news blog

A new aquatic sport is making a splash in Europe, supported by first-of-their-kind portable goals and fields from Packaworld to make bringing the game to new venues easy.

Water Skyball is a Hungarian invention, played in waist-deep water between teams of two.

Teams score points by throwing a ball into a goal that is divided into three sections – each worth a different number of points.

Water Skyball Federation President Zsolt Gyuris said the sport was created by the Fontanus Scientific Methodological Research and Educational Centre in 2013 and was growing in popularity thanks to its unique mix of strategy, movement and throwing accuracy.

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.

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.

Inflatable bocce courts developed in New Zealand will grace the stage of the world’s largest inclusive sporting event this month when they are used at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

The World Games will attract 7,000 athletes from around 170 countries for nine days of competition starting on Saturday (17 June).

The ‘Packabocce’ courts designed by Wellington-based Packaworld will be used for the World Games’ bocce competition, played at the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds. Bocce – a sport with similarities to bowls but played within a walled court – is enjoyed by more than 400,000 people in Special Olympics globally, making it the third most played sport, behind only football and golf.