April 2008

A new series is issued depicting the traditional sports and games of the different Spanish regions that make up our cultural heritage. Some of these games have reached us thanks to the effort of small social groups that have preserved their traditions in order to pass them on to future generations. This issue is devoted to the Pelota Valenciana (Valencia ball) and Pelota Vasca (Basque ball) as ball games are the most common amongst the old oriental, Maya and Greco-Roman civilizations.
The Pelota Valenciana is a similar game as those played in other countries and Spanish regions and its origins go back to the medieval times. It was played by the nobility and lower classes in the streets or indoors and reached its height during the Renaissance. Later on it was abandoned until the XIX century when it became a deeply-rooted game of the Valencia region.

"Valencia ball"

The Pelota Valenciana is played in the streets and in trinquets (indoor court fields), where two teams of one or a couple of players are opposed face-to-face in different sides of the court and throw each other the ball with their hands until a foul takes place in the opposite field. The outdoor variety can be played in different ways; raspall, galotxa and llargues. Indoors, the varieties are raspall, escala i corda and rebot.

"Basque ball"

The Pelota Vasca (Basque ball) is mostly placed in the Basque country, Navarra and La Rioja. The handball variety is extended throughout the country. The game takes place in a court called “frontón” where the “pelotaris” or players, one or two from each team, stand in the statutory places to serve according to the lots drawn. The player who serves stands some metres behind the start line and runs up to the line, bounces the ball and hits it with his hand towards the wall of the “frontón”. The player from the opposite team hits the ball when it bounces back and this goes on successively until one of the players misses the ball. Depending on the different varieties of the game, the teams scores according to the regulation.
Each stamp is issued with a vignette with no postal value depicting different scenes of each game.