The best players

Inakai "Goikoetxea" Osa is undoubtedly the best Jai Alai player in the world right now. He has won the singles championship at every world class tournament since 2005 and has won the world championships since 2003. His speed and strength makes him such a strong player. Watching videos of him I have seen him dominate games at the world championships. Another famous player is Jose Ramon Areitio who holds the world record for the fastest throwing of any ball in history. He threw his pelota 188 miles per hours in a game held in Newport, RI in 1979.

Short Documentary on Jai Alai

A bit of the History of Jai Alai

The sport of Jai Alai is thought to be created over five centuries ago in the northern part of Spain known as the Basque region. The original name for the sport is Pelota Vasca, translated to Basque ball. The Basque region has their own language of Basque and throughout history has tried to become their own country because it is culturally and physically so independent of the country of Spain. This interests me because I have never really heard about this region. The region is in the heart of the Pyranees Mountains and consists of many small mountain villages. The name Jai Alai comes from the Basque language meaning Merry Festival, this name was given because the game was only played on Sundays and on holidays. The game of Jai Alai was not introduced to the United States until the St. Louis Worlds Fair in 1904. Casino's in America have captured the wonder of the worlds fastest ball sport. Florida is considered the home to Jai Alai now because there is more Jai Alai games played there than anywhere else in the world. Other place in the US where the game is played are Las Vegas, Reno, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The only changes in the sport over the 500 years of existance are the speed of the game and the courts that are used, they are much faster courts than the old church walls they play on in the Basque region.

The game of Jai Alai

Jai Alai is a game of quickness and accuracy. There are three walls, front, left and rear. The ball, or pelota, is a handmade tightly woven sphere with leather tightly wrapped around it like a smaller, harder version of a baseball. When the ball is thrown at the front wall it has one bounce and after that bounce an opposing player has to catch and release in one fluid motion or else it is a point. It is a very fast game where the eight players on the court are all against each other and each player has teammates on the sidelines. When a player gets scored on, he then leaves the court and another teammate must step on. When any given team reaches nine points the game is over. If at anytime a the ball goes off the court, the player who threw the ball out loses a point for their team. Most courts or Cancha's are around 180 feet long, 50 feet tall and about 40 feet wide. The walls are made of solid granite to ensure the walls are strong enough to withstand the impact of the pelota traveling aproximately 188 miles per hour.