{{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 vi ...

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 ...

or Calvados (brandy). Calva is a traditional sport played in certain parts of Spain. 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, 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, Salamanca, Zamora, and Biscay, although also in Madrid, Barcelona, Plasencia 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 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