Balon

Pallapugno
Otherwise called "pallapugno", it's a Piedmontese and Ligurian two team ball sport on a plain court, with a bouncing vertical element on a side which can be a tall wall or fence.

How does it work

The teams aim to hit the ball only with their fist or forearm to score more points, even letting the ball bounce on the side wall.

The court measures 90m in longness and 16 or 18 in largeness.

The teams are composed of 4 people, they all use to bandage their wrists because of the weight and the speed of the ball.

During the serve the beater must let the ball fall from his hand and hit it from the bottom before it touches the ground, he has a square he cannot overpass and he can take a running start.

The halfway line has to be respected only during the serve and until the ball touches the ground, then the players are free to move all around the whole court.

Points

Points are calculated like tennis: 15, 30, 40 and game, if both teams stands to 40, they have to score two points in a row to win the game. The teams who wins 11 games wins the match.

Points can be scored:

  • if the ball overpass the endline (called intra)
  • if the other team commits a foul
    • if the server steps on the line of the square
    • if the ball, after a serve: touches the ground before the halfway line, leaves from the sides or it's hit by a server teammate before the first rebound.
    • if the ball is touched by two players of the same team
    • if the ball is hit with unallowed parts
  • if a caccia is won
Caccia

Caccia comes when caccia is blocked or it leaves from the sides (not after the serve).
The referee marks a caccia on the ground, then the teams switch side and the team who serves, has to make sure the ball is blocked beyond the caccia line, to win a point.

Caccias are played according to how many points the winning team misses to reach the game.

History

Balon is first mentioned in 1555 in an essay about the game.

It has been played for centuries by South Piedmontese and West Ligurian farmers; even if in 19th and 20th century the attention to balon decreased significally, it's still played by roughly 100 teams.

The sport is mentioned by writers Fenoglio, Arpino, Pavese, Piccinelli and De Amicis.

Balon spread for a period even in California, where during the '50s, matches were played by Italian emigrants.

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