The great day of Basque baseball after the health crisis was this Tuesday. After more than three months without matches in one of the most popular sports in the Basque Country, Navarra and La Rioja, the activity resumed with a festival in one of the discipline's most iconic pediments, the Astelena de Eibar. And with an audience in the stands, being the first professional sports event in Spain to be held open-door. It had to be a great party, with ETB cameras broadcasting the festival live. But it has not been.

As soon as the main game began, the festival had to be suspended. And not because of anything related to the Covid-19, but because the floor of the pediment was slippery and prevented the players from playing with a minimum of stability. It was materially impossible to play, especially in the back frames, where defender Ander Imaz has slipped and fallen a couple of times when he was going to hit the ball.

Those responsible for the organization have made the only possible decision, that of suspending this historic festival. Apparently, the strong heat and the lack of use of the enclosure in recent months have generated moisture in the ground that has caused the slips. Although the pediment is also considering the hypothesis that it may be a consequence of the products used for disinfecting the premises, in accordance with the protocols established by the coronavirus .

Whatever the reason, the reality is that it has frustrated the return to normality of the pediments. The activity of the ball was paralyzed in the middle of the semi-finals group of the Couples Championship , whose completion is relegated to autumn. In summer, the ball calendar is set by the festivals of the cities and towns in its area, but the pandemic has also caused them not to be celebrated.

For the return of the competition, the two Basque ball companies, Baiko and Aspe , devised a mixed pairs tournament, with the players from both companies mixed, to increase the attractiveness. The presence of the public was authorized with a maximum of 60% of the capacity and 600 spectators in total. This Tuesday they met less in Eibar, all wearing a mask and respecting the social distance, but they stayed, because of the humidity, without watching the first game of the championship.

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