Pok A Tok
What Is Poc A Tok
 Poc A Tok was an ancient Mayan game
played hundreds of years ago. It was a
game that involved soccer, basketball,
and racket ball put together. The point of
the game is to get the ball through a
hoop that is placed about 28 feet off the
ground. The ball had to be kept in
constant motion using only your body
and not your hands.
How Was It Played?
 Pok A Tok involved two teams of 7 players
playing on a level area of shaped field (Usually
a level rectangle or in the shape of an I). The
players had to move the ball using their body,
no hands allowed, and kick it into a basket like
ring held 20 to 30 feet above the ground. The
game is a combination of present day
basketball and soccer. No one is exactly sure
but it is said that the solid rubber ball was
extremely heavy waying about 15 pounds.
How It Was Played
Continued.
 Due to the weight of the ball, full armor
was worn to protect the arms, legs,
chest, and head. The basket had about 1
inch of clearance for the ball. The object
of the game was to score more goals
than the opposing team and other than
that, very little is known about the rules of
this game.
Religious Connection
 Pok A Tok was a very religious game and
was taken so seriously that only royalty
was allowed to play and only priests could
coach. It was played during religious events
and the winners or losers (no one knows
which for certain) were sacrificed to the
gods. The game involved a rubber ball
which symbolized the suns movement
across the great earth and the players
represented the sun gods servants carrying
he sun across the earth.