Editing Jai alai (section)

== Rules and customs ==
[[Image:Chistéra.jpg|thumb|right|265x265px|Long ''xistera'']]

The [[Game court|court]] for jai alai consists of walls on the front, back and left, and the floor between them. If the ball (called a ''pelota'' in [[Spanish (language)|Spanish]], ''pilota'' in [[Standard Basque]]) touches the [[floor]] outside these walls, it is considered out of bounds. Similarly, there is also a border on the lower {{convert|3|ft|m|sigfig=1}} of the front wall that is also out of bounds. The ceiling on the court is usually very high, so the ball has a more predictable path. The court is divided by 14 parallel lines going horizontally across the court, with line 1 closest to the front wall and line 14 the back wall. In doubles, each team consists of a frontcourt player and a backcourt player. The game begins when the frontcourt player of the first team serves the ball to the second team. The winner of each point stays on the court to meet the next team in rotation. Losers go to the end of the line to await another turn on the court. The first team to score 7 points (or 9 in Superfecta games) wins. The next highest scores are awarded "place" (second) and "show" (third) positions, respectively. Playoffs decide tied scores.

The most common American version of the game of jai alai game is played in [[Round-robin tournament|round robin]] format, usually between eight teams of two players each or eight single players, although in rare instances the teams may consist of three players each or triples. 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 strikes the front wall first and if it is not caught by the other team before it bounces, must
bounce between lines 4 and 7 on the floor. The ball is then in play. The ball used in jai alai is hand crafted and consists of wound virgin rubber strands tightly wound together and then wrapped in 2 layers of goat skin. Once the ball is in play, the other team  must catch and return it before it bounces twice. The process of catching and throwing must be completed in one fluid motion with no "juggling" or "holding" of the ball. The ball may be caught either on the fly or after bouncing once on the floor but cannot bounce twice. A team scores a point if an opposing player:

* fails to serve the ball directly to the front wall so that upon rebound it will bounce between lines No. 4 and 7. If it does not, it is an under or over serve and the other team will receive the point.
* fails to catch the ball on the fly or after one bounce
* holds or juggles the ball
* hurls the ball out of bounds
* interferes with a player attempting to catch and hurl the ball. These interference plays are called at the judges' discretion and most times, the point is replayed.
[[File:Guernica - Frontón Jai Alai.jpg|thumb|Guernica Fronton, Basque Country, Spain]]The team scoring a point remains in the court and the opposing team rotates off the court to the end of the list of opponents. Points usually double after the first round of play, once each team has played at least one point. When a game is played with points doubling after the first round, this is called "Spectacular Seven" or "Spectacular Nine" scoring if the games are played to nine points.

The players frequently attempt a "chula" shot, where the ball is played off the front wall then reaches the bottom of the back wall by the end of its arc. The "chula" is when the ball rebounds low off the back wall with very little to no bounce, almost rolling along
the floor.

Since there is no wall on the right side, all jai alai players must play right-handed (wear the cesta on their right hand), as the spin of a left-handed throw would give a tremendous advantage to the left handed player due to the incredible amount of spin.

The [[Basque government]] promotes ''jai alai'' as "the fastest sport in the world" because of the speed of the ball. The sport once held the world record for ball speed with a 125–140&nbsp;g ball covered with [[goatskin (material)|goatskin]] that traveled at {{convert|302|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, performed by José Ramón Areitio at the [[Newport, Rhode Island]] Jai Alai, until it was broken by Canadian five-time [[long drive]] champion [[Jason Zuback]] on a 2007 episode of ''[[Sport Science (TV program)|Sport Science]]'' with a golf ball speed of {{convert|328|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ito3BSO-St8  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Ito3BSO-St8 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=FSN Sport Science - Episode 7 - Myths - Jason Zuback |work=[[Sport Science (TV program)|Sport Science]] |date=December 2007 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2009-07-27}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The sport can be dangerous, due to the ball's at high velocities. It has led to injuries that caused players to retire and fatalities have been recorded in some cases.<ref>{{Cite book
  | last = Steven
  | first = Skiena
  | author-link = Steven Skiena
  | title = Calculated Bets
  | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
  | location = United States of America
  | year = 2001
  | page = 24
  | quote = Since the 1920s at least four players have been killed by an jai alai ball...
  | isbn = 0-521-00962-6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/11/19/the-return-of-jai-alai/|title=The History and Return of Jai Alai - The Art of Manliness|date=19 November 2009|access-date=1 May 2018}}</ref>