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´.