In Asturias, the category of sport is given to those everyday jobs in the rural world that have been reoriented under a good dose of rivalry and competitivenessTo emerge victorious, mastery of technique is not enough; brute strength and great physical endurance are required. These are trials only within reach of strong men, hardened by the toughest labors in the fields and forests.
Throughout the Asturian geography it is not difficult to witness some of these exhibitions in which different teams representing their municipalities or localities are measured. In this way, in addition to encouraging the piquilla, indigenous sport creates community awareness among parishes.
During the games, the Olympic spirit reigns supreme; the joy of effort and the educational value of setting a good example are paramount. The events are fast-paced, requiring intense concentration and precision. As in the cut with ax or with tronzónThe latter consists of making wood chips with eight logs, splitting each one into four parts and then stacking each piece in a small tower in the shortest possible time.
There is also the spectacular version of short in heightThe climber ascends a vertical log, making small cuts where wooden wedges are placed, upon which the lumberjack stands, until reaching the top, about four or five meters high, where the cut is made in a surprising exercise that combines strength and balance.
Asturian sport competitions
The milk race it is another test that is not usually missing. In it imitates the resistance of the farmers who formerly loaded with the milkmaids of 35 liters. Nowadays, in the competitions, the milkmaids have been replaced by solid iron cylinders with handles of approximately that weight. The test is to travel with them as far as possible in a given time without supporting them on the ground. Sometimes the weight of the milkmaids is greater than that of the participants: an extremely hard test.
Rope Tiru: two teams between 6 and 8 players each hold tightly to a rope. In it three tapes have been placed. The one in the middle indicates half of the string, and at the beginning it has to coincide with a mark on the ground. The winning team will be the one that passes the ribbon closest to the other team by the mark of the ground.
Tiru al palu, consists in pulling a stick placing the two contracted sitting on the ground facing each other and with the soles of the feet propped up on a board. Win the shooter who manages to put the opponent on his feet.
Anvil lifting, consisting of lifting an anvil of 18 kilograms of weight, striking down on a platform placed at 20 centimeters from the ground and up on a sheet placed at 30 centimeters above the head. A certain number of elevations can be made in the shortest possible time or in a determined time the greater number of elevations.
Carrera madreñes: rural sport that consists of completing a route until reaching the running goal; with the particularity of the footwear that employs the sportsman: madreñes, icon of Asturian rurality.
Cucaña: a game of locomotion in which the skill in climbing is tested. The game consists of climbing up the trunk to the dome itself, which is decorated with festive motifs among which hang the prizes. These awards vary according to local custom. Liquor bottles, hams, sausages or cash. The athlete's climbing is difficult due to the sliding substances that, in most cases, are applied to the surface of the trunk, such as soap or sebum.
In these sport shows, there is usually no lack of one of the agricultural activities par excellence in Asturias, at least the most important of the summer in terms of intensity and number of participants: the collection of the grass. A laborious work that includes the technique of sharpening the scythe, the mowing itself and the handling of the heavy bales.
There is no shortage of modalities in which animals play a fundamental role. Horses, for example, are the protagonists of tests such as tape races, weight drag and dressage in the case of the asturcones. The gües (oxen) are also protagonists of the weight drag tests.
Among this review of the most autochthonous sports specialties, you can not miss the bowling, in its different modalities: cuatreada, bateiente, palma (or birle), celta (or Tineo), etc.
Information:
In 1991, the rural sports team "Seis Conceyos" was founded with the aim of reviving a series of disciplines that were on the verge of disappearing. This date marks the beginning of rural sports as a competition held in the squares of towns, villages, and cities throughout Asturias. This popularity was confirmed in 2000, when the Federation of Traditional Sports of Asturias.
Currently this institution safeguards the essence of the sport by organizing competitions, registering federated athletes and promoting the virtues of this sport among the youngest. It is also responsible for marking and outlining the rules of the game and the Asturian specialties. The Principality presumes to safeguard a sport modality that in Spain the Basques and in the world the New Zealanders lead.
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
