Editing Belize (section)

===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in Belize}}
[[File:Shalini Zabaneh, Cyclist, Belize.jpg|thumb|left|Accomplished Belizean cyclist Shalini Zabaneh]]
The major sports in Belize are [[association football|football]], [[basketball]], [[volleyball]] and [[Cycle sport|cycling]], with smaller followings of [[boat racing]], [[Sport of athletics|athletics]], [[softball]], [[cricket]] and [[Rugby football|rugby]]. [[Fishing]] is also popular in coastal areas of Belize.

The [[Cross Country Cycling Classic]], also known as the "cross country" race or the Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic, is considered one of the most important Belize sports events. This one-day sports event is meant for amateur cyclists but has also gained worldwide popularity. The history of Cross Country Cycling Classic in Belize dates back to the period when [[Monrad Metzgen]] picked up the idea from a small village on the [[Northern Highway (Belize)|Northern Highway]] (now Phillip Goldson Highway). The people from this village used to cover long distances on their bicycles to attend the weekly game of cricket. He improvised on this observation by creating a sporting event on the difficult terrain of the [[George Price Highway|Western Highway]], which was then poorly built.

Another major annual sporting event in Belize is the [[La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge]], a 4-day [[canoe marathon]] held each year in March. The race runs from [[San Ignacio, Belize|San Ignacio]] to [[Belize City]], a distance of {{convert|180|mi|km|order=flip}}.<ref name="Peddicord">{{cite web|last1=Peddicord|first1=Kathleen|title=La Ruta Maya – One of the World's Toughest and Most Historic River Races|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/la-ruta-mayaone-of-the-wo_b_6652828.html|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=4 March 2016|date=11 February 2015|archive-date=22 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322060252/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathleen-peddicord/la-ruta-mayaone-of-the-wo_b_6652828.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On Easter day, citizens of Dangriga participate in a yearly fishing tournament. First, second, and third prize are awarded based on a scoring combination of size, species, and number. The tournament is broadcast over local radio stations, and prize money is awarded to the winners.

The [[Belize national basketball team]] is the only national team that has achieved major victories internationally. The team won the 1998 CARICOM Men's Basketball Championship, held at the Civic Centre in Belize City, and subsequently participated in the 1999 Centrobasquet Tournament in Havana. The national team finished seventh of eight teams after winning only 1 game despite playing close all the way. In a return engagement at the 2000 CARICOM championship in Barbados, Belize placed fourth. Shortly thereafter, Belize moved to the Central American region and won the Central American Games championship in 2001.

The team has failed to duplicate this success, most recently finishing with a 2–4 record in the 2006 COCABA championship. The team finished second in the 2009 COCABA tournament in Cancun, Mexico where it went 3–0 in group play. Belize won its opening match in the Centrobasquet Tournament, 2010, defeating Trinidad and Tobago, but lost badly to Mexico in a rematch of the COCABA final. A tough win over Cuba set Belize in position to advance, but they fell to Puerto Rico in their final match and failed to qualify.

[[Simone Biles]], the winner of four gold medals in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics is a dual citizen of the United States and of Belize,<ref name="Gazette">{{cite web |url=http://www.haitigazette.com/belize-tourism-scores-gold-with-simone-biles-tweet/ |title=Belize Tourism Scores Gold With Simone Biles Tweet |editor=Staff |date=12 August 2016 |publisher=Haiti Gazette |access-date=27 August 2016 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829032726/http://www.haitigazette.com/belize-tourism-scores-gold-with-simone-biles-tweet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which she considers her second home.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/16/sport/simone-biles-belize-ties-rio-olympics-gymnastics-2016/ |title=Simone Biles has support in another country: Belize |editor=Martin, Jill |editor2=Lopez, Elwyn |date=16 August 2016 |publisher=CNN |access-date=27 August 2016 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829011749/http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/16/sport/simone-biles-belize-ties-rio-olympics-gymnastics-2016/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Biles is of Belizean-American descent.<ref name="Laymon">{{cite web |url=http://gymnasticsnewsnetwork.com/even-world-champions-need-a-vacation/ |title=Even World Champions Need A Vacation |last1=Laymon |first1=Terri |website=gymnasticsnewsnetwork.com |access-date=15 August 2016 |quote=Biles' mother, Nellie Cayetano, is Belizean, while Biles herself is a Belizean-American of [[Garifuna people|Garifuna]] descent. |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224125638/http://gymnasticsnewsnetwork.com/even-world-champions-need-a-vacation/ |url-status=live }}</ref>