RIOW President and Founder Patrick Reyes said the Rhode Island tournament brought a passionate group of people together to enjoy water polo in a beautiful location while also raising money for marine conservation.

The Rhody Water Polo Tournament was hosted using two inflatable Packaworld Packagoals and a portable water polo field to provide a high-quality playing experience – allowing Reyes and the RIOW team to set up and pack down in minutes without leaving a trace.

Reyes said the standard of play was top-level, with 10 teams of current and former college water polo players and masters teams participating, including one member of the USA national team. Reyes himself competed at the highest level of inter-college athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The tournament supported the organization's wider mission of growing open water sport in Rhode Island while caring for its aquatic environment.

“We hold events like this to allocate science and research grants to marine conservation. We raised enough at the inaugural tournament to be able to give out another one of these grants.”

Reyes said he hoped to use Packaworld water polo equipment to hold more WP4 tournaments in iconic locations in 2027, including National Harbor in Washington DC and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

“I have relationships and connections that could see us hosting water polo tournaments in the Hudson River with the iconic George Washington Bridge and New York City skyline in the background.”

Packaworld provides portable adult and junior water polo goals that float on the water, as well as inflatable water polo fields that are ideal for WP4 and beach water polo matches.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said was exciting to see organizations like RIOW building a grassroots movement behind WP4 and swelling its popularity.

“Pat and RIOW have proved that WP4 and grassroots events like the Rhody Water Polo Tournament don’t need a multi-million-dollar swimming pool or purpose-built stadium to host world-class water polo play.

“As more accessible formats like WP4 develop and grow across the globe, we expect our portable goals and fields to play a key role in supporting more people to experience the joy of sport in many more breathtaking locations.”

Speaking to Medicine Hat News, British Columbia representative and bocce singles category winner Patrik Lowe said he found the competition challenging yet rewarding.

“I get to meet new people and I've got close to my teammates from my province.

“It's really just an amazing experience and I'm very proud of what I did and how hard I worked to get here. I also played against some very tough opponents and it was not easy.”

As well as the perennially popular game of bocce, Special Olympics Canada Games Medicine Hat 2026 also featured athletics, basketball, golf, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and tenpin bowling.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said it was a privilege to see Packaworld’s innovative portable bocce courts used to support more and more events of this calibre.

“Portable courts allow competition organisers to enable world-class bocce competition anywhere they want to take it, which is what athletes at this level deserve.

“Our courts can be set up in minutes and packed away just as quickly, which gives organisers the flexibility to focus on running a great event rather than wrestling with equipment logistics.”

Once inflated, Packabocce courts are rigid enough to allow for the bank shots and precise strategic play that top-level bocce demands, while still packing down into bags for easy transport and storage. That means event organisers no longer need to rely on permanent facilities to host top-tier bocce competitions.

Medicine Hat 2026 marks another milestone in Packaworld’s presence at the world's most significant Special Olympics events. Packabocce courts have also featured at World Games in Berlin, the USA National Games, the Latin American Games, as well as many other national, state and regional Special Olympics competitions.

​MOBALE president Cheryl Gannon said the camp provided opportunities for growth and friendship through sports and activities including goalball, wrestling, rock climbing, disc golf, swimming, beep kickball, yoga, track and field, skateboarding and general fitness. 

The goal was to build athlete confidence, as well as sports skills, by teaching the basics of goalball and also providing athletes with a chance to be more independent, she said.

“We wanted participants to leave knowing that they can do anything and having gained a whole lot more confidence.”

MOBALE secured funding for the new portable goalball goals from the Foreseeable Future Foundation and the Amherst, New Hampshire Lions Club, which provided for a top-quality playing experience at the goalball tournament on the camp's last day.

"Goalball provides a great opportunity for youth with visual impairments to compete on a level playing field with sighted peers because all players must wear eyeshades," Gannon said.

“We’d been wanting to get official goals to provide a professional playing experience for athletes in our MOBALE program. Thank you Packaworld for the new goals that were very easy to assemble and disassemble and remained sturdy throughout our camp. We can finally say goodbye to our DIY PVC pipe and pool noodle goals.”

