Hello everyone.
I will be going to Spain in Nov. and wondering if anyone knows where I can go to play jaialai. I know there schools for jaialai all over the Basque part. However, I do not know if they would let a foreigner on the court. This would be just to practice and/or for fun not for work. I was a great amateur when I was a kid and suppose to turn pro in the US, but I regretibly quit. It would be great if there was a website. Thanks

Hi! I just did a www.Google.com search and found what appears to be a useful site in locating places in Spain which have Jaialai:

http://www.lapelotavasca.com/enlaces/

Unfortunately, this site focuses on northern Spain and can't really find anything else doing such a Google search. Also unfortunately, the site seems to be totally in Euskadi, the region's language.

Is Jaialai more popular in País Vasco or northern Spain than in other regions of the country?? I saw a game once in Mexico City years ago and found it fast fun (the fastest ball-sport on the planet, in fact!).

What's ("cesta punta")?

AND HEY! THIS JUST IN!! At http://www.lapelotavasca.com/pelotatv/ you'll find a TV schedule to watch live games on, among other stations, ETB SAT which is broadcast live on the internet.. you can find the direct link to them on " MadridMan\'s Spain Radio, TV, Music, & Movies " page.

THERE'S A GAME TONIGHT (May 31) AT 22:50 h. local time!! (that's 4:50pm New York City or East Coast USA time)

There are tons of frontons all over the basque country. Just about every town has a fronton. I don´t know how you would go about arranging a game... I imagine that they would let an amature play, most people I have seen playing are teenagers, or college age people. "cesta punta" is the game where you use a basket thing to catch and throw the ball, there is also another type of game that they play that is more or less handball. I have no idea where you would get the equipment for "cesta punta", I thought about giving that game a try one time, but then I thought about how injury prone I am and decided it was better that I stay away. They always have the games on ETB all the time and you can watch it and work on your Euskera at the same time. Euskera is a horribly difficult language, but you can usually catch a lot of the vocabulary as the vocabulary is similar to the spanish equivelants.

By the way, I caught part of that Jaialai game on ETB SAT on Friday afternoon (my time) and they did NOT use "the scoops", but rather their hands! I was a little surprised. Never seen THAT before. mikerod76, did you see any of it?

Roe, so I did not see a "cesta punta". Oh well. Can you tell us if jaialai is mainly a BASQUE sport or is it popular in other parts of Spain?

Hi.

I've found some information about "Pelota Vasca" that are all the games that have something to do with the games of the basque country. There is a website with a lot of links to a lot of websites.
Here you are the link : Main Links
The first one of these links is to the website of Federacion Vasca de Pelota and there is information in English.
There is a game very similar to Cesta Punta called Remonte, and one of the best players of Remonte is Koteto Ezkurra, from Doneztebe (Navarra).

I don´t know about elsewhere in Spain, but in the Basque Country there are frontones all over. Most towns or even barrios have their own. There are a few that are (I think) centuries old. "Cesta Punta" is the game with the basket/scoops things, there is also a game played in the fronton that you just use your hands, similar to handball in the states I guess. I am told the ball is really hard and hurts a lot until you play and get thick calouses.

Yes, Jaialai is a typical Basque sport, known but not frequently practised in the rest of Spain.

Here in Navarra, pelota is the big game. I think there´s only one fronton where jai lai is played. I think you´d have to go further into the Basque Country if you are serious about playing. By the way, there are "world" pelota championships scheduled in Pamplona for mid-August.