In the most popular versions of the game, players were allowed to use their hips, forearms, and even rackets. It’s much like a mix between tennis, basketball, and soccer. The game ball itself weighed up to 9 pounds. This is known because of archaeological digs at and around the ball court of Chichen Itza that have uncovered ancient game balls.
The exact size of the game balls are not known, this is because the Mayans were able to make the balls out of rubber and Guamol tree. The balls uncovered during digs had been buried by the players as an offering, and leave archaeologists with no idea if the balls recovered were actually used or just made specifically for an offering.
There have been several ball courts found across Mesoamerica, but the largest, by far, is the 45-meter wide ball court of Chichen Itza. At Chichen Itza, the courts have higher hoops and a much larger playing field than any other of the discovered game courts. The smallest court was found in Tikal, measuring only 16 meters. This size and proportions of the Chichen Itza game field lead some to believe that only the most important games were played in the Chichen Itza ball court.
Many believe that the losers, or perhaps even the winners, were sacrificed. The evidence for sacrifice over a ball game has only been proved later in the Mayan existence. They didn’t start associating sacrifice with the games until the Classic Era. That era was near the end of their civilization, just before they scattered and vanished from their vast cities.
The uniforms for the Mayan and Aztec ball game have been lost to time and decay. All that remains of the gear they once wore are the drawings and paintings that are left depicting the players. Not much was used in way of protection, but archaeologists believe they used simple loin clothes with hip guards fitted to the individual players. These "hip guards" were little more than leather straps, nothing near the well protected pads you would think of being worn by modern American football players.
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