Basque pelota close to currently rare specialty of "rebot". The mid-19th century saw the explosion of the "pelota craze". The player "Gantxiki" is considered the original "father" of the chistera, the basket-shaped racquet which can propel the ball at incredible speeds, introduced around 1850. The top champions of the end of the 19th century, such as "Chiquito de Cambo", were immensely popular and the best-paid sportsmen of their time. The first official competitions were organized in the 1920s, and led to the world championship in the 1950s. In 1924 the United States built their first fronton, in Miami. Jai- Alai is used
Basque Pelota World Championships the Plaza Libre in the editions of 1952 and 1958. Until the edition of 1990 no women's categories were disputed in the championships. A single women's discipline was added in 1990 (Paleta goma - Trinquete), then another one in 1994 (Frontenis), and finally a third one in 2014 (Paleta goma - Fronton 30 m) bringing the total number of disputed categories to fifteen. List of hosts by number of championships hosted. Basque Pelota World Championships The Basque Pelota World Championships is a quadrennial tournament first organized in 1952 by the International Federation of Basque Pelota. The modern championships crowns the