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Pato - Movies, Music, Fashion, Sports - Posted: 4th May, 2007 - 1:41pm
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National game of Argentina
Pato
Argentina has a great love for horses, as a matter of fact, Polo is a very popular sport there. Pato is a sport that combines certain elements of Polo and Basketball. Pato is Spanish language for "duck", as early games used a live duck inside a basket instead of the ball.
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| Accounts of early versions of pato have been written since 1610. The playing field would often stretch the distance between neighboring estancias (ranches). The first team to reach its own casco (ranch house) with the duck would be declared the winner. Pato was banned several times during its history due to the violence-not only to the duck; many gauchos were trampled underfoot, and many more lost their lives in knife fights started in the heat of the game. In 1796, a Catholic priest insisted that pato players who die in such a way should be denied Christian burial. Government ordinances forbidding the practice of pato were common throughout the 19th century. During the 1930s, pato was regulated through the efforts of ranch owner Alberto del Castillo Posse, who drafted a set of rules inspired by modern polo. The game gained legitimacy, to the point that President Juan Perón declared pato to be the national game in 1953. In modern pato, two four-member teams riding on horses fight for possession of a ball which has six conveniently-sized handles, and score by throwing the ball through a vertically positioned ring (as opposed to the horizontal rim used in basketball). The rings have a 100 cm diameter, and are located atop 240 cm high poles. A closed net, extending for 140 cm, holds the ball after goals are scored. The winner is the team with most goals scored after regulation time (six 8-minute "periods"). |
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TOPIC: Pato