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Valencian Fronto

Valencian Fronto is a version of the Basque Pelota game. Fronto may mean the game, the ball, or the playing area. This game dates back to 17th century Valencia, and it was called Jai Alai, which means joyful party in Basque.



This game is an indirect game, players don’t play face to face but they share a playing area. A Valencian fronto is a flat three-walled court; the frontis is where the players throw the ball so that it bounces 90-centimers tall; the wall is to the left of the frontis and is where the players place themselves to mark the fault line and the pass line. The rebound is the wall opposite to the frontis.

This match maybe played individually or by teams consisting of two players each. A winner is made when a team reaches 40 points. A team servers for a joc, which is 4 quinzes (15, 30, val, and game). The team that wins the val, gets the joc, and the team scores 5 points.



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