rules to play jai alai

After a Winner has been declared official, place, show, and fourth positions shall be decided among the three players or teams, with the same number of points, through elimination, according to ROTATING POSITION. However, if after playing the first play off point, any player or team score reaches the number of points that the game calls for, said player or team shall immediately be awarded the place, show, or fourth position, as the case may be, and any remaining players or teams shall forfeit the right to play for said position.

After a Winner has been declared official and there remain four or six players or teams, tied for place, show, or fourth, or all three, play off shall be through elimination according to their ROTATING POSITION. The first two players or teams will play the first point. The next two players or teams will play for one point, and the remaining (in case of 6) players or teams will also play for one point. Winners of above points will play additional points to decide place, show or fourth positions as the case may require. In games where a Fourth position is required and no Place, Show, or Fourth position has been determined and there remains four ties, the losing players or teams of the elimination playoff return and play a final point to determine fourth. If at any time during a play off, a player or team reaches the designated number of points the game calls for, said player, or team, shall immediately be awarded the place, show or fourth position, as the case may be, and the remaining players or teams shall forfeit the right to play for said position.

Jai alai is a popular sport within the Latin American countries, and the Philippines owing to its Hispanic influence. It was one of the two gambling sports from Europe, the other being horse racing, in semi colonial Chinese cities of Shanghai and Tianjin, and was shut down after communist victory there. The jai alai arena in Tianjin's former Italian Concession was then confiscated and turned into a recreation center for the city's working class.

A jai alai game is played in round robin format, usually between eight teams of two players each or eight single players. The first team to score 7 or 9 points wins the game. Two of the eight teams are in the court for each point. The server on one team must bounce the ball behind the serving line, then with the cesta basket hurl it towards the front wall so it bounces from there to between lines 4 and 7 on the floor. The ball is then in play. The ball used in jai alai consists of metal strands tightly wound together and then wrapped in goat skin. Teams alternate catching the ball in their cesta and throwing it in one fluid motion without holding or juggling it.

The Jai Alai playing courts size differs from one fronton to another. The standard size is 180 feet long, 50 feet wide and 50 feet high. The frontis (front wall) is 40 feet wide and 40 feet high. The wall is painted in two colors green and red. The red part goes from the floor to 3 feet high. The green area is the place where a served ball is supposed to hit. If a ball strikes a red part its declared out of bounds. The frontis wall is built from granite covered be cement. The side wall and the back wall (rebote) are made from cement. The side wall has painted vertical lines corresponding to the horizontal lines on the floor. These vertical lines serve only one purpose of letting the players know their relevant to frontis or rebote positions. Jai Alai rules require that a player must serve the ball from a court area between 10th and 12th lines. According to the rules, the ball is supposed to land after the first bounce off the frontis in the part of the floor between 4th and 7th lines. If a ball hits the floor before the 4th line its called underserve and, by the rules, one point is deducted. If a ball bounces beyond the 7th line its called overserve and, again, one point must be deducted. There is a wooden part of the court about 15 feet long on the right side, which is the closest to the public. Its called contracancha. According to Jai Alai rules, the ball cant land on contracancha after the first bounce off the frontis. Otherwise, this ball is out of bounds. A two wall serve (a carom), when a ball first hits a side wall and after that frontis is also against Jai Alai rules.

There are three judges supervising Jai Alai match: a frontcourt judge, a backcourt judge and a center court judge. They sit at the side of the court. The main judge who is a center court judge is positioned at the 7th line. The front court judge is situated opposite to lane 4 and backcourt judge is at lane 11. If during the game one or more rules of the game are violated one or more judges can stop the game and make an appropriate call. In case of a questionable call a center court judge has an authority to make a final call. However if both frontcourt and backcourt judges disagree with the decision of the main judge they can overrule his decision. Jai Alai judges must carry protection against flying balls. The public is protected from the flying balls by the wire net along the side of the court. The players waiting their turn must sit in the protected area close to the back wall.

