{{dablink, "Calva" may also refer to the

Calva (river) The Calva is a right tributary of the river Vișa in Romania. It discharges into the Vișa in Șeica Mare Șeica Mare (german: Marktschelken; hu, Nagyselyk) is a commune located in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of six v ...

in Romania. The term "calva" is also sometimes used to refer to the

Calvaria (skull) The calvaria is the top part of the skull. It is the upper part of the neurocranium and covers the cranial cavity containing the brain. It forms the main component of the skull roof. The calvaria is made up of the superior portions of the fron ...

Calvados (brandy) Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of No ...

. Calva is a traditional sport played in certain parts of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It has roots going back to pre-Roman times, being developed by the

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...

who lived in the modern-day provinces of

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

, and Zamora. It was a game for shepherds, who threw stones at bull's horns to entertain themselves. With the passing of time, the game was modified: a piece of wood (the ''calva'') came to be substituted for the horn, and the stone was replaced with a cylinder of iron or steel (the ''marro''). The name of ''calva'' was derived from the field in which the game came to be played, which was free of obstacles and rocks. Today the sport is practiced mainly in Castile,

, Zamora, and

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, although also in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Plasencia Plasencia () is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Western Spain. , it has a population of 41,047. Situated on the bank of the Jerte River, Plasencia has a historic quarter that is a consequence of the city's stra ...

and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

The game

The object is to knock down a piece of wood which is supported on one of its sides. The player, from 14.5 metres, must hit this ''calva'' with his ''marro'', a metal cylinder. The player has 25 throws to achieve this, with two practice throws. The ''calva'' is generally made of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and has the form of an obtuse angle, between 110 and 120 degrees. The lower part, called the ''zapata'', has a length of 23 cm, while the upper part (the ''alzada'') is 22 cm long. The ''marro'' was originally often a rock taken from a creekbed, where it had been worn smooth. Today it is usually an iron cylinder or oval with the name of its owner, weight, length, etc. often inscribed on it. It cannot be greater than 25 cm in length and generally weighs between 2 and 3 kilograms. The field of play is usually about 25 metres in length and about 5 metres in width. The distance of the throw is standardized at 14.5 metres, leaving about 3-5 metres for an approach area and 6-8 metres to stop the throw.

External links

Group of Calva clubs in Madrid (Spanish)
Individual sports