- Picigin
Picigin (pronounced "pih-tsih-gheen") is an amateur sport game played on some
beach es inCroatia . It's played with a ball. In Croatia, it's very popular, especially inDalmatia andSplit , where it is played by people of all ages and both sexes.Origin
Its origins are in
Split , a town in Dalmatia, where Picigin evolved from a game ofwater polo , first played in 1908 by a group of Croatian students who brought it fromPrague .They played it on a shallow, sandy beach in Split calledBačvice " [batch-vih-tseh] ". [ [http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=f00651e0-c138-47e7-b522-b7d77322d680&articleId=e8c9646d-fdfe-4b8d-b40b-9fa809b36aa1 Dežulović Boris - Bačvice, God's Fingerprint, Phantom of Freedom (1-2/2004)] ]Description
The game involves several players in a circle passing around a small ball and keeping it in the air and out of the water for as long as possible. As such, the game somewhat resembles
volleyball but it is played with a much smaller ball, the size of a tennis ball. There are usually five players and much running and diving in the shallow water. Picigin is a non-competitive sport: there are no opposing sides, no points, neither winners nor losers.It's a relaxing game where players start slowly and speed up when they want to. In the heat of the game, players are forced to run fast through the water and make acrobatic manoeuvres to keep the ball in play. Players don't catch the ball, they bounce it around with the palm of the hand (using both hands is desirable).Rules
Since picigin is an amateur sport, there are no strict or formal rules, but it's played according to tradition, with little variation.
Players
There are 5 players in the game. Two of them are called "sidruni" (sidro = anchor, they are called so because they don't move from their places) and the other three are runners ("trkaći"). The groups are often mixed both by gender and age.
Terrain
Picigin must be played on a sandy beach in shallow water. The beach must be sandy because otherwise players could easily get hurt. It's best if the water is ankle-deep, because of mobility and also to soften falls, which are common because there's a lot of jumping around trying to reach the ball.
Ball
The traditional ball, called "balun" (otherwhise a dialectic name for a ball, but this name is strictly used, especially by expert players) in picigin is actually a peeled tennis ball, polished off a few milimetres. This kind of ball is best suited for bouncing. It's smooth and lighter than a normal tennis ball.
Tradition
The most fanatical players believe it to be impossible to play picigin anywhere but on the sandy beach
Bačvice in the historic city centre ofSplit ,Croatia . There is also a widely distributed belief that the only proper garment to wear while playing Picigin is a tight speedo, "mudantine" (roughly translated "ball-sack") in Croatian.Picigin is played onBačvice year round and, in summerm also often at night (reflectors can be used in the dark), and there is also a tradition of playing picigin onNew Year's Day , regardless of weather conditions, and when the sea temperature is rarely above 10 °C.Some of the best known players from Split are writer Đermano SenjanovićFact|date=February 2007, music professor Josip VeršićFact|date=February 2007, Vili Jakovčević,Fact|date=February 2007 theatre criticAnatolij Kudrjavcev Fact|date=February 2007 and retired shipyard worker Roko VrandečićFact|date=February 2007.Events
Since 2005, the "world championship" in picigin ("prvenstvo svita u piciginu") is held every year. Until 2008, players were given a task to do certain jumps, but from 2008, the winner is selected according to the artistic impression of a whole group. In June 2008, picigin was pronounced a
Croatia n unmaterial cultural good, for a period of three years, and it is planned to get a permanent protection after that. [ [http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/split-odrzano-prvenstvo-u-piciginu-pobijedila-ekupa-suncanica.html An article in Croatian about picigin] ]References
External links
* [http://www.picigin.org Picigin site]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Sejz9woK8 Bačvice, Split]
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