October 2008

This series, issued throughout 2008 and made up of 16 stamps related to sport activities which have been preserved in some Spanish regions, ends with these last three stamps devoted to the chito, chave and calva, similar to bowling and included in the group of precision games.

Traditional sports and games

The Chito, known in the region of Castilla as tuta or tarusa, consists of knocking down a wooden cylinder with some coins or bottle caps on the top by throwing an iron disc called toston, doblon or tango from a distance of 15 to 20 meters. The player that knocks down the tuta and keeps the coins or caps closer to it wins the game. The pitch is flat and rectangular shaped measuring 22 metres long by 4 metres wide. From the Civil War until the 60s it was banned for being a betting game.

The Chave is played differently in the regions of Galicia, Asturias and the north of León. The game consists of throwing some discs called pellos, weighing up to 500 gr. aiming at touching the key dug on the ground from a distance of 20 or 30 steps. In some areas the game varies slightly, in Ourense the key is 75cm high and is blade shaped so it can turn when it is knocked by the disc. In A Coruña the key has the shape of a tongue and the game consist of bringing down the key, not only touching it. In El Ferrol the key has the shape of a fork with one blade which has to turn when it is touched by the disc. Finally, in Asturias the modalities are the llave clásica and llave alterna.

The game of la calva or morrillo finds its origins in the shepherds and is played mainly in Castilla y Leon, Madrid and Guadalajara. La calva is a piece of wood with two angle shaped arms and the morillo or canto was initially a stone and is nowadays a piece of iron. The game consists of throwing the morillo from a distance of 10 to 15 metres and hitting la calva.

The souvenir sheet is made up of three stamps and three vignettes with no postal value depicting scenes of these autochthonous sports and games which have reached us thanks to the interest and effort of some regions in their preservation.