New modalities, new materials and record of participants.
BRAND Source: FERNANDO M. CARREÑO
The World Championship that will take place in Biarritz from October 23 to 29 will have a special meaning for pelota , one of the oldest and most classic sports. For many reasons it will be a World Cup for renewal, for a leap forward into the future . Several records are broken: for nations (34), for continents (there will be representation from all five). There will be 360 athletes, 30 referees and also 360 matches, all of which will be broadcast, in addition, new modalities and many visual changes.
Xavier Cazaubon , president of the International Ball Federation , details the figures with satisfaction and points out that ball is working in line with the 2020 Agenda of the International Olympic Committee , to which they add a '2020+5'. Work has been done for territorial consolidation in areas such as Latin America - the ball has been present in the Pan American, Central American and Bolivarian Games - and for expansion in the Mediterranean area, Asia and Africa (China, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa will be, among others, among the debuting countries in this World Cup).
In addition, this World Cup will be the launch on a large scale of an 'urban' type of ball, Frontball , which is played on a court 8 meters wide by 10 meters high, with a single four-meter wall, on the line from other ' urban ' sports such as 3×3 basketball. It will also be the protagonist of a video game developed by Playstation and can fulfill social functions such as, in addition to the extension of sports practice, the rehabilitation of spaces.
The Biarritz World Cup will also see changes in the players' traditional clothing ; the use of 'advanced' materials such as carbon fiber in the blades, the debut of the women's point basket and, in terms of television and internet broadcasting, the International Federation has opted for a very careful production in the hands of Mediapro to all the finals, although all the matches will have a live signal. Cazaubon points out that the ball has two great assets: recognition by the IOC and the World Championship , which has been thoroughly worked on.
The intention is, evidently, that the Biarritz World Cup, the second to be held in the Basque-French town - the previous one took place in 1978 - marks a before and after and reinforces the evolution of one of the most classic existing sports. And for the Spanish team , the main objective is to regain first place in the medal table . In the previous event, in Barcelona, a medal was missing and the president of the Spanish Federation, Julián García Angulo, does not want it to happen again.
