One of the first things we learn about the Maya is that they played a curious ball and court game, and that these courts can be found in all the major Mayan archaeological sites.

From the former Maya stronghold of Belize comes the story of the slow revival of this ancient ball game—perhaps the oldest of its kind, and of the pride and ethnic joy that comes along with it.

Pok-ta-pok is billed as the world’s oldest team ballgame, and today is the national sport of Belize. They were the reigning world champions three times in a row before Mexico unseated them in 2023.

No one knows for certain how long pok-ta-pok has been played. Some scholars believe it originated with the Olmec culture, but it has been played among the Maya for probably 2,000 years. Thousands of ball courts have been found

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