Category Archives: Sports

Basque Fact of the Week: Lucas Eguibar Bretón, Snowboard Cross World Champion

When you think of the Basque Country and sports, images of pelota, rowing, or stone lifting come to mind. And of course soccer, no matter who you root for. However, while the Basque Country certainly gets snow, it isn’t known for winter sports. However, that might start changing with the incredible performances of Lucas “Luki” […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Trainera Rowing Regattas, or Estropadak

As one might suspect for a people so intimately connected to the sea, the Basques have a special relationship with the ocean. From a long history of fishing and whaling, to exploring distant lands, the Basques have taken to the seas like literal fish to water. Combined with a competitive spirit, it was only natural […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Jon Rahm, Number 1 Golfer in the World

On Sunday, July 19, 2020, Jon Rahm won the Memorial Tournament, founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus and held every year in Dublin, Ohio. The win catapulted Rahm to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his young career. Rahm was born in the Basque Country and is the […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Handball

If you go to any town in the Basque Country, you will find a plaza surrounded by a church, a bar, and a fronton. The fronton, and pelota, are a cornerstone of Basque society. Perhaps one of the most famous exports of the Basque Country is jai alai, the fastest ball game played in the […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Félix Erausquin, a Champion Thrower

Basques like to lift and carry heavy things. Basques like to cut up logs. Basques like to pull on ropes. And some Basques like to throw things. Perhaps the best thrower of things in Basque history was Félix Erausquin Erausquin. Born in Zeanuri, Bizkaia in 1907, Erausquin was one of the most decorated athletes of […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Basque Ultra-running

One of the biggest features at any Basque festival, at least in the United States, is the sporting demonstration, the herri kirolak or rural sports. Events often include weight carries, tug-of-wars, and wood chopping. These are all inspired by the activities one might encounter on the family baserri, the work that kept the family farm […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Iñaki Williams, Athletic Bilbao Striker

Athletic Bilbao is one of the most tradition-heavy soccer teams in the main Spanish league La Liga. Founded in 1898, they have won the league championship eight times, fourth most in league history, and won the Copa del Rey 23 times, second most behind only Barcelona. They are unique in their player philosophy, only hiring […]

Basque Fact of the Week: Basque Stone Lifters

Anyone who has been to a Basque festival will recognize the rural theme of many Basque sports. Based on activities that would have occurred at the baserri, or farm house, Basque rural sports include wood chopping and sawing, bale lifting, and weight carrying. In fact, the Basque Government has identified 18 of these events in […]

Orbea, the Basque bike company

Our daughter is growing up fast and it was time to upgrade her bike. We stopped at the local bike shop (Sirius Cycles, owned by this great guy from Panama who is one of the few people I have met that has known a Blas…) They are a small shop, but with a lot of […]

Making Dreams Come True: An Interview with Argia Beristain

I’ve known Argia Beristain for about 20 years now, having first met her during our joint activities in the Seattle Euskal Etxea. She has since moved back and forth between the two coasts of the United States and has been extremely active in promoting Basque culture, culminating in the Basque Soccer Friendly that was held […]