100 years of picigin
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Published: 16.09.2023.
On the popular Bačvice beach in Split, 100 years of playing picigin were celebrated.
A memorial plaque dedicated to this original game played in the shallow sea was unveiled today. The memorial plaque was unveiled by the youngest members of the Picigin Bačvice Ecological Society because the future lies with them and they will pass on the tradition of this game to future generations. The two-day event '100 years of picigin' is at its peak. Sport, culture and art are combined, a Dalmatian tradition of which good food, i.e. gastronomy, is an indispensable part.
Picigin was conceived in Split and is considered the most Split sport, and Bačvice is a cult place for playing picigin. Bačvice is the cradle of Split sports because the first water polo match in Split was played on that beach, and indoor football in Split also started playing on that beach.
Picigin is a game in which there are no winners and therefore it is difficult to talk about strict rules. The basic rules are very simple: five players in a sea ten to twenty centimeters deep, arranged in a pentagon six to seven meters apart, add a small ball by hitting it with their palms, trying not to fall into the sea. It is a way of life, played in winter and summer.
The celebration of playing picigin is also a link with other sports and at the picigin ceremony, an exhibition water polo match and a small soccer match were played between veterans of Hajduk and a team of Olympians from Split.
