Basque sports are an integral part of Basque identity. Springing from the traditional activities of day-to-day farming and fishing life, the competitive nature of Basque people created a series of unique sports that test strength, speed, and endurance. These rural sports, called Herri Kirolak, took on new significance after the Industrial Revolution made their agricultural origins obsolete. Competing in these sports became a way to reconnect to farmworker roots, a reminder of a shared past.

Harri-jasotzaileak

Harri-jasotze refers to a popular rural sport in the Basque Country in which stones of various shapes and sizes must be lifted off the ground and onto the shoulder. The name is built on the Basque root harri "stone", the verb jaso "to lift".

The rules are fairly simple, the stone has to be handled so it ends up on the competitors shoulder, at which point it can be dropped onto the pad in front of the harri-jasotzaile.