Basque pelota at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Basque pelota had appeared when the Olympics first came to Paris in 1900. The only Olympic-grade match then was not contested as one of the teams did not show. 24 years later, with the Games back in France, pelota was added to the program as a demonstration sport, along with canoeing and savate.

There are many variants of the sport, involving the playing area (which differs in size and number of walls) and the method of playing the ball (which can be with the bare hand or a number of implements). Most of the competitive events in modern pelota basque use different formats than at the 1924 Olympics. All four 1924 matches were held on a court (frontón) with only a back wall (frontis), while these are nowadays usually played with a wall on the left side of the court as well. Furthermore, most competitions were held with 3-player teams, which is nowadays uncommon, and typically limited to singles and doubles. Finally, the blé (joko-garbi) and pala variations of the sport are not among those currently standardized by the International Federation of Basque Pelota (FIPV).

Basque pelota would return twice more to the Olympics, both times in nations where the sport enjoys popularity: Mexico (1968) and Spain (1992). The FIPV is recognized by the IOC, but is not currently close to becoming an Olympic sport. World Championships have been held in the sport since 1952, and it has appeared irregularly on the program of the Pan American Games.