Jai-alai Equipment

By Dania Jai-Alai

CASCO:  Spanish for "helmet".  Until 1967, players went without helmets or, in Spain and France, wore the traditional berets.

CESTA:  Spanish for "basket". It is the curved throwing and catching instrument in jai-alai. It is hand-woven and tailored for each player, depending on his position and physical size.  The cesta is made of Spanish chestnut and reeds imported from the Pyrenees Mountains. A leather glove is sewn to the outside for the player's hand. The width of the cesta is only 3¼ to 3½ inches which leaves only ½ of an inch margin for error on each side of the ball which measures 2 1/2" in diameter.

CINTA:  The string used to tie the cesta to the player's right hand.

COSTILLAS:  Name for the ribs of the cesta that make the form that is woven by cestero (cesta repairman) to make a finished cesta.

FAJA;  The fringed, red sash worn as part of the standard uniform of white shoes and trousers and the colored and numbered shirts indicating post positions.

PELOTA:  Spanish for "ball". It is handmade of virgin rubber, layered with nylon thread and two goatskin covers. Slightly smaller than a baseball and livelier than a golf ball, the pelota weighs about 4½ ounces. The jai-alai ball speed has been clocked in play at more than 185 miles per hour and can shatter bulletproof glass.

Copyright 1998-2007 Dania Jai-Alai Division of The Aragon Group, Inc. and Summersport Enterprises, Ltd.