Sports

BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO The Taínos who inhabited Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, played a series of games which were both ceremonial and diversional, such as races, contests involving body strength and fishing. However, the two most important of these sports were the simulated warrior fights (similar to the gladiators) and ball playing. The ball game was played in a field, which they called “Batey”. Two teams played against each other. The objective of the game was to keep the ball in constant motion. According to Fray Bartolomé de las Casas the game was played in the following manner: “One team served the ball and the other team returned it. In 1975, archaeologists from the Catholic University of Puerto Rico, announced the discovery of the ruins of a “Batey” in an area called Tibes, on the outskirts of the city of Ponce. A total of 9 ball fields were discovered dating back to AD 25 in the area which is now known as “Centro Ceremonial Indigena de Tibes”. The site is now a tourist attraction and is open to the public. Artifacts found on the site are on display and can be seen in a museum on the site and in the Ponce Museum of Art.  SPANISH COLONIZATION:  The first Spaniards to inhabit the island were soldiers (Conquistadores), later they were followed by farmers, miners and their families. The most common sports were horse racing, cockfighting and dominoes. One of the most popular sports was “Boliche”.  “Boliche” was similar to bowling. Another popular sport was bullfighting, which was limited to the larger cities of Ponce and San Juan. AMERICAN (UNITED STATES) COLONIZATION: In the late 19th century “new” sports were introduced in Puerto Rico, after Puerto Rico became an American territory when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish–American War. Baseball, which was invented in the United States, was introduced to the island by a group of Puerto Ricans and Cubans who learned the sport in the United States. Puerto Ricans were also introduced to the sports of boxing and basketball by the occupying military forces. Fast forward to present day times and we have outstanding athletics who break records on professional teams and/or at the Olympics: Baseball: 2015, 10th in the world, Women’s Team Basketball: 2018, FIBA, Women’s Basketball World Cup Boxing: 2019, Ms. Serrano, International Boxing Hall of Fame Martial Arts: 2021, Amanda Serrano Wrestling: 2019, Amanda Serrano This writer will keep you informed on the continual history of sports in Puerto Rico. Read More From This Writer All Post Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Peace People Sports BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO July 17, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More DID YOU KNOW PUERTO RICO HAS A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM? June 17, 2021/No Comments “Las Boricuas (The Boricuas)” DID YOU KNOW PUERTO RICO HAS A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM? Women’s Association Football, known as women’s Read More HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Part II May 17, 2021/No Comments HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Part II “Make sure we do not forget the Latina presence in the Read More Load More End of Content.

“Las Boricuas (The Boricuas)” DID YOU KNOW PUERTO RICO HAS A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM? Women’s Association Football, known as women’s football or women’s soccer is the team sport of association when played by women’s teams only. It is played by 176 national teams in-ternationally. Women’s football has faced many struggles throughout its history. This history has seen major competitions at both the national and international levels. The Football Association initiated a ban in 1921 in England that disallowed women’s football games from taking place on the member club grounds. This ban remained in effect until July 1971.  Since then, the sport for women has slowly gained popularity. Overview: In 1972 the United States Congress passed the Title IX legislation as a part of the additional Amendment Act to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.[21] Title IX states that: “no person shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance…”; in other words, this law from the Education Act requires that both male and female athletes have equal facilities and equal benefits.  Professional sports refers to sports in which athletes are paid for their performance. The pay for women’s professional sports is significantly lower than for men’s, a phenomenon known as the “gender pay gap”. Not only do female athletes themselves face inequality, but so too do women looking to enter the business side of sports. Although several professional women’s sports leagues have been established throughout the world in the post-Title IX era, they are behind in terms of exposure, funding, and attendance compared to the men’s teams. The 1990s saw greater participation mainly due to the Title IX of 23 June 1972, which increased school’s budgets and their addition of women’s scholarships. Due to the lack of exposure, many do not know of Puerto Rican women’s contribution and progress in many fields. Despite this and many other obstacles, we now have the talented Puerto Rican Women’s Football winning team. The Puerto Rico women’s football team is governed by the Puerto Rican Football Federation. Women may have been playing football for as long as the game has existed. It was not until 2008 (87 years later), that the FA issued an apology for banning women from the game of football Read More From This Writer All Post Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Peace People Sports DID YOU KNOW PUERTO RICO HAS A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM? June 17, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Part II May 17, 2021/No Comments HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Part II “Make sure we do not forget the Latina presence in the Read More MAKING HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY April 17, 2021/No Comments MAKING HERSTORY: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN IN THE MILITARY We cannot forget HERSTORY. I was inspired to write about our Puerto Read More Load More End of Content.