in the court and the opposing team rotates off the court to the end of the list of opponents. Points usually double after the first round of play, once each team has played at least one point. When a game is played with points doubling after the first round, this is called "Spectacular Seven" or "Spectacular Nine" scoring If the games are played to nine points.
The players frequently attempt a "chula" shot, where the ball is played off the front wall then reaches the bottom of the back wall by the end of its arc. The "chula" is when the ball rebounds low off the back wall with very little to no bounce, almost rolling along the floor.
Since there is no wall on the right side, all jai alai players must play right-handed (wear the cesta on their right hand), as the spin of a left-handed throw would give a tremendous advantage to the left handed player due to the incredible amount of spin.
The
The sport can be dangerous, as the ball travels at high velocities. It has led to injuries that caused players to retire and fatalities have been recorded in some cases.[2][3]
Industry
Jai alai is a popular sport within the Latin American countries and the Philippines due to its Hispanic influence. It was one of the two gambling sports from Europe, the other being horse racing, in the semi-colonial Chinese cities of Shanghai and Tianjin, and was shut down after the communist victory there. The jai alai arena in Tianjin's former Italian Concession was then confiscated and turned into a recreation center for the city's working class.
The Philippines
Jai alai was played in
United States
In the United States, jai alai enjoyed some popularity as a gambling alternative to
Today, only two frontons remain open in the state. One is operated by Jai Alai World at the Magic City Casino northwest of
The fronton at The Casino @ Dania Beach will commence its next session of jai alai on December 1, 2023, with the Second Annual Dania Beach Invitational Tournament.
The first jai alai fronton in the United States was located in St. Louis, Missouri, operating around the time of the 1904 World's Fair. The first fronton in Florida opened at the site of
Professional Jai-Alai frontons no longer exist in the northeastern and western United States, waning as other gambling options became available. In Connecticut, frontons in Hartford and Milford permanently closed, while the fronton in Bridgeport was converted to a greyhound race track, which too later closed. In 2003, the fronton at Newport Jai Alai in Newport, Rhode Island, was converted into Newport Grand, a slot machine and video lottery terminal parlor, which closed permanently in August 2018.[8]
Jai alai enjoyed a brief and popular stint in
From 1988–1991, the International Jai-Alai Players Association held the longest
In an effort to prevent the closure of frontons in Florida, the
Amateur jai-alai
Although the sport has been in decline in America for several years, the first public amateur jai alai facility was in Milford CT and owned by Charlie Hernandez. Future frontons were built in the United States, including one in 2008 in St. Petersburg, Florida, with the assistance of the city of St. Petersburg and private funding from Jeff Conway (Laca).[citation needed]
In addition to the amateur court in St. Petersburg, The American Jai-Alai Foundation offers lessons. Its president, Victor Valcarce, was a pelotari at Dania Jai-Alai (MAGO) and was considered the best "pelota de goma" (rubber ball) player in the world. Sponsored in North Miami Beach, Florida which was once owned by World Jai-Alai as a school that, in 1972, produced the greatest American pelotari, Joey Cornblit.[12]
During the late 1960s, in addition to North Miami Amateur, at least one other amateur court from International Amateur Jai-Alai in South Miami professional players emerged at World Jai-Alai, regarded as the first American pelotari who turned pro in 1968 and enjoyed a lengthy career. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Orbea's Jai-Alai in Hialeah featured four indoor courts. Two of the courts played with hard rubber balls ("pelota de goma") were shorter than a standard court (75 and 90 feet (23 and 27 m), respectively) and used for training players and amateur leagues. In addition, two courts were played with the regulation pelota (hardball / "pelota dura"), one short in length (115 feet (35 m)) and one regulation length (150 feet (46 m)). Orbea's also sold equipment such as cestas and helmets.[citation needed]
Retired players visited and played as well as highly skilled amateurs, pros from Miami Jai-Alai and various other professional frontons operating at the time. The contributions of the South Miami, North Miami, Orbea, and, later, the Milford amateur courts to what is generally considered to be the golden age of the amateur jai-alai player and the sport in the United States are impressive. In the late 1980s, at least one other amateur court was constructed in Connecticut.[citation needed]
Dania Jai Alai has a "Hall of Fame" that documents the best front- and back-court players.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "FSN Sport Science - Episode 7 - Myths - Jason Zuback". Sport Science. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ISBN 0-521-00962-6.
Since the 1920s at least four players have been killed by an jai alai ball...
- ^ "The History and Return of Jai Alai - The Art of Manliness". 19 November 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ a b Villalon, Toti (July 15, 2012). "Remember jai alai: Stop making Manila heritage demolition victim". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ Philippine News Agency (September 7, 2011). "Jai-alai back with vengeance in Pangasinan". InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ "WHAT HAPPENED TO JAI ALAI?". SB Nation. 2013-02-28.
- ^ Guzzo, Paul (3 July 2018). "Jai alai went bye-bye in Tampa 20 years ago. Here is its legacy". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ Flynn, Sean. "Site of Newport Grand, which closes Tuesday, has had many lives". The Newport Daily News. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Kleiner, Dick (Aug 20, 1978). "Reno Gambles On Future". The Prescott Courier.
- ^ "Jai-Alai Chronology – Significant Dates". Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
- ^ ISSN 2327-476X
- ^ "Sport: Did Joey Eat?". Time. 30 January 1978. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09.
External links
- History of Jai-Alai Archived 2021-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
- "The History of basque Pelota in the Americas" by Carmelo Urza
- 30 for 30: What the Hell Happened to Jai Alai? ESPN short on YouTube
- Jai Alai Blues at IMDb
- Jai Alai Blues at Euskal Telebista's video-on-demand service (in Spanish)
- Slow death of a fast game, The Observer, July 2009
- Frontons.net is a collaborative project aimed at identifying and geotagging open-air single walled fronton around the world.
- Forgotten – documentary about the decline of Jai alai in Miami
- Magic City Casino (site of only active fronton in U.S.)
- Jai Alai World (operates fronton at Magic City)