The trend is the same for two other implement modalities, Pala and Remonte. Pala has been going toward more short court matches for some time. A couple of InnPala's up and coming stars, Dan Necol and Sylvain Brefel are from the North Basque and learned their games on short courts. Remonte also plays several summer tournaments on short courts, again in an effort to spread the game.
Before there were indoor courts there were outdoor courts (Fronton Place Libres). These have only one wall. They are much bigger than long courts, between 80 and 100 meters long. The long courts are around 54 meters long and the short courts around 36.
I thought it might be interesting to show the evolution from long to short courts with video examples for these three sports. Each of them has a "cathedral" long court (Mungia for Pala, Hernani for Remonte, and Gernika for Jai Alai).There are matches from all three below. Things to look for in these examples are the differences in speed, implements (espcially for Pala, where the Grosse/Larga bat can weigh up to 950 grams, far heavier than the corta/motza bats used on short courts), and the subtle changes in strategies that the sizes of the courts encourage. The outdoor games seem to be the most conservative, the players are not really looking for kill shots. These games emphasize power to send deep shots over and over trying to induce mistakes. As the courts get smaller the ability to kill points quickly becomes more a part of the strategy.
Note: with the exception of the Grand Chistera video (a video of the first 23 minutes, 14 seconds of the match) all of the below linked videos are full match videos.
Jai Alai/Cesta Punta
Outdoors (Grand Chistera)
May 15, 2015: Section Paloise Pelote Fronton (Pau)
Chapionnat de France 2015 poule match
White (J.Olharan-L.Alliez-S.Itoiz) defeated Green (C.Pierrou-A.Alliez-
J.Portet) 40-34.
Match video (Source: Toute sur la Pelote Basque Youtube site)
Long Court
August 5, 2016: Fronton Gernika Jai Alai (1) (2)
Gernika II Jai Alai World Tour Final
3rd place:
Barandika-Amigorena defeated Erik-Lekerika 2-1
Final:
Hormaetxea-Aldazabal defeated Beaskoetxea-Txasio 2-1
Short Court
August 28, 2016: Bizkaia Fronton (Bilbo (Bilbao)).
Jai Alai World Tour CPO Individual MPB Semi-Final
Olharan defeated Hormaextea 2-1
Match video (Source: EITB)
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Pala:
Outdoors (Grosse Pala)
2016 Championnat de France National A Final
Soustons (Jérome Bats-Fabien Brocas) defeated Esquiule (Michel Bassignana- Hervé Belestin) 40-20
Match video (Source: PilotariP Youtube site)
Final:
Fusto-Brefel defeated Gaubeka-Imanol 3-2
3rd place:
Necol--Ibai Perez defeated Landeta-Ibargari 3-2
Match video (Source: EITB)
Short Court (Pala Corta/Pala Motza)
August 17, 2016: Atano III Fronton, Donastia (San Sebastian)
Kirol Txartela Masters Tournament
3rd place:
Landeta--Ibai-Perez defeated Arozena-Irrigoyen 3-1
Final:
Navarro-Brefel defeated Zubiri-Ayerbe 3-2
Match video (Source: EITB)
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Remonte: I have never seen an outdoor Remonte match
Long Court
December 12, 2015: Galarrata Fronton (Hernani)
Tourneo Parejas ORONA (Binakako Txapelketa) Semifinal
Ezkurra-Endika defeated Urriza-Agirrezabala 40-35
Match video (Source: EITB)
Short Court
June 11, 2016: Beloki Fronton (1) (2) (Zumarraga)
Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa.
Final
Uterga-Aizpuru III defeated Urriza-Zaldua 35-25
Match video This match follows a mano match: it begins at 1:06:32 on the recording (Source: EITB)
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Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundiaren 2016ko Saria-VII Erremonte Kopa.
Final
Uterga-Aizpuru III defeated Urriza-Zaldua 35-25
Match video This match follows a mano match: it begins at 1:06:32 on the recording (Source: EITB)
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