Issue date: 30 May, 2008
The Traditional Sports and Games series is in this case devoted to sling hurling and pitching the bar.
Pitching the bar was very popular in the XV century as a spontaneous way of matching one’s force and as entertainment. The geographic origins of this game are set in the vasco-navarra and the castellano-aragonesa regions. In the first of these it began as a game of strength with the workers of the quarry throwing their iron bars as a demonstration of energy and as a form of entertainment. In the Castilian region the game began with the millers hurling the iron bars they used to help them lift the heavy stones in the mill. The Basque bar or palanka, is recorded as an athletic discipline. It weighs 3,5 Kg and measures 1,5 metres. There are three different ways of hurling the bar, the most popular being the A vueltas or baraka. The Castilian bar is made of metal, measures 0.75m and has a minimum weight of 5Kg. The bar from the Aragon region is also metal, measures 0,81m and weighs 7.25Kg. In both of these disciplines, the hurling techniques are similar since their origins are the same: the mill bars.
Sling hurling (Tiro con Honda or Tir de Fona) has its origins in the shepherds who used it to gather the cattle or to hunt small animals. In ancient times it was also used as a weapon at war. There are two disciplines: hurling a stone the further the better or hitting a target using the sling. A classic sling is braided from non-elastic material such as flax, hemp or wool and measures up to one metre. The discipline of hitting a target is nowadays the most commonly practised and consists of hitting the dartboard 30, 60 or 90 steps away, a step being the equivalent of 0,65m. and depending on the type of game, the target is set at a certain distance. The target is set in the centre of the square over a metal circle measuring 0,50 m . The stamps are issued with a vignette depicting scenes of the games.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.