RASPALL NEWS

RASPALL NEWS

Hi again, now I will tell you all the news about  ‘’Pilota Valenciana’’.

This summer many games were played and many championships too. Rafelbunyol´s team won the best championship called ’’Ruralcaixa’’. But today there have been more championships and games due to the holidays.

 

Last week, I started playing in the famous championship called Ruralcaixa but of lower quality. When this tournament finishes I'll start another and hopefully winning one of these two.

MY RASPALL TROPHIES

MY RASPALL TROPHIES 



Since I have been playing this beautiful game I have played in many regional and provincial championships.

  We won the following trophies:

In 2008- Winners of the  Pilota Almiserà trophy

              Winners of the Provincial and sub-champion in the regional

In 2009- 3rd in the Safor championship

              2nd trophy in ``Reis Xeraco´´

              Winners of the ``Festes Xeraco´´

In 2010- Winners of the county championship

              Winner of the 9  ``D’Octubre´´ trophy

               3rd in the ``Reis Xeraco´´

In 2011- 3rd in the ``Reis Xeraco´´

The most important event happened in 2007 when we won the provincial championship against the team alevin from Piles and were runners up in the autonomy because we lost the final against Orba.

ESCALA I CORDA

ESCALA I CORDA

Leaving the subject of Raspall, there are also other types of this game. The most important is ``Escala i corda´´.  This consists in passing the ball over the the cord, if it passes under the opponent wins the point.

The ball can only bounce on the ground or go in to the air, if it bounces twice the opposing team wins a point. If the ball goes into the galleries they also lose points. 

There are the same amount of players as in ``Raspall´´, but with one exception, there is a ``feridor´´ on each team who serves the ball to the opposite team.

 
People bet on this game more than on ``Raspall´´.

The people who play this sport are more technical than ``Raspall´´ players because they you have to throw the ball harder and it must also go over the cord. ``Escala I corda´´. It is better to serve quickly so that you do not get too tired.

Basically, ``Escala i Corda´´ is like tennis without rackets but it is not played on a court.

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF RASPALL

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS OF RASPALL

In ``Raspall´´ there are many championships both for professional and amateurs.

Now I am going to talk about the various leagues.

 
Children between 7 and 16 can participate in championships of different types of  ``Pilota Valenciana´´  these championships are called JECV.

The best championship of all is the Ruralcaja. Xeraco´s team has won the professionals more times than any other team. There is also the Ruralcaja amateur championships.  This year my team lost the semifinals of Ruralcaja championship.

THE RULES OF RASPALL

THE RULES OF RASPALL

In the street 

It Is fault when you roll the ball, if the ball goes on any balcony or roof a point is given to the rival team. If the ball goes out of the restricted area it has to be lanced with the left hand. 
The trick to winning is to hit the ball quickly up on two sides because if you throw the ball up the sides you could knock on the doors.

In the ``Trinquete´´ 

If the ball goes into the area where the are public sitting, it has to be lanced  with the right hand. In the ``Trinquet´´ there are two different for the parts of the wall. The rest is the top part of the wall and the bottom part is called the  ``Tamborín´´. If you hit the rest the rival team gets a point but if you hit the Tamborín your team wins the point.

 Professional players prefer playing on the Trinquet to the street because in the street there are balconies and doors which they might hit with the ball. Thus making it more difficult to score a point.

In this sport it is worth betting on every game. There is a ``Marchador´´ who takes the bets. There is also a man who does the same job as an umpire in football.

RASPALL TEAM PLAYERS

 

TEAM PLAYERS

In raspall there are three important positions.
They are:

Playing behind (`resto´) 
This is the most important team player, who helps the two others, if the player does not play well the team will  probably lose the game. This player is the one who hits the ball with the most force and is also the drawer.

Playing between (`mitger´)  
This player has the most technical skills, his objective is to place the ball where the rival player cannot come so the punter make points. He is the most dangerous player for  the rival team.

Playing front (`punter´) 
This player is the fastest in the team.  He is usually the worse team player and the one who touches the ball less than the other members of the team.

EQUIPMENT AND PROTECTION NEEDED TO PLAY ``PELOTA VALENCIANA´´

EQUIPMENT AND PROTECTION NEEDED TO PLAY

``PELOTA VALENCIANA´´

Hello, today I am going to talk about the equipment and the protection that players wear when playing Pelota Valenciana - Raspall.

The equipment has to be comfortable, shorts, t-shirt and trainers are usually worn..

The hands have to be very well protected, as the ball can cause great harm to them. 
So as not to get hurt thimbles of skin or plastic are placed on the fingertips with tape. 
It is preferable to use the skin thimbles while playing in the street and plastic thimbles for use in the 'Trinquete'.

``PELOTA VALENCIANA´´ AND WHERE IT IS PLAYED

``PELOTA VALENCIANA´´ AND WHERE IT IS PLAYED

Today I am going to talk about the places where you can play ``Pelota Valenciana´´

``Trinquete´´

 This stadium is more characteristic of the sport. It is an enclosed rectangular shape of forty to sixty meters long and between nine and eleven wide. The two longer walls, called walls, have a similar height to the width of the enclosure. One of the two walls has a single element, the stairs. These stairs consist of four steps which the former is higher than the rest, with a height of one meter and between two and three meters high. These steps are used by the public to sit and watch the game. The most important``Trinquet´´   is ``El Zurdo´´ it is in Bellreguard. There are ``Trinquets´´ in Xeraco, Valencia, Oliva, Tavernes, Sueca and many other towns.

In the street

Traditionally games have been played in the street, each village has a street which is used for this. This road must be flat and clean. With more cars on the roads this practice is difficult, so several streets have built so-called artificial ``Carrer De La Pilota´´ in which they imitate even the smallest details of nature thus including windows, balcony or doors.

THE `RASPALL´ BALL

Today I am going to speak about the ball used to play `Raspall´.

There are different types of balls, used to play `Raspall´.
These are:

-Ball of  `Badana´:
This ball has a calf leather cover and is filled with cloth. It has a maximum weight of 39g and a maximum diameter of 38 mm. This ball is used for children's championships, in the  6 to 9 year age group.

-Vaqueta ball: 
It consists of eight triangles.  It is made from leather which has been taken from the neck of a cow.  This leather is sewed  together and filled to make the official weight.  It has the shape for adults and is between 40 and 42 g and has a diameter of 42 mm. They are manufactured using traditional methods. They are appreciated very much, but has
a very high price of at least 30 euros. It is used in the form of `Escala i corda´, `Raspall´ and `Galotxa´.

PELOTA VALENCIANA – RASPALL BLOG

PELOTA VALENCIANA – RASPALL BLOG

Hello, my name is Hector and I’m a Spanish boy.

This blog is about ``Pelota Valenciana- Raspall´´ and all its forms.

I love playing ``raspall´´ because it is a good sport.  I practice it twice a week and on Saturdays I play matches. My team and I are playing in a championship.

``Raspall´´ is the local sport of my region.  It is a sport combining strength and techniques to place the ball in different positions.

My village, Xeraco has won the most trophies in the amateur championships.

The ball weighs between 40 to 42 g and its diameter is 42 mm.

Follow my  PELOTA VALENCIANA – RASPALL BLOG