news blog

When it comes to playing bocce ball, not all courts are created equal.

There’s a wide variety of courts available, from fixed set ups at community facilities through to highly portable inflatable courts that can be taken with you and pumped up in minutes.

This bocce ball court guide answers common questions about bocce court dimensions, construction materials and surfaces, and how to find a court or league near you.

Read on to take your bocce game and knowledge to the next level.

The ancient sport of bocce has undergone a resurgence in some parts of the world, helped in part by the invention of a new portable court that lets players take the game with them wherever they go.

Traditional bocce courts are made of wood or stone and can be 8-14 feet wide and 60-100