Gannon said the partnership with the University of New Hampshire was central to the camp’s success. The university hosted the registration system and provided lodgings and facilities for camp participants, as well as volunteers from its Department of Kinesiology Adapted Physical Education graduate program to support camp activities.

“That took a lot off our plate, and it benefited the graduates too as many of them hadn’t worked a whole lot with people who were visually impaired before.”

The university’s relatively central New England location in Durham was ideal, Gannon said, because it made the camp accessible to people across a wide area.

The university had committed to running the camp again next year, and Gannon was hopeful many of the fantastic volunteers who supported it this year would continue in future.

“We are looking forward to next year’s camp, and we’re also contemplating doing some weekend goalball clinics for visually impaired youth and adults in the state of Maine.

“We are all really enthusiastic about goalball and just bringing the game to more people.”

Many of the team’s members live at New Hope Community in Sullivan County, which is home to 251 residents with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.

The community marked its 50th year anniversary with a gala last November, and it was through a fundraising drive at that event that money was raised for the new court.

Peloso is a staff member at New Hope and she said the impact of the portable Packaworld bocce court, as well as a new artificial turf from Turf Factory Direct, couldn’t be underestimated.

The Hudson Valley Special Olympics bocce team had grown from just two athletes a few years ago to more than 16 members, including six unified partners who compete alongside athletes with intellectual disabilities in unified matches.

“Numbers more than tripled. Our athletes can now play on site at New Hope, or anywhere we want to take the courts – they don’t have to travel 35 minutes to a dedicated venue.”

Fellow New Hope staff member Braydon Huebsch, who coached Team New York’s bocce athletes  at the Special Olympics USA Games, agreed the courts had played a role in bocce’s growth in the Hudson Valley.

He said the clever design of the courts – which have a built-in gate that can be opened and closed for people with limited mobility – had made it easier for two new athletes who utilize wheelchairs to ambulate to take up the sport.

“We love that beautiful gate. They don’t have to get over the PVC pipe we used to use for court walls, or drop down into a traditional bocce-pit, which isn’t easy in a wheelchair.”

The bocce buzz around New Hope Community had also added a new level of vibrancy and social opportunities for residents, many of whom love their sport alongside the community’s many other activities, ranging from social evenings through to gardening.

Huebsch said more than 20 per cent of the New Hope Community now play one of the 10 sports they currently offer through the Special Olympics program. Athletes from the wider Hudson Valley area also join in, with many of the Hudson Valley Special Olympics training events now held at New Hope Community and other local venues.

Huebsch said they planned to continue growing sporting opportunities for Hudson Valley’s Special Olympics athletes, including setting up a regional Special Olympics competition in the years ahead.

“Bocce is on the brain and it’s had a surge in numbers. Our dream is to hold bocce invitationals, mini tournaments, and a regional competition here.”

Huebsch and Peloso’s drive to keep the momentum going is fueled by the knowledge that the benefits of bocce and organized competitions extend beyond the individual matches and throughout the community.

Not only does bocce provide enjoyment for the players, but many others from throughout the community come along to watch and cheer the athletes on. Playing a sport is a regular commitment, which helps participants develop a routine, while also fostering relationships, and in many cases challenges people to learn something completely new.

“It goes so far beyond bocce, beyond sport,” Peloso says.

“It’s all part of our bigger mission at New Hope Community to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities."

This year’s USA national games bocce competition was the first to use portable Packabocce courts, which featured at the most recent Special Olympics World Games in Berlin and are now widely utilised at USA state level.

Alana Copeland, who had made the trip from Florida to help officiate the bocce event at the games, said the portable courts contributed to the spectacle.

“There’s no better court that I’ve ever used,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for over 21 years now and we’ve used a variety of types of courts on our venues and the ones that we’ve had from Packaworld are absolutely amazing.”