There are few rules that control the action during the game. According to the rules the ball must be always in motion. There should not be more than a split second before the ball is caught and returned. If that time is too long the rules reward an opposing team with a point. The ball must be caught on the fly or it can bounce only once. The ball can hit the green part of the frontis, side wall, rebote or a concrete part of the floor. By the rules it will be a foul if a ball will touch a red part of the wall, the wire net, the audience screen or a players clothing. In case of a foul an opposite team or a player is rewarded by a point. Jai Alai rules prohibit interference by a player, when, for ex. he is blocking another player preventing him from catching a ball. If that happens the point is replayed. However, if a judge decides that interference was not enough to influence a play, the action continues without interruption.

The rules require five pieces of equipment: pelota (the ball); a cesta (the sling); a players uniform; a T shirt and a helmet. A pelota which is the games ball is made from Brazils rubber. It is harder than a baseball and faster than a golf ball. The pelotas can reach the speeds up to 150 miles per hour and that makes them the fastest flying balls in the world. A cesta is a sling in the form of a crescent shaped basket. It is made from the reeds woven over a wooden frame. Jai Alai players use it to give pelota a maximum speed. A cesta has a guante (a glove) sewn to it. A player inserts his hand inside guante to move a cesta. Backcourt players usually use longer cestas for faster speed. Frontcourt players use shorter cestas for better landing accuracy, higher spin and sharper angles. The players uniform includes white pants, red sash around the waist and colored T shirts. If there are 8 players or teams in the match, there must be 8 different colors for T shirts. The front of the T shirt must show the number of the team, which is the same as the post position. The back of the T shirt displays the number of an individual Jai Alai player. The players (pelotaris) have to wear the protective helmets, which are mandatory. The helmets are made from the hard and durable plastic and filled inside with the thick foam liner.

These rules describe the situations when the fouls happen. The foul is committed when: 1) The ball strikes the screen, the wood part of the floor or any other indicated foul area.
2) The ball strikes an overhead screen.
3) A player catches the ball after the second bounce.
4) A player holds the ball longer than allowed time before returning it.
5) A ball bounces off the frontis and falls before an underserve line or beyond an overserve line.
6) A served ball hits a side wall before the front wall (a frontis).
7) A ball hits fault, underserve, overserve and pass lines.
8) A ball hits a cloth of a Jai Alai player.
9) A Jai Alai player fails to catch the ball.
10) A Jai Alai player fails to catch the ball after the first bounce and before the second bounce.

These rules cover the certain aspects of the game the players duties and conduct.
1) When a game is started, it can not be stopped until win, place and show positions have been officially established.
2) When a game is started the post positions one and two must appear on the court to start the action. Post position one will serve the first ball.
3) If a ball becomes defective during the game, a server should select another ball.
4) If a server does not complete the serve or the ball touches his or his partner cloth, the point is rewarded to an opponent.
5) A served ball must strike first a front wall.
6) Only one serve is allowed for each point.
7) In case of a tie after a win position has been officially declared, its not necessary for the rest of the players or teams to score the full games number of points. When there still remains 5 or 7 players or teams, the play off for place and show positions will be for a goal of one point less than the number of post positions still in the game. 8) Official Jai Alai games are classified into 5 categories: elimination singles, elimination doubles, American elimination, Spectacular seven, doubles and triples match games. 9) In the elimination singles and doubles games the number of points necessary for a win position equals the number of post positions minus one. For ex. if there are 8 teams or players in the match, the goal is to score 7 points to win the match. 10) The players' t shirts must be colored according to their post positions: No.1 Red color; No.2 Blue; No.3 White; No.4 Green; No.5 Black; No.6 Yellow; No.7 Brown; No.8 Purple. 11) All Jai Alai players must show up on the court and practice before the start of the match. 12) The players should take the positions off the court before the start of the game according to their post positions. 13) The player who is serving the ball has the right to choose the ball. The receiver can only reject it if the ball is damaged. 14) Jai Alai players are requited to give their best effort during the game. If a judge comes to an opinion that a player performs below his abilities, the judge can suspend and fine a player. 15) If a Jai Alai player is suspended at one fronton, that suspension is valid in all other frontons in the same gaming jurisdiction.