A group of French Special Olympics athletes was introduced to bocce recently when one of Packaworld’s portable bocce courts was used at a multi-sport meeting in Issy-les-Moulineaux, on the outskirts of Paris.

The sport, which has similarities to lawn bowls and pétanque but is played within a walled court, was included to provide ‘taster sessions’ for athletes competing in basketball, climbing and a motor activity training programme (MATP) for those with limited mobility at the event.

Special Olympics France National Manager of Sport and Solidarity Events Antoine Fournier said more than 100 athletes played on the portable Packabocce court throughout the event, held on 17-18 November.

Lakers Social and Recreation Club is a beacon of community spirit in The Emerald Isle’s County of Wicklow, providing a supportive environment for children and adults with intellectual disabilities to thrive through the pleasure of social interaction and the joy of sport.

The Bray-based club was set up in 1989 by a group of local parents with intellectually disabled children who wanted to fill a social, sporting and developmental gap to help their children participate fully in the community and prepare for Special Olympics events in Ireland.

Lakers’ Fundraising and Communications Manager Grainne Clarke said the fast-growing sport of bocce had become a cornerstone of the club’s program because all its members could participate regardless of ability.

Portable courts from Packaworld set the stage for the bocce competition at the Special Olympics New York State Fall Games recently.

The inclusive game was one of seven sports played at the annual event, which saw around 1,000 athletes from across the state competing for glory on 21 October.

The bocce competition was hosted on 10 Packabocce courts, all set up within the eye-catching Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said bocce was currently riding a wave of popularity and he was proud to see the courts helping to take competitions to the next level.

“It was a real bocce wonderland out there – an amazing event."

A pioneering program to promote inclusive sport in New York has seen basketball, volleyball, baseball, track and field and the highly accessible sport of bocce reaching a whole new group of students across the city’s public schools.

Co-funded by Special Olympics New York ($50,000) and New York City Public Schools ($300,000), the initiative is providing schools with competitions, coaches and equipment to ensure people of all abilities, including those with disabilities, can experience the joy of sport.

But while the growth in participation across all the sports involved has been strong, it’s the rise of bocce ball that has perhaps been the largest surprise.

Belgium’s thriving Special Olympics scene has been boosted with the recent purchase of six high-quality inflatable bocce courts to take the sport to new locations and communities.

Belgium boasts one of the biggest bocce Special Olympics programmes in Europe and is one of the only countries in the world that holds Special Olympics National Summer Games every year.

The bocce competition at Belgium’s most recent national games allowed for 115 participants, but with the help of the new courts, organisers hope to grow the game and cater for far more in future.

Special Olympics Belgium Sports Executive Bart Oers said the logistical challenge of transporting, storing and setting up courts using wooden court boundary boards had been a problem for years, limiting organisers’ ability to grow the sport.

Some of bocce’s best battled it out in Berlin last week on a new breed of portable bocce court that is revolutionising the game globally.

The inflatable Packabocce courts, created by Packaworld to help organisers bring the game anywhere and grow participation, were used to host the bocce competition at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games.

The World Games are a chance for Special Olympics athletes to represent their country, explore different cultures and bond through the joy of sport.

This year’s event involved more than 7,000 athletes from 190 countries and featured 26 sports over nine days of competition and camaraderie.