University Students Revive Ancient Maya Ball Game in José María Morelos

José María Morelos, Quintana Roo — University students are forming a group to revive and promote the ancient Maya ball game, a tradition they say is at risk of disappearing from the region.

The initiative came from students at the Intercultural Maya University of Quintana Roo, who want more young people to learn and play pok-ta-pok and its variants, such as ulama.

“We all come from different places and we are losing something, an ancestral game that is being lost. Not many people know about it, even here at the university there are those who don’t know this game,” said Leandro Montalvo.

He explained this is the third time they have tried to consolidate the group, but now they have greater motivation and support to continue training and spreading the tradition.

The project includes Yazmin Rivera, a student from Belize who has four and a half years of experience in the disciplines and has competed in two world championships, earning a runner-up finish.

“We do it out of love for our culture, so it doesn’t die. This is a way to rescue our culture,” she said.

The students said the group is open to men and women at no cost, with the goal of forming a team and holding training sessions and friendly matches.