Pelayo trinquet facts for kids
The Pelayo trinquet (pronounced: tree-ket de Pe-lie-oh) is a very famous court for a sport called Valencian pilota. It's located in Valencia, Spain. Many important matches, like the finals of the Escala i corda competitions (such as the Circuit Bancaixa), are played here.
History of the Pelayo Trinquet
On August 20, 1868, a brand new trinquet court opened its doors. It was built right next to the Estació del Nord railway station, on a street called Pelayo. That's how it got its name, the Pelayo trinquet!
Since that day, it has always been used as a Valencian Pilota court. It has hardly ever closed. During the Spanish Civil War, the Pelayo trinquet was managed by a group of workers.
The current owners, the Tuzón family, bought the trinquet in 1976. They worked hard to make it look as great as it does today.
Inside the Courtfield
Today, the Pelayo trinquet is part of a restaurant and bar. To get to the court, people walk from the restaurant into a covered outdoor area. From there, they enter the trinquet through a door near the llotgeta corner.
The Pelayo trinquet is a long court, just like all Valencian Pilota courts. It is about 58.5 meters (192 feet) long, 11 meters (36 feet) wide, and 3 meters (10 feet) high. It's actually one of the widest trinquets around. This can be a fun challenge for players who are used to smaller courts! The court has bright lights and an electronic scoreboard on the wall.
The Pelayo trinquet has four special viewing areas called galleries. There are two on the main end walls (called dau and rest). There are also two more galleries above the side walls. The llotgeta is a wide area where people can watch. It's a bit raised up. There's no solid wall to protect watchers, only a net to catch high balls. Another area, the authority llotgeta, is above it. This makes it harder for players to hit the ball into the lower llotgeta.
On the dau wall, near the llotgeta, there's a wooden door that leads to the outdoor area. This door is usually open. This lets some people watch the game from outside. It also becomes another target for players! They try to hit the ball there to make it bounce in tricky ways for their opponents. When the door is closed, the ball can bounce off the wood in very surprising directions.
Also, on the ground of the dau and rest walls, there's a special sloped part called a "tamborí". It's angled at 45 degrees. This "tamborí" makes low balls bounce up quickly and unexpectedly.
When the trinquet first opened, the ground was just gravel. Later, until the 1920s, it was covered with tiles. Finally, in 1976, a roof was built over the court. This made it an indoor court.
Before the roof was built, and even for a short time after (because of holes in the fences), balls would sometimes fly out of the trinquet. The special vaqueta balls used in the game were very expensive. So, whenever a ball flew out, someone (usually a boy) had to go find it. To do this, they could go into the neighbors' backyards. In return, the neighbors got free tickets to watch the matches!
Honor Gallery
Above the dau wall, there are five large pictures. These pictures show players who became true heroes and legends at this trinquet. They are famous not just here, but in the entire sport! The Pelayo trinquet has been open for over 100 years. Hundreds of players have played here. So, having only five pictures means these players were chosen very carefully.
From left to right, the honored players are:
- José Vicente Riera Calatayud, known as El Nel de Murla
- Alberto Arnal, known as Quart
- Julio Palau Lozano, known as Juliet d'Alginet
- Antonio Reig, known as Rovellet
- Paco Cabanes Pastor, known as Genovés I
See also
In Spanish: Trinquete de Pelayo para niños
