June 8: EiC València 14/03/1999. Pilota Valenciana--VIII Bancaixa Circuit Professional FINAL: Sarasol I-Sarasol II (red) v Pigat I-Pigat II-Sanchis (blue) (commentary is in Catalan).
The match was contested at Trinquet Pelayo (Wikipedia) which has hosted Valencian Pelota since 1868, with the exception of a short period during the Spanish Civil War. In that time, 5 players have made it's "wall of honor".
Pilota Godella: Videos ; Playlists (look for EiC)
There are two basic differences between Valencian and Basque Pelota (Wikipedia and see my Basque Pelota Updates blog for much more detail on the 14 Basque Pelota sports).
1. There are no implements used in VC. All VC sports are played with the naked hand (taping of the hands is allowed, but no gloves).
2. All but one Valencian sports are direct sports, that is, the opponents face each other, indoors on a Trinquet court that is between 50 and 60 meters (55-65 yards) long, or on a street (or Triquet built to emulate a street) that can be up to 80 meters (87 yards long). All Valencian pilota sports are scored like tennis, 4 points to win, and the winning team must win by 2 (most sports are played with 2-5 players on a team). They are played to a specified number of games, rather than in sets (EiC is best 8 of 15, Raspall is best 5 out of 9, etc.).
Some sports are played with a net, others with a demarcation line between the teams. and others are territorial, with the offense trying to get as close to the defense’s end before trying to blast the pilota by them.
Two of the sports (Escala I Corda (Stairs and Rope) and Raspall (Scrape—watch and see why) are played professionally.
Valencian Pilota Wikipedia (a great article that covers all you need to know)
For an excellent primer in Catalan, see Pilota Didactica.
Modalities (Llargues, Galotxa, Escalia I Corda, Raspall, and Fronto are the main ones)
Detailed descriptions with accompanying videos of matches in the modality described
Pilota for Dummies (3 part animated video that explains things in a way that you will undertand without any knowledge of Catalan).
