The Behar Zana partnership has clear foundations: "It has to work for the people and encourage the Basque ball. Within the Basque ball, our base is working different modalities and not doing everything around the ball by hand, although today it is the most media and therefore the most people draw. Another basis is language: Behar Zana takes care that the ball is a space for children to live in Basque in our town; for this, all the monitors we are Euskaldunes". They are words of Iñaki Lizaso, a member of the Villabona Ball Society who is working hard. He is accompanied by Aratz Luisa, who works with Jon Ander Artola as a clean play teacher and Luisa adds a new foundation: "As observers and players of bounce and fair play, I see that these two modalities allow us to maintain the link with the North: the games we play together are also a tool to share each other's cultural characteristics, and we try to convey those values from a young age." Also Behar Zana's ratchet and share players train and play very often in Iparralde. Through the contacts they have had for years, Behar Zana has links with Iparralde associations such as the Hardoitarrak Association of Anglet.

A thousand ways to play the ball

The game modalities in the Basque ball are very varied according to the pediment and the tool used. Behar Zana has left wall fronts in Amasa and Villabona and rebound plaza in the center, and has a ratchet in Irura, adjoining. Behar Zana works on the modalities that are played in these hand-made leaflets, baskets (except pear and tip) and blades. Moreover, asked about the modalities, it has been easier for them to quote those who do not teach: "The laxo is not played, that is played in the Baztán, in the area of Irurita," Lizaso started. "Villabona has been a leading town, but there are currently no puntionists or remontists in the association," said Luisa and Lizaso. "To play on the tip and on the rails you need a longer pediment and in our surroundings they are located in Tolosa and Galarreta. Nor is it played in the long paddle for the same reason. If we remove this, I would say that all the modalities are played: we play long boat, we play chamfer, we play hand and tool trinket (share), although in the village we do not have the compaction, the girls will start playing the next course in Argentinean palette...".

Despite all these playing possibilities, Luisa has pointed out that because of the prestige she has at hand over television, it is very difficult for children to gather tools: "The hand pelotaris complain that the kids go to other sports and so the manual equipment is drained. The same thing happens to the clean game with the ball by hand: it is the modality that has to pass the sieve of the hand. The telly gives the ball strength by hand, but in other ways it stays flat.”

Lizaso explains that on Saturday morning free sessions are offered to promote the diversity of ball games: "We give them the opportunity to test different modalities. There are also a wide variety of ages, from pre-benjaminas to children working together and we carry all kinds of tools: paddles, baskets, plastic gloves for children to learn more easily and you can also work by hand. From a young age they have the opportunity to test it and the team has things they like to play clean and bounce around the year."

The base works by making equipment

Behar Zana currently has a total of 120 pelotaris, in all its modalities and ages. Almost 50% are doing it by hand and 50% are not federated (under 12 years old who are in ball school), "but gradually we are balancing the figures, we are increasing the number of federations, but for there to be a future it is essential that there be many pelotaris in school", said Lizaso. He explains that as age increases, people who follow the ball are becoming less and less: "Analyzing data from recent years it is observed that we have 20-25 pre-benjamines and then the group is drastically reduced, of which the ones that remain in children can be only five. If you pass five lucky to the cadets, three to the juveniles. That's why another important value that we drive is the groups of friends: our goal is to enjoy the ball, be at ease, do sports, and even be future coaches..." To work the team environment, many activities and exits are carried out and "many of these pelotaris become crews", said Lizaso.

One of the challenges of the strategic plan developed by the Behar Zana partnership is to keep to the maximum this large group of children of younger ages. "Today the strength is the hand and the weak point is perhaps the number of women, although the number of girls dedicated to paddles is significant. We are trying to discriminate positively against the game pelotaris clean and bounce, but there are also fewer pelotaris than we would like," Lizaso said.

Lizaso places the retirement age of the ball between 11 and 12 years: "On the one hand, football has a lot of strength in this country and when going to ESO in the studies some have to choose one sport; on the other, we use harder balls and play with the tacos. And feeling pain is not nice. The pain owner can pick up the basket, the paddle or the share, but they find it difficult to open the view that they have limited to the hand ball and as many go to football, many leave the sport." Luisa said that "the first bridge job is there. For those with hand pains to see that they have other alternatives to play ball in the village."

