What has it meant for you to win for the second time the championship of Spain in Punta Cana?

Let's spend a lot of hours rehearsing on the pediment, and I think we deserved some prize. It is a great sacrifice for the time and for everything, so in the end it makes you feel that you have achieved your goal, which has been worth it.

How has it been the way to get there?

Last year I played with a neighbor from Mutriku and, after winning the first eliminators, we also won in the semifinals, and we also won the final. This year, on the other hand, I played with one from Berriatua, Maialen Aldazabal, and the final was against my partner last year, on 15 May in the fronton Labrit of Pamplona. In the game we win the two sets: the first 15-10 and the second 15-5. So we went back to winning the final.

Which players have participated in this tournament?

Most of us were from Euskal Herria, but there were also two couples from Catalonia who, although they were a little older, were of our level, so we adapted very well. As a result, we have also been meeting people from other places, although most of us already knew each other, because every weekend we played games and, in the end, we became a group of friends.

How are your usual parties?

I play two or three games a week, mostly with the boys, or alternating: sometimes two girls and two boys, and sometimes I with the other three boys. So we get used to their speed and strength, because when we play with girls, vitality is not that big. Therefore, I believe that if we play with boys we will not be left behind and we see that we are also at the same level. Then, as regards official competitions, the Bizkaia Championship is disputed in Markina and Berriatua, among others. In addition, we played the Basque League in Noain, Cabaillas or Donostia, so we moved quite a bit.

Did you play the Bizkaia Championship this year?

Yes, I've played with the same player that I've won the Spanish Championship, and in the championship that we've played with the kids we've stayed seconds in the cadet category. Then it has also been seen that girls can play against boys and demonstrate the good level.

On the fronton of Sopela he started playing ball, what's that like?

My older siblings were playing ball, so I also used to be almost every day on the pediment, and one day, after I tried it, I got into the team at four years old. Since then, I've been playing here for almost ten years. However, one day I tried the spike basket, and although I've been doing the two for three years, this year I decided to give more importance to the spike basket.

Ihart Arakistain answers questions from "Hiruka" journalists:

Is the tip basket more attractive to you?

Yes, the game is faster and faster, and I find it more beautiful also to see and play.

However, it is not a very popular sport, right?

The shovel and the ball are the two modes that are most visible on television, but I think there are more and more people cheering. A few years ago, the Xistera project began to make a circuit with cystalists from all over the Basque Country, organizing meetings and championships. As a result, in recent years, a lot of new people have begun to emerge in the final basket, also a lot of boys and girls; I believe that we are moving forward and that people are being encouraged.

In the tip basket, you don't train, you do a test. Why is it called that?

Well, I would say that for us this is not a sport, it's like an art.

And you go four or five times a week to rehearse in Berriatua. Why?

We met people there, and one day I went and tried there, and so I started playing on the local team. Now it's like my second town, I spend more time there than in Sopela. In addition, the team closest to Sopela would be that of Durango, and although in our environment you play shovel or ball by hand, the spike basket still doesn't see much. So you have to go to rehearse and play games quite far away.

Is there more fans in the Lea-Artibai area?

Yes, in the area of Markina and Berriatua there is a great hobby, as in Markina there is also the University of the Ball. In these surroundings there is a lot of hobby, everyone knows the sport, unlike here.

Do you intend to continue in the final basket in the coming years?

Yes, I think we have a future, because we are increasingly girls, and I would say that over the years they will be further encouraged, and that too will give us more opportunities. This year, for example, in Berriatua, five small girls have started practicing the spike basket. Those of my age are only four, but there are more and more people cheering, also in Markina and in Mutriku.

Many high-level players go to America. Would you like it to be?

Yes, of course. The girls play from Mexico, and in Donostia there is also a Mexican, he told us a couple of times that we are going to go play there. I'd like to travel there to see how you play and meet more people. It would be a tremendous achievement.

Will you keep rehearsing in summer?

Yes, I am pre-selected for the World Championship to be played in October in Izmir, near Valladolid, along with eight other girls. We are now doing tests, and in summer we will be at a standstill, testing four times a week, playing games and even working the physicist.