Among the delegations taking part was Maryland, which sent four athletes to the bocce competition. Melissa Anger, Maryland’s head of delegation, said the bocce event was one of the best she attended at this year’s games, and team’s athletes had outdone themselves.

All Maryland’s bocce athletes medalled within the first day of competition, which she put down to their hard work and the advantage of training on the Packabocce courts back in their home state in the lead-up to the national games.

“The athletes love them …. bocce is all about strategy so the courts help them to bounce off or roll it along the sides, and they do a great job with that.”

Anger is the Senior Director of High School Interscholastic Unified Sports in Maryland and commented that the courts had helped increase participation in Maryland schools and community programs.

“The portable Packabocce courts are so much easier to transport, that’s the biggest thing.

“Transporting the old ones, you had to get big trucks – they were heavy because they were 10- and 12-foot pipes. These are nice, they fit in bags on wheels, you can pack them up super easy and carry them along.”

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts made the trip to Minneapolis to enjoy the Games and said the spirit at the bocce event was among the best he had seen.

“This was a true celebration of inclusivity and sport. Athletes were giving it their all, organisers were on their game, and I was blown away by the positive impact the growth of unified bocce in US schools is having on so many players, as well as bocce participation.”

Packaworld launched its portable 60-foot by 12-foot Tournament Packabocce courts in 2013 to overcome issues of portability, transport and storage that arise with more traditional bocce courts made of wood or other heavy materials.

Their popularity has exploded in recent years and they have since been used at major Special Olympics competitions including the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Ontario Invitational Youth Games in Canada, Latin American Special Olympics Games, Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games, and many other national and state games globally.

Special Olympics Southern California Region 1 Programs Manager Ryan Grabow said bocce ball enthusiasts were “loving the courts” in his region, which covers the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.   

Coaches across the rest of Southern California agree, commenting how easy it is to set up and take down the courts.

“It really makes a difference for our athletes to practice on. The athletes were so thankful and excited to begin practicing on their new court,” said Whittier coaches Jill Wall and Joan Kozak.

Special Olympics Southern California Region 2 Program Director Teresa Borunda said the region she was in – including Los Angeles, Kern and Inyo Counties – now had 15 portable bocce courts serving an ever-growing number of athletes.

“Bocce is an incredibly inclusive sport that can be played by athletes of all ability levels and ages. Its accessibility, combined with the strong sense of community it creates, continues to draw in new athletes, families, and volunteers.” 

Borunda said bocce’s popularity had never been bigger in Southern California.

“Bocce growth in our region tends to happen organically and is closely tied to the number of trained and committed coaches. The addition of new courts absolutely supports that growth by allowing coaches to expand their programs and serve more athletes.”

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said bocce’s growth in Southern California was a great example of the massive rise in people playing bocce ball across the world.

“With our easy-to-assemble products, coaches like Jill and Joan can set up a regulation court at their local park or school gymnasium in minutes, pack it away after practice and use it to enable competitions – we’re incredibly proud of the impact the courts are having.”

Speaking after the Cataño round of the national tournament, held in the Court La Puntilla de Cataño at the end of March, Municipality of Cataño Mayor Julio Alicea Vasallo emphasized the inclusive values the municipality held.

“In Cataño, inclusion is not just a statement – it is a constant practice. This tournament reflects the work we are doing to create real opportunities where all citizens can participate, grow, and showcase their talents.”

The tournament event included 11 divisions across multiple skill levels, including a new a unified exhibition category, where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities competed together – in many cases parents playing alongside their children.

The Adapted Sport Carnival in Caguas was organized by Special Olympics Puerto Rico, the Department of Education’s Adapted Physical Education Program, the Puerto Rico Bocce Federation, and the Municipality of Caguas.

It was hosted at Roger Mendoza Coliseum and featured hands-on workshops as well as unified bocce matches between students with and without intellectual disabilities from the Caguas educational region.

Special Olympics Puerto Rico bocce co-ordinator and event co-organizer Egidio Fantauzzi said the initiative was driven by a desire among all the organizing organizations to promote the sport among students.

