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Christchurch's Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub buzzed with energy last week as it hosted bocce athletes taking part in one of the largest sports events the city had seen in over a decade.

Eight portable bocce ball courts from Packaworld set the stage for Kiwi rollers to battle it out at the bocce event of the Special Olympics New Zealand 2025 National Summer Games, which saw more than 1,200 athletes compete in 10 sports across six venues in Christchurch.

Casey McLean, a Summer Games bocce ball player, helped the Manawatū Team win gold in the Unified Teams category and enjoyed playing on Packaworld's portable courts.

Bocce ball has become a star addition to the activity schedule at the Westminster Lakeland continuing care retirement community in Florida, after the purchase of a portable bocce court hit a sporting sweet spot with its winning blend of social connection and gentle exercise.

Bob Slavkovsky, a resident at Westminster Lakeland, said the inaugural bocce ball competition he helped organize in October drew in dozens of enthusiastic players who are now raring to keep rolling on a regular basis.

“We had a great turnout for a party to celebrate the opening of our bocce court, and we’ve set it up for a whole weekend every month in our activity center.

“People here love bocce and one individual has come up with a wonderful chart to keep score of the games.”

Whether you're setting up a backyard bocce court for some summer fun, planning competitions across multiple venues or managing a community-sports program at a leisure center, choosing between a fixed and portable bocce ball court is an important decision.

Each option has benefits and drawbacks depending on how you plan to use your bocce court, the specifications you require, and your budget.

In this helpful guide, we explore the pros and cons of fixed and portable bocce ball courts  to help you make the best choice possible.

The court you choose will depend on your circumstances and how you want to use it.

Some of Texas’ most skilful and enthusiastic bocce athletes rolled into action at the recent Special Olympics Texas Fall Classic, competing for glory on the same high-quality portable bocce ball courts that will be used at the Special Olympics USA Games next year.

More than 300 athletes and Unified Partners took part in the Fall Classic’s bocce competition, joining hundreds of other competitors taking part in swimming, golf and softball events across the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa on 2-4 October. 

Special Olympics Texas Executive Director of Competitions and Sports Programming Chad Eason said the portable Packabocce courts used at the event provided a professional playing experience and had proven invaluable for the state’s growing bocce ball scene.

As bocce fever continues to spread globally, Puerto Rico and St Kitts and Nevis have been unable to resist it, with the arrival of new Packaworld portable bocce courts bolstering the sport’s boom in popularity throughout the Caribbean region.

Bocce ball athletes throughout Puerto Rico flocked to its Special Olympics National Bocce Tournament in September, hosted using the new courts at Pista Rafael Meléndez Pagán – an athletics track in the coastal area of Barceloneta.

The athletes and courts will be back in action at the Coliseo Roger Mendoza in Caguas on 11 October for the bocce ball competition of the Special Olympics Puerto Rico National Games.

Thousands of people experienced the emerging sport of water skyball at Lake Balaton in Hungary over summer, thanks to two sets of Packaworld’s water skyball goals and fields that created an aquatic-sport playground for beachgoers.

The portable Water Skyball Packagoals and fields were used at the popular Alsoors Beach during the peak summer period of late June to early September.

Water Skyball Federation Vice President Olga Augusztin said the experience was an instant hit with curious people looking for a new way to cool off and enjoy some exercise.

“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.”