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.