Herri Kirolak. Basque rural sports

The origin of the Basque rural sports

All these sports have their origins in the rural labor that became sports from competition among different people to see who has more skill in a particular activity. For example, from the activity of cutting trunks for firewood, comes up on the sport of aizkolaris or cutting of trunks, from the activity of moving large rocks for construction, became the stone lifting (Harrijasotzea).

Common features of these sports is the importance attached to the stakes and challenges between participants and spectators. It is also remarkable that in general all Basque rural sports require great physical strength.

aizkolaritza

Is to cut a certain amount of trunks of a given diameter with a hatchet. The trunks are usually available on the floor in a horizontal position, so that the attacking aizkolari stands up over them.

There is an annual competition called Urrezko Aizkora (Golden hatchet) for couples, the most important of Euskera.

gizon proba

Is to drag a large stone along a predetermined route. There are diferent kinds of competition in drag stone, with cutting horses (zaldi proba), mules (asto proba) with oxen (idi proba) or just the human strenght {gizon proba).

Harrijasotzea (Stone lifting)

A person with its own forces, without any mechanism, lifts, floor-to-shoulder, stones of various weights and shapes, in several batches. The material is extracted from natural stone or a rock quarry, without inlay material. They do not use two stones together that are not from the same quarry.

The stones are cubic (six square faces, with no handling), spherical (ball, not handling) or old-style rectangular (parallelogram prism regular, with carved handling).The world record is 327 Kg.

Txingak

This sports is based in taking two weights of 50 Kg, one in each hand, no limit of time, the longest distance possible. The lifters walk or run along a 28 meters square.

SOKATIRA

Eight people, with a total maximum weight, drag another team pulling a rope with their hands on hard ground. A team wins when pull the other over the center mark .

Segalariak

It mus be cut off as many pounds of grass with a scythe in a grassland area determined, for a preset time. Finally the weight of the grass makes the winner.