In all modalities, future pelotaris are formed in local groups and associations, which are under the umbrella of the territorial federation (formed by associations). On the contrary, the world of high level ball is managed through a few companies. Lizaso explains that there is a gap between cantera work in villages and companies carrying high level sport: "There is no training money or anything. Since the pelotari is six years old all the work the clubs do, but if at 16-17 years old it is a good pelotari the company will come, call the player's father (well, now the subject is being formalized and maybe he will call the club to alert), he will take it and it was fired, the relationship is over. And where is all that previous work left? ". Luisa added that "the roots of the ball do not reach the lightning of money moving in companies".

Women with paddles and when by hand?

Another objective of Behar Zana’s strategic plan is for girls to be more to the ball. Lizaso believes that "benchmarks are needed to increase women's participation". To work with the referents, Behar Zana is clear that women must also be guaranteed on monitors. It is possible to think that the modalities of the ball have gender, as in the girls the blade predominates. Lizaso was acidic: "We've only had four girls who have hand-worked this course. It is a general problem, this year it has occurred to us that one of our colleagues from the Gipuzkoa competition in Alevín we have searched for the partner of another country and that was the only one who registered in the whole of Gipuzkoa. Television shows an image of the woman ball and the reality on which it is based is another". Luisa adds: "This television image can be used to create referents, but there's a hole from the photo that shows up to reality, that image is not real." However, Behar Zana receives good news of last minute: five women of palette and hand will work the next course in this group: Watch Larrarte, Miriam Arrillaga, Itsaso Erasun, Garazi Eizmendi and Nahia Eizmendi. If these powerful referents are valid to encourage the girls in the village to sign up for the ball.

But there have also been women who have trained weekly: it is a team of adult clubs and the club organizes a rapid competition. "There are currently 12-16 women in palette, there have been more. And they're the oldest in the club, they're over 40." The aim of this group is not to compete, but to do sport together in leisure time, and to dedicate time to themselves: what still costs a lot in today’s society, where the burden of caring for children is often on mothers’ backs. The Behar Zana association highly values this group to show that there are other ways of doing sport and creating referents in the municipality.

Do not empty the valley populations

Villabona is the urban core of the Aiztondo valley. In this region there are very small towns, but each has its ball equipment and there is a lot of hobby. We ask Lizaso how territorial balance should be preserved: "10-12 years ago we met the sports councillors of the valley municipalities to sign an agreement and those responsible for the ball teams that were at the time. This agreement stated that each people had to have their own football school and that the pelotaris had to train in their village. The reason is that we cannot empty peoples. If a pelotari from Aduna, Larraul, Alkiza, Zizurkil, empties his village's ball team for training in Behar Zana, it's not positive for the ball. Then there will come a time when, inevitably, they will meet: on the one hand, there comes an age that clearly distinguishes the sport level and, on the other, children are isolated because some team member has left the ball. To go to train another valley instead of touring many kilometers, what is intended is to organize them among those of the Aiztondo Valley: surely, as now happens, they will meet with the age in Behar Zana, but the objective is for each one to work in their villages, as far as possible, thus achieving continuity in each village".

When the goal is to continue enjoying a lot

While we are talking with Lizaso and Luisa, they have gradually been incorporated into the table of the gastronomic society Behar Zana: the xare player Joxi Lopetegi, the pelotari Miriam Arrillaga and the shovel coach, the pelotaris Jon Urbieta and Jon Erasun, the rebound player Iñaki Otrinegaya They're in different times of life, they're working on different kinds of ball, and each one has its way into the world of ball. Many pelotaris dream of being youth professionals, but they have explained that outside of it there are also reasons to play the ball.

In the words of Jon Urbieta, "at the age of 16-18 you always see the possibility of ascending the professionals. And if it doesn't come, many leave the illusion at that age and say they don't want to play ball. But it doesn't always have to be that way. From the age of 25-30 you can also play the ball well with no final date." An association like Behar Zana helps make friendship key to surviving the ball: "As long as you don't stay alone, go! At Behar Zana we are a good team and we meet twice a week to train. That environment is also worth a lot," Urbieta said.

Jon Erasun has had the opportunity to fulfill his dream of being a professional: "Since I was very young I tried to work to be a professional: I was guiding my life towards that, I did training looking there, in school it was not very started and in that I put all my efforts... I've spent five years in professionals. These five years have been good and bad. In some seasons I have played few matches and made many bad matches. But if I had the opportunity again, I would certainly make my debut again. I think for a pelotari it is best to work professionally, to be able to live from there, doing what you like". The little ones in the ball have been given the following message: "As a child, be it a teacher or another, the important thing is to catch the ball and put hours in the pediment. There are no other secrets. Today, to be a figure you need a lot by nature, but whoever takes many hours will surely do something in the ball. I would tell the little ones that if they like the ball they go on and they have the chance to make their debut. The experience is very good. And if you don't have the opportunity, the ball can be played differently, that not everything is a professional world, and the truth is, it doesn't fix life with professionals." The disease itself continues to play the ball, although it is no longer professional.

Miriam Arrillaga values what the ball gives him: "What unites us is to try other modalities, go to different peoples, meet people... Let's see if we can do it for long years." The ball has given the opportunity to Joxi Lopetegi, the xare player in modalities with greater cross-border force, Eneko Maiz in the ratchet and Iñaki Otaegi in the bounce. They say that in these modalities there is more level and intensity in Iparralde, that people follow more matches, that give more on television ...

The special bounce party comes

"Long, lax, bounce pot are the oldest ball games," Luisa explains. The bounce is a collective sport consisting of five members. Since there are only three rebound teams in the CAPV, Behar Zana's team plays many matches with Iparralde's. It is customary for the parties to start on Sunday morning and end at meal time and then give something to the rivals, so it is common for both teams and judges to eat together.

Another curiosity of this game is that it depends on time, that is, in Euskal Herria you can not play when it rains, so they change appointment depending on time and once the game starts if it rains, it is interrupted and continues at sunset (a few hours later or another day). Depending on time, trainings and matches are held in spring-summer.

The rebound has a great presence in the town of Villabona: the rebound plaza is in front of the city hall and when they train in it it becomes a spectacle for the citizen who circulates in the street during a Thursday. There are seven people on the adult bounce team, "that is, five and two more that are needed to play; a fair team, the situation is not much greater than to maintain. If there are two groups of children, let's see if they give them continuity," says Iñaki Otaegi.

Within the anniversary of Behar Zana, a very special "historic" rebound festival will be held on 25 June, as Lizaso explained: "In 1975 the pelotaris of Villabona formed five teams of rebounds and this year we will take out four teams and today it is not an easy brand: we have done a lot of work to encourage the players who have played before in the bounce, have been training and have heard the sound of the ball in the square." Luisa is also looking forward to that day: "You need to train four teams between pelotaris and former pelotaris from Zana and meet one day will be very special." The youngest to act are about 25 years old and the oldest about 45 years old.

On the poster you can see the time of the matches and the players:

Despite the yearnings of this act of 25 June, during the year the members of the Behar Zana association have not been standing, and to commemorate the 75th anniversary they have carried out various activities: for example, eating verdel in the town square while playing the game clean and the ball by hand; the bertsolaris ball Mikel Goñi, Oinatz Bengoetxea, Jon Solaris

Didactic unit and colonies

This year the special events of anniversaries have fulfilled the project of Behar Zana, but the association already has a lot of movement: daily training, championships (memorial Antton Pebet, championships of Santio, quick championships of women...), children's meetings and lots of games, in addition to a didactic unit to work the ball culturally: sports material that was given to your schools: clean games and plastic baskets. And all the local schools use the material and the didactic unit. According to author Lizaso, "there are already teaching units on the ball, such as that of Ikas Pilota, and they are a treasure. We have looked at our people. First, the Education curriculum says that in gymnastics classes you have to work the Basque ball. From there, the ball is combined in this didactic unit with the different areas of the school: in the gymnastics class, ball games are performed, many of them cooperative; the history of the ball of Villabona is explained in a simple way; works together with the language to the famous historical pelotaris of the town (such as Besamotza), for example, the students will know them by means of workshop descriptions; in the square ".

Another special initiative organised by Behar Zana is the ball camps. This July, for the second consecutive year, boys and girls will meet every morning in the pediment with the help of monitors and monitors to practice different types of ball and games. It offers the opportunity to enjoy knowing the ball lovers of other peoples.