Sports

The existence of a native people prior to the Conquest conditioned the evolution and structure of these games. There is no sure proof that sports common to the native peoples were played in the same manner throughout the islands, there is information however which provides evidence of the following: juego del palo, lanzamiento y esquiva de piedras (the throwing and dodging of stones), levantamiento y pulseo de piedras ( the lifting of huge stones, ‘pulseo’ is declared when one successfully lifts the stone above their head), salto del pastor, salto de vara (a sport which has now disappeared but which took place in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura which involved jumping over a supported pole as many times as possible in repitition), and lucha canaria.

There were also games introduced into the Archipelago after the Conquest such as: el arrastre de ganado, billiards, bola canaria, calabazo, Horse running and ‘Sortijas’ (game in which the jockeys have to collect as many rings as possible on the gallop from poles of between 2.50 and 3 metres depending on the size of the horse), pigeon fancying, cucaña (greasy pole erected either vertically, or horizontally over the water, which one has to climb to collect the prize at its far end), deslizarse en tablas (a game of vertigo in which one sits on a table and lets themselves fall, it takes place at the festival of 'Icod de Los vinos' in Tenerife), levantamiento del arado, lucha del garrote, peleas de gallos (cockfighting), pelotamano (original form of 'pelota'), pina (a game played between two teams with a round bat and a wooden ball, one team trying to hit the ball as far as they can and the other team trying to prevent them), tángana, tolete o macana, botes y barquillos de vela latina ( sailing around an Olympic-style triangular regatta).

As is the case in the rest of Spain, football is the competition sport which creates the greatest interest in the Islands. The attendance figures for matches and the space given over to football in the news (in all its forms) affirm this. However, it is not the only sport which attracts the people of the Archipelago. Basketball, volleyball and handball also have followers and there are canarian representatives in the top national competitions for all of the aforementioned sports.

At a lower level, the following sports also exist: water-polo, baseball, hockey, (both ice and field) and indoor football. The situation with regards to motor-sport is specific, in addition to the Canarian Rally Championship (which has numerous fans), the islands' drivers also distinguish themselves in Spains' Rally Championship. The Canaries also have representatives at the highest level in both athletics and swimming although their results and level of support are much lower than in the other sports.