This is one of several games played with a small hard ball known as pelota. This is the fastest ball game. The fastest pelota game is known in Spanish as Pelota vasca meaning Basque pelota. The Basque name is Jai Alai or ‘merry festival’. Jai Alai may have begun in 13th century Italy. In fact pelota is a Spanish game and pelota means ball.
The players in this game wear a long basket-like Cesta strapped to one arm. They use the Cesta’s curved hollow end to catch and throw the small, hard rubber ball called pelota. There are two rival teams. Each team may have one, two or three players.
The team plays the game on a cancha or court with high walls on three sides. A server hits the ball on the front wall. The opponent must catch it and throw it back before it hits the floor twice. The game is very fast and interesting.
The ball moves with a tremendously high speed. One pelota reached a measured speed of over 300 kilometers an hour.