Basque rural sports

Basque rural sports, known as Deportes Rurales in Spanish or Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people. The term force basque is used in French.

Virtually all regional Basque rural sports have their origin in the two main historical occupations, the baserritarra (farmer) and arrantzalea (fisher), with a larger percentage hailing from the rural background. The sociological changes in the Basque Country have led many of these becoming technically obsolete in the 19th and 20th century. Few continue to exist as rural or marine activities connected to everyday life and have become rare but many have managed to transform themselves into popular sports instead, some of which have become extremely popular.

Winners receive a Basque beret (boina or txapela) as a trophy, hence the Basque word for "champion" - txapeldun, literally "one who has a beret".

Betting, both by the competitors and the audience, is very common and popular at such sporting events in the north of Spain.