He said bocce ball was one of the most appealing sports for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rican representatives often returned from international Special Olympics events with medals.

Packaworld chief executive Peter Roberts said he was pleased to see the benefits of portable Packabocce courts being realized in Puerto Rico and hoped to see participation continuing to rise.

“Everyone deserves the chance to experience the joy of sport and I’m delighted to see the way bocce organizers across Puerto Rico are embracing portable courts to bring the game to more people."

Some participants at the bocce events used wheelchairs, and Roberts said it was rewarding to see photos of their smiles as they entered and exited the new portable courts through wheelchair access gates specially engineered into their designs.

The next round of its Special Olympics National Bocce Tournament is coming up in San Juan on 2 May, as athletes continue their build up for the Special Olympics Puerto Rico National Games in Ponce in October.

Photos courtesy of Special Olympics Puerto Rico.

When the Cairns Water Polo Club decided to showcase their sport somewhere memorable in 2019, they didn't mess around, hosting the first-ever exhibition match at Australia’s epic Great Barrier Reef featuring members of the Australian women's water polo team.

More than 250 spectators boarded a catamaran and travelled 1.5 hours to watch the match, surrounded by spectacular marine life 47km offshore in a place that has been described as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

The match was played using inflatable Packaworld water polo fields and goals that float on the water in a section of the UNESCO World Heritage Site where special permission was granted and no trace would be left.

A bit of rolling comes with the territory on a cruise ship, but P&O decided to up the ante and provide Packaworld’s bocce ball courts to five of its fleet so bocce ball addicts could get their fix even while sailing the high seas.

The portable courts set up and pack away in minutes, solving the problem of not having large amounts of space to spare on deck. The courts were a big hit with passengers, according to P&O Cruises Head of Entertainment Brett Annable.

“We’re always looking to create new experiences for our guests, so the bocce courts are great as they’ve given us a way to take a new game to sea.”

Goalball is typically played indoors on gymnasium floors, so when Germany’s Association for Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports decided to break with tradition and take the Paralympic sport to the beach in 2021, it raised a few eyebrows – in a positive way.

Packaworld’s portable Packagoals allowed the organisation to hold matches on beaches and in other outdoor locations, where the public could witness the Paralympic sport in action and get a feel for it.

Youth Goalball Coach Heiko Prinz said the Packagoals had proved popular.

“The reaction of the young players and untrained people who tested goalball was very good.”

Central Europe's largest lake became a public playground for the emerging sport of water skyball in summer 2025, when two sets of inflatable Water Skyball Packagoals and fields were set up on Hungary’s Alsoors Beach for anyone to use free of charge.

An estimated 5,000 people tried the sport throughout the summer, enticed by the lure of a new game to try and a perfect way to cool off.

Water Skyball Federation Vice President Olga Augusztin said the experiment was a massive success.

“The field was there for everyone, so people came, played water skyball or just practised shooting at the goals. It was used all day because people were hungry to play something in the water.”

The world's first blind rugby international match in 2017 faced a unique problem: how do you set up the 70m x 50m field required, when conventional rugby posts can't easily be moved and most pitches don't have posts positioned for a blind rugby field?

To the rescue came another world first – inflatable Rugby Packaposts – the world's first portable full-size rugby posts meeting World Rugby guidelines, developed specifically to support the new sport and make it possible to set up proper playing conditions anywhere.

On the day, while the Blind Lions outclassed New Zealand Blind Rugby with an epic 31-0 win, the game of blind rugby itself was also a winner – by proving that it had enough substance to be played at international level.

Sure, the place of play might not be unusual, but it’s definitely an unusual game being played on a unique occasion – so we’re running with it!

Blind Sport New Zealand National Manager and member of the New Zealand Blind Rugby squad Dan Shepherd said the posts had “revolutionised the game”.

“With just one set of posts, we can bring the game to anywhere in the country with minimal setup cost.”

Packaworld’s portable products turn the impossible into the possible by allowing people to bring the game to places no-one has thought about before – from the unusual and spectacular to your humble local park.