Bolo palma
Bolo palmais a variant ofbowlsthat originated in and is played throughout the region ofCantabria,north ofSpain.The basic aim of the game is to knock over as many pins as possible with a wooden ball. Records of the game go back as far as the 16th century.[1]The game was also spread to neighbouring areas of easternAsturiasand northernPalencia.Cantabrianemigration also took the practice of the sport elsewhere in Spain, to places such as theBasque Country,Madrid,CataloniaandAndalusiaand even to other countries likeMexico,Argentina,ChileandVenezuela.[1]
The set-up
[edit]The playing field orbolerais between 30–34 m long and 8 m wide and roughly split into three areas, thezona de tiro(launch zone), the middle area orcajaorzona de bolos(pin zone) and thezona de birle(snatching zone).[1]The ball itself is spherical, about 12–18 cm in diameter and made ofoak,sometimes with aleadcentre to make the ball heavier. It usually weighs between 1.5-2.3 kg.[1]
The first section is thezona de tiro,the rectangular launching zone 8 m wide and 20 m long from where the players launch the ball. There are circles on the ground calledtiros,which mark different foot positions for the players.[1]
Thecajastraddles thezona de tiroand thezona de birleat the far end. It also has a borderline to its front calledfleje.Here, there are 9 woodenbolos(pins), made out ofbirchorhazel,with a metal base (argollaoranilla), about 45 cm tall and 5 cm diameter, weighing between 550-630 g. These are placed on pegs in a 3x3 square exactly straddling bothzonas.There is also a tenth pin calledemboqueorcachiwhich is smaller and off to one side.[1]
The third section is thezona de birle,a 12m long area where the second phase of the game is played.[1]
The game
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Every game consists of two phases:
- Tiro:the shot, where the player launches the ball from the launching area.
- Birle:the second shot where the player is allowed to launch the ball again from the position it landed in thetiro.
In the first phase, the player stands on thetiro,at least 12m and at most 20m away from the nearest pin depending on the distance selected. The player then launches the ball upwards into the air, employing a number of different techniques depending on whether theemboqueis to the left or the right of thecaja.
Any pin knocked over is worth one point but if only the central pin is knocked over, two points are won. After having thrown three balls, the player passes over to thezona de birle.They are then allowed to bowl the three balls again from where they fell in the first throw, a move calledbirlar.If a ball comes to rest very close to two pins, a special move calledsegaris made in which the player knocks over the close pins while aiming for others.
Abola quedais a bad ball that cannot be rethrown. The most common causes of a bad ball is a ball that touches the ground before crossing thefleje,a ball that lands on thefleje,when the ball does not cross the line of theemboqueand when the ball first touches the ground to the right or left of thecaja
There are a number of ways in which this game can be won, either by reaching an agreed number of knocked over pins (usually between 20 and 40), by throwing eight balls and meeting a variety of challenges and so on.
References
[edit]Further reading
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