Sports have had an important role in

Belizean culture The culture of Belize is a mix of influences and people from Kriol, Maya, East Indian, Garinagu (also known as Garifuna), Mestizo (a mixture of Spanish and Native Americans), Mennonites who are of German descent, with many other cultures from ...

. While Belize has never been an international sporting power, the nation's athletes have had some international success. Sports in the country are plagued by a lack of finance and sporting facilities, and there is little emphasis on sports as an integral part of national culture and pride. Nevertheless, sports continue to bring Belizeans together on and off the field. Belize's

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka Dhaka ( or ...

oversees sports Belize, while the

Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

oversees the country's Olympic Games delegations. Athletes from Belize first participated in the Olympic Games in 1968 while representing

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is the main spectator sport for Belizeans, but

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

as well as

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

are popular. Belize also is well known for

snorkeling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

. Many sports engaged in by foreign visitors are related to water. In 1995 the new National Stadium was opened in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

Athletics

Track and Field in Belize is run by its Amateur Athletics Association. The main facility for track and field events in Belize is the

Marion Jones Sports Complex The Marion Jones Sports Complex, previously the National Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Belize City, Belize. It is used mostly for football matches, track and field and cycling. The stadium holds 7,500. It is named after former track athlete ...

(previously known as the National Stadium) on Princess Margaret Drive in Belize City and named after the famous track and field star of Belizean descent. Plans have been made to renovate the track and move the stadium to an indoor one.

Basketball

Basketball is governed by the

Belize Basketball Federation The Belize Basketball Federation (BBF) is the governing body for basketball in Belize and a recognized member of FIBA. The BBF functions as a nonprofit organization that officially represents Belize in the sport of basketball. It consists of nine di ...

(BBF), basketball's highest classification is semi-professional; the league (known as the Belize Basketball Association (BBA) was established in 1992). Matches are frequently held at the junior, senior amateur, high and primary school levels, and even the Mini tournament for little kids and Over-35 tournaments for retired players. There is a basketball court of some sort in every neighborhood and children can be seen practicing regularly. Belize has held regional championships in the Caribbean (1998) and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

(2001) but has not been to the Olympics. A number of Belizans, such as

Nigel Miguel Nigel Patrick Miguel (born April 8, 1963) is a Belizean-American actor, film producer, and technical advisor who is the film commissioner for Belize. He is also a former professional basketball player. A native of Belize, he immigrated to the Un ...

Milt Palacio Milton Sigmund Palacio (born February 7, 1978) is a Belizean American professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Palacio, a Belizean citizen, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by Belizean parents. College career P ...

, Kenton Paulino and Charles Burgess, play or have played basketball at the college and NBA level in the United States. Paulino led the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

to the 2005 Elite Eight; Burgess played for

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Palacio graduated from Colorado State and played for several NBA teams, most recently the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

; Miguel hails from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and briefly tried out for the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in the 1980s.

Boxing

Boxing gained a niche in Belize in the 1930s, when weekend fight cards generally packed the premier boxing arena in Belize, Birds' Isle. Prominent Belizean boxers include lightweight Ludwig Lightburn and welterweight Fitzroy Guisseppi (originally of Trinidad and Jamaica).

Verno Phillips Verno Jeremias Phillips (born November 29, 1969) is a Belizean former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2008. He is a three-time junior middleweight world champion, having held the WBO title from 1993 to 1995, and the IBF title twic ...

is the only Belizean sportsperson to have held a world title, winning both the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

and WBO junior middleweight titles.

Rudolph Bent Rudolph or Rudolf may refer to: People * Rudolph (name), the given name including a list of people with the name Religious figures * Rudolf of Fulda (died 865), 9th century monk, writer and theologian * Rudolf von Habsburg-Lothringen (1788� ...

went on to fight internationally. Other Belizean boxers include Carlton Bowers, Samuel (Red Boy) Flowers, and Roy (Shorty) Clark. By the mid-1980s, boxing largely died out, and now only occasional amateur cards are held.

Canoeing

The local association sponsors a number of races per year, including the

La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge The Belikin La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge is an annual 4-day canoe marathon held in Belize. It is considered the biggest sporting event in the country, and typically attracts thousands of spectators. The course runs from the Hawkesworth Br ...

, a 180-mile, four-day canoe race on the

Belize River The Belize River runs through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City (). The Belize river valley is largely tropical rai ...

that starts in San Ignacio and ends in

. The race occurs annually on Baron Bliss Day. The race promotes environmental awareness, while at the same time creates an intense competition for seasoned and amateur athletes alike.

Cricket

Cricket is mainly played in the Belize Rural area, where local villages sponsor cricket teams. The national tournament is held in the Belize District from January to May. Belize's national cricket team played in Division Three of the ICC Americas Championship Bracket in 2008.

Cycling

Cycling is popular in Central America, and it has a large following in Belize. Frequent races across the country exist. Cycling takes place year round on the nation's highways. It is mainly amateur, but Belizeans have been placed well regionally. The most famous race is the Holy Saturday

Cross Country Cycling Classic The Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic is a one-day amateur cycling race held in Belize every year during the Easter holidays. It is Belize's biggest cycling event and has begun to be recognized internationally. Format of the race The rac ...

, held during the Easter weekend since 1928. Other famous races include the KREM New Years' Day Cycling Classic sponsored by KREM Radio, the National Road Championship, the Labor Day Classic and the World AIDS Day Classic held in honor of Alpheus Williams, former champion and victim of that disease.

Football

Football is currently the main spectator sport in Belize, and it is widely covered by the news industry. Football's roots in Belize trace back to mid-20th century in amateur competitions, mostly held in Belize City. In 1991 Belize's first semi-professional league, the Belize Semiprofessional Football League, was formed with teams from all districts save Stann Creek and Toledo, who joined later. This league is now known as the Belize Premier Football League (BPFL). The overall governing body of football in Belize is the

Football Federation of Belize The Football Federation of Belize (FFB), formerly known as the Belize National Football Association (BNFA) and founded in 1980, is the sport governing body, governing body of football (soccer), football in Belize. It is a member of Fédération ...

(FFB) headed by Dr. Bertie Chimilio. While Belize has enjoyed some success at regional and club level, its international record is notoriously poor.

Softball

Softball's governing body for men and women is the Softball Federation. It is most popular in Belize and Cayo Districts and is gaining a following in the South. After local tournaments are complete a national champion is crowned and the teams prepare for next season. The local tournament usually includes competitors from various organizations, referred to as the interoffice competition. Softball has traditionally enjoyed the most success abroad for Belize. Teams have routinely won medals in regional competitions in both Central America and the Caribbean.

Tennis

The Belize Tennis Association (BTA) is the nationally recognized body responsible for overseeing the development of tennis in Belize. In 1991, Belize via the Belize Tennis Association became a member of the International Tennis Federation. However, it was not until 2011 that the BTA gained legal status by registering with the Belize Companies Registry and became incorporated as a non-profit association.

References

External links

Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports and CultureBelize Tennis Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In Belize