Basque Pelota World Championships
Tournament information
SportBasque Pelota
Established1952
Number of
tournaments
18
AdministratorFIPV
Current champion
 Spain (9th title)

The Basque Pelota World Championships is a quadrennial tournament first organized in 1952 by the International Federation of Basque Pelota. The modern championships crown the best amateur players in fifteen different playing categories.

History

The first edition of the tournament was organized in 1952 and until 1958 was played every three years. The tournament has occurred every four years since then. No third place titles were awarded during the first five editions of the tournament.[1] Additionally, the number of disciplines disputed at each tournament has varied depending on the edition and has even included disciplines played on the Plaza Libre in 1952 and 1958.[1] Until the edition of 1990, no women's categories were disputed in the championships. A single women's discipline was added in 1990 (Paleta goma – Trinquete), then another one in 1994 (Frontenis), and finally a third one in 2014 (Paleta goma – Fronton 30 m), bringing the total number of disputed categories to fifteen.[1][2] Starting in 1995, the FIPV has also organized a Basque Pelota World Cup on each of the four categories of Basque pelota (Trinquete, Fronton 30m, Fronton 36m, Fronton 54m) which are also played quadrennially [3]

Modern events

Trinquete, 6 events:

Hand-pelota (individual)
Hand-pelota (pairs)
Paleta goma (men's)
Paleta goma (women's)
Paleta cuero
Xare

Fronton (30 m), 4 events:

Paleta goma (men's)
Paleta goma (women's)
Frontenis (men's)
Frontenis (women's)

Fronton (36 m), 4 events:

Hand-pelota (individual)
Hand-pelota (pairs)
Paleta cuero
Pala corta

Fronton (54 m), 1 event:

Jai alai

Editions

Year Host City and Country Best Performing Nations Number of Participating Nations
1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
1952 Spain San Sebastián, Spain  France  Spain  Argentina 8
1955 Uruguay Montevideo, Uruguay  Spain  Argentina  Mexico 7
1958 France Biarritz, France  Spain  France  Argentina 9+
1962 Spain Pamplona, Spain  Argentina  Spain  France 7
1966 Uruguay Montevideo, Uruguay  France  Mexico  Spain 7+
1970 Spain San Sebastián, Spain  Spain  France  Argentina 5+
1974 Uruguay Montevideo, Uruguay  Argentina  France  Spain 5+
1978 France Biarritz, France  Spain  Argentina  France 9+
1982 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico  France  Argentina  Spain 9+
1986 Spain Vitoria, Spain  France  Spain  Mexico 12+
1990 Cuba Havana, Cuba  Spain  Mexico  France 10+
1994 France Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France  France  Spain  Mexico 10+
1998 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico  Spain  Mexico  Argentina 10+
2002 Spain Pamplona, Spain  Spain  France  Mexico 16
2006 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico  Spain  France 18
2010 France Pau, France  Spain  Mexico  France 22
2014 Mexico Zinacantepec, Mexico  Mexico  Spain  France 18
2018 Spain Barcelona, Spain  France  Spain  Mexico 14
2022 France Biarritz, France  Spain  France  Mexico 32

Nations finishing in top four

Nation First place Second place Third place Fourth place Total
 Spain 9 7 3 0 19
 France 6 5 6 2 19
 Mexico 2 4 6 7 19
 Argentina 2 3 4 10 19

Medals (1952–2022)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Spain808241203
2 France716853192
3 Mexico534434131
4 Argentina48262195
5 Uruguay4301549
6 Cuba351725
7 United States0235
8 Chile0066
Totals (8 entries)259257190706

[a] [b]

  1. ^ This table includes all modalities, including those being played in Plaza Libre in 1952 and 1958.
  2. ^ No bronze medals were disputed from 1952 to 1966.

List of hosts

List of hosts by number of championships hosted.

Times
hosted 		Host Year(s)
6  Spain 1952, 1962, 1970, 1986, 2002, 2018
5  France 1958, 1978, 1994, 2010, 2022
4  Mexico 1982, 1998, 2006, 2014
3  Uruguay 1955, 1966, 1974
1  Cuba 1990

See also

Basque Pelota World Cup

References

  1. ^ a b c Javier Solano (November 2004). "Historia de los Mundiales" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  2. ^ Paloma (August 2015). "XVII Campeonato del Mundo de Pelota • Zinacantepec 2014" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  3. ^ FIPV (December 2021). "Historico de resultados y clasificaciones" (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 December 2021.
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