Traditional Basque sports
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In the Basque Country, most of our sports have evolved from the works on the fields. This is quite known outside of Euskadi. Many of our visitors have heard already about our rock lifters (harrijasotzaile) or woodchoppers (aizkolaris) as the charismatic Iñaki Perurena or Joxe Mari Olasagasti. But there are many other modalities, as harvesting or drilling. There are almost fifty traditional Basque sports.
And work became sport
But how did we go from working to sports? Well, probably our ancestors started betting during the long working days, to make a profit, pass time or test themselves. With the passing of time this activities started to distance themselves from the work on the fields until becoming the sports that we know nowadays, with their own federations and all!
A living tradition
If you want to enjoy the basque sports you will have to go to our traditional festivities. Or to some of the museums we have dedicated to them, like the one Perurena has created in his native Navarre. But if you can’t go there you can always go deep into it by checking this interesting documentary in which some key figures in the basque traditional sports appear.