Malta is the tenth-smallest country in the world by area, a city-state floating in the Mediterranean Sea, and for a week in May, it played host to the Special Olympics Malta Invitational Games.

The games were the first Special Olympics tournament in Europe since the Covid—19 pandemic hit, and the excitement was palpable. Nowhere was the atmosphere more electric than at the bocce event, a homecoming of sorts for a game long played on the island, albeit in a different form.

Long ago, in the time of the Knights of St. John (1530–1798), a game called maghio was played on the island. Using cylindrical bowls instead of spherical, the game would eventually become known as bocci. Today, its Italian cousin, bocce, has returned to the island’s shores, its surge in popularity fuelled in part by new portable bocce courts from Packaworld that are helping organisers grow the sport globally.

Bocce athletes at the Special Olympics Germany National Games in Berlin last week were rolling for gold on revolutionary portable courts that are quickly becoming the benchmark globally.

Developed by Packaworld International, the ‘Packabocce’ courts are inflatable yet fully rigid, providing for a top-quality playing experience while also being easy to set up and transport.

They are widely used in the USA and at national and regional Special Olympics competitions in many other places globally, but their arrival for Germany’s premier event marked the first time they had been used at the very top level in Europe.

There’s a new social sport on the block, and it’s sweeping the USA as people look for fresh ways to get together and connect.

Bocce ball is on the rise and the weekly league in the Chicago West Loop parking lot, out front of Stelios Bottles and Bites, provides some of the surest evidence of the sport’s growth.

Exuding a festival-like atmosphere in the lot beside Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, the league gathers 32 teams – of four players each – every Thursday night.

The league is one of eight summer leagues being run by American Bocce Co across multiple venues, with around 500 people competing – the highest number since American Bocce Co leagues began in 2016.

It doesn’t require quite the same degree of strength and athleticism as an NFL match, but even pro athletes like to branch out and unwind some days. What better way to do it than with a few hotly contested games of bocce ball? That’s exactly what the Baltimore Ravens did for a teambuilding event at Stratosphere Social earlier this month.

The bar and community event venue offers bocce ball using portable courts from Packaworld in its “indoor backyard” social space in Eldersburg, Maryland. The 24,000 square-foot venue has an arcade, bowling alley, cornhole, giant Jenga, restaurant, and a fully licensed bar.

“Stratosphere Social is one of a kind,” says Bryan Zuber, owner of the family entertainment center and event venue.

Bocce is bouncing back in Maryland with the help of portable courts and a unified sports program that brings athletes with intellectual disabilities together with star footballers and other non-disabled peers.

The program is run by Special Olympics Maryland and many of the state’s public schools, which are using the high-quality inflatable courts from Packaworld to run bocce events at high schools, as well as community-based programs for children and older Special Olympics athletes.

"Bocce has become cool,” says Mike Myers, Baltimore Region Director for Special Olympics Maryland.