The 30rd Zabalki international university tournament of Basque pelota was held in Navarra on Thursday 26 March. This was a benchmark championship that gathered university athletes from Spain and France. The Universitat de València stood out for its performance and achieved the third place in the general classification by universities.

The tournament was attended by 99 players (pelotaris) from ten universities, including a non-European team from the National Autonomous Mexican University (UNAM). Seven modalities were contested, consolidating the event as a benchmark for the university sport of Basque pelota.

Competitions were held at emblematic facilities, such as Frontón Labrit, and those at the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), among others, and counted on the participation of Spanish and French universities, such as the University of La Rioja, Mondragon Unibertsitatea (Mondragon University), the Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (University of the Basque Country), the Université de Bordeaux, and the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour.

The UV team stood out in several modalities. In men’s doubles frontenis, Ricardo Varea Belmonte and Héctor González Pons proclaimed themselves the winners after reaching the highest score of 8 points. Besides, in the female mano 4 ½ category, Mireia Valero Martí got the silver medal, proving the high level of UV athletes at this sport. These results made a decisive contribution to UV’s global success, which achieved the third place in the general classification by universities.