While the Basque pelota world championships in Biarritz begin in a month, from October 23 to 29, Xavier Cazaubon, president of the International Federation (FIPV) talks “a resolutely modern sporting competition.” 630 athletes, 360 games, five continents on the canchas of Biarritz, Bayonne, Bidart and Hasparren. A discipline which strong of its roots and its history in the Basque Countrytends to develop towards other continents. “The future of pelota depends on it.”
This World of pelota marks the arrival of frontball, carbon fiber palas, women’s cesta punta and Bermuda shorts. Were all these changes really necessary?
Change for the sake of change would make very little sense. The certainties we can have today are fragile. Society constantly exposes us to comparison and today people believe less in the future. So we had to bring a new touch to our ball. To return to our land of welcome, of course, to the original land, of course, but the preservation of the ashes, above all not. Continue to light the fire, certainly. For continue to demonstrate that Basque pelota is a sport. Here, people talk to me about the art of living, tradition, people talk to me about customs, people also talk to me about DNA… It’s a sport. When you cross the Atlantic, pelota is considered a sport. We are at the Pan American Games, we are at the Central American Caribbean Games, we are at the South American Games. We are working on Mexico’s 2036 bid for the Olympic Games so that the pelota is present.
34 participating countries, five continents. But if we remove the frontball, there are only two continents and about fifteen countries…
You have to do the flag when you are an international federation president. I remember what the president of the International Swimming Federation told me: I have 140 countries, only 20% of them train in Olympic swimming pools. The rest, they train in pools, either hotel or private pools. Today, we must demonstrate that our sport is vigorous. We have two, (no more), two assets in an international federation. The recognition of the International Olympic Committee which obliges us to follow the plan of President Thomas Bach (plan 20-20 or plan 20-20 + 5). And the second is the world championships. What we want is continue to push the pelota into new territories. When you talk about frontball, I don’t see how it bothers it to be in Cambodia, Japan, China, the Palestinian Territories or South Africa. The ball has never set foot there. We are going precisely, thanks to this and following the plan of President Thomas Bach, to ensure that we have a low-cost sport, an urban sport, a sport aimed at young people.
For the cesta, only a few countries are able to field players…
Why wait ? We waited a long time. You know, the first woman to parade was Monique Dieudonné in 1978. The federation was created in 1929. Handisport arrived this year while the first world championship was in 1952. It arrived 70 years later. The female cesta punta arrives 70 years later. The women entered the Basque pelota simply in 1990 as a demonstration sport at the world championships in Cuba. No, we had to go there one day, so we chose Biarritz. It is the same as for the carbon palas. I was told all the time that it was impossible to do. Today, I’m sure that 80% of players play with carbon palates. The pelota should not remain stuck on its achievements in a plural and multi-cultural society. It is a reflection ball of this society which will come to Biarritz.
And at the same time, you are going to propose a complete overhaul of the world championship?
Because, as we are with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and with Panam Sports which is its branch for the Americas, the American branch asks the national federations on the continent of the Americas (41 countries), to hold Pan American championships, specific . So, there will be two blocks. There will be the Pan-American bloc, the European bloc. I hope there will soon be the African bloc. But look: when you do a competition that is Pan American or Central American, you are obliged to follow the rules of the IOC. Personally, I prefer the IOC to Unesco. Why wouldn’t we be able to make this evolution. Three-a-side basketball and seven-a-side rugby are indeed Olympic sports. I ask you the question, is Brazil a country of rugby?