Now thats what I call a game!

BASQUE RURAL SPORTS

Here are some strongman sports from my family's part of the world.

Orga jokoa (cart game)

It is also called andartza in Basque. In Spanish this is called levantamiento de carro and in French lever de charette.The "oxcart game" is a display of strength. Contestants have to lift the back of an ox cart weighing 360 kg 40 cm above ground. The cart is pivoted to the ground at the front end and competitors must rotate it, trying to go around as many times as possible

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Basque rural sports, known as Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. They are called deporte rural vasco or simply deportes vascos in Spanish and force basque in French.

Virtually all Basque rural sports have their origin in the two main historical occupations, the baserritarra (farmer) and arrantzalea (fisher), with a larger percentage hailing from the rural background. The sociological changes in the Basque Country have led many of these becoming technically obsololete in the 19th and 20th century. Few continue to exist as rural or marine activities connected to everyday life and have become rare but many have managed to transform themselves into popular sports instead, some of which have become extremely popular.

Winners receive a Basque beret (txapela) as a trophy, hence the Basque word for "champion", txapeldun, literally "one who has a beret".

Betting, both by the competitors and the audience, is very common and popular at such sporting events.

Ingude altxatzea (anvil lifting)

In Spanish this is called alzamiento de yunque and in French lever d’enclumeThe lifting of anvils requires competitors to lift an iron anvil or ingude weighing 18 kg 30 cm above the height of their own head as many times as possible in a set time period. The anvil has the shape of an obtuse triangle with a stump at one point or an elongated T and is traditionally used in shoeing horses. Champions manage some 80 lifts in 2 minutes.

Harri zulaketa (hole drilling) 

This tradition goes back to the quarrying activities around the Basque Country, in particular in Biscay. In Spanish it is called barrenadores "drillers" and occasionally barrenatzaileak (drillers, from the Spanish word) in Basque as well.The rock boring competition involves having to punch holes into a rock. Teams of three compete against each other. They take turns in using a long metal pole (called laztabin) to punch and drill a hole into a large rock upon which they are standing, pouring water onto the working area while the third person gets to rest.