The ten gamma extra groups: who are they and which castles have they achieved?

TarragonaThe history of the human tower world has a new milestone. The Moixiganguers d'Igualada have managed to enter the group of 'gamma extra' (extra category) groups after loading the 2d9fm at the All Saints' Day festival in Vilafranca del Penedès, held on November 1, 2026. The members in the purple shirt have made one of the great objectives of their trajectory a reality and have become the tenth group to achieve a construction of this category.

The milestone has a special value because it had been twelve years since any group had joined this group. The last expansion had been in 2014, a season in which the Xiquets de Tarragona, the Castellers de Sants, and the Castellers de Barcelona achieved extra category constructions.

But the human tower elite was not built overnight. One must go back to November 1993 to find the origin of the modern stage of this category. Since then, the constructions have gained in difficulty, the groups have expanded their repertoires, and new territories have been incorporated into a classification that for years seemed reserved for a few groups.

What does it mean to be an 'extra category' group?

In the world of castells, constructions that surpass the difficulty of the 3d9f are considered 'gamma extra' (extra range). These are a group of human towers that require a very high level of technical and human demand, both due to their structure and the complexity of their execution.

There is no single castell that allows one to enter this category. A group can achieve this with a nine-story construction with 'folre' (base) and 'manilles' (second base), a ten-story tower, or structures of great difficulty that do not necessarily require these support elements, such as the 'castells nets' (clean, unsupported towers).

There is one tower, however, that has a peculiarity: it is the 9d8. Although it does not have a 'folre' or 'manilles', it is considered 'gamma extra' due to its scoring and difficulty. It is precisely the construction that allowed the Castellers de Barcelona to enter this category.

Another important aspect is that it is not necessary to fully unload (dismantle) the tower to achieve this recognition. To load it—that is, to complete the structure until the 'enxaneta' (the person at the very top) signals the achievement—is already enough to reach the milestone. The case of the Moixiganguers d'Igualada is the most recent example.

Ten groups and more than thirty years of history

The list of 'gamma extra' human tower groups (colles) is the result of more than three decades of castell progression. This is the journey of the ten groups, from the first milestone of the Minyons de Terrassa to the incorporation of the Moixiganguers d'Igualada.

The Minyons de Terrassa are the pioneers of the current 'gamma extra'. On November 21, 1993, during their festival, they loaded the first 2d9fm of the modern era. That construction represented a leap forward in the world of human towers and demonstrated that it was possible to go beyond nine-story towers with a 'folre' (base). The milestone arrived after the Castellers de Vilafranca had attempted this same construction on several occasions without success. The 'malves' (the Minyons) were the first to crown it, although they did not unload it until 1996.

The Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls was the next group to enter the 'gamma extra'. They achieved it on October 16, 1994, during the Santa Teresa festival in El Vendrell, when they loaded the 2d9fm. That same year, the 'vermells' (the Joves) loaded the construction again for Santa Úrsula, in a festival that was marked by the rivalry with the Colla Vella. The Joves, however, had to wait until 2000 to manage to unload the nine-story tower for the first time.

Seven days after the Joves' milestone, the Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls starred in another historic day. On October 23, 1994, for Santa Úrsula, they unloaded the 2d9fm for the first time. In this way, the 'rosats' (the Vella) became the first group to complete this construction, after the Minyons had loaded it the previous year and the Joves had achieved it only one week before.

The Castellers de Vilafranca entered the 'gamma extra' in 1995, when they managed to unload the 2d9fm for Sant Fèlix. The milestone arrived after years of attempts and having been the first group that had tried this construction in 1989.

After fifteen years without new additions, the Capgrossos de Mataró managed to enter the 'gamma extra' in 2010. The group from the Maresme region unloaded the 2d9fm for All Saints' Day in Vilafranca del Penedès, after having made two previous attempts during that season. The achievement represented one of the great milestones for the Capgrossos and confirmed the growth of a group that had managed to consolidate itself among the most prominent groups in the country.

The Colla Jove Xiquets de Tarragona managed to enter the 'gamma extra' category in 2011 with a construction different from those used by previous groups. On September 23rd, during the Santa Tecla festival, they loaded the 5d9f, popularly known as the 'cathedral of the castells'. The milestone had a special meaning for the 'liles' (purples), as it had been seventeen years since they had first attempted this construction. The castell became the first 'gamma extra' in the history of a Tarragona group. Entering this category was only the beginning of a period of growth. In 2012, they managed to unload it and, subsequently, they expanded their repertoire with other constructions. The latest was during this year's Concurs de Castells when they loaded the 4d10fm for the first time in history.

On August 19, 2014, the Xiquets de Tarragona experienced one of the most important days in their history. During the Sant Magí festival, at the Plaça de les Cols, they unloaded the 2d9fm on their first attempt. The construction arrived after they had unloaded the 3d9f and marked the entry of the 'matalassers' (mattress makers) into the 'gamma extra' category. In addition, the Xiquets became the first group to unload this tower on their first attempt.

The achievement also had a territorial dimension: Tarragona became the second Catalan city with two 'gamma extra' groups, after Valls.

The Castellers de Sants achieved their first 'gamma extra' construction on October 19, 2014, during the group's festival at the Plaça de Bonet i Muixí in Barcelona. The 'borinots' unloaded the 2d9fm, after the construction had remained an attempt at the Concurs de Castells de Tarragona two weeks earlier. Two years later, in 2016, they expanded their repertoire with the unloaded 5d9f, another of the great milestones of their trajectory.

The Castellers de Barcelona managed to enter the 'gamma extra' category during the 2014 season, but they did so with a different construction: the 9d8. It was on November 2, 2014, at the Tots Sants festival in Vilafranca. Its difficulty was increased by the fact that they executed it with a single 'enxaneta' (the child at the top), instead of the usual three.

The Moixiganguers d'Igualada are the latest to join the 'gamma extra' tier. The purple group achieved the milestone on November 1st, 2026, during the All Saints' Day festival in Vilafranca, after loading the 2d9fm. The people from Igualada arrived at the event with the desire to surpass their own human tower record. In fact, they had already attempted this same construction at the Castells Competition on October 4th, but back then, the tower had remained an attempt.

In Vilafranca, they bet on the 'torre de nou' once again and, after an initial dismantled base, they managed to reach the top in the second round. With this performance, Igualada definitively entered the group of 'gamma extra' teams and put an end to twelve years without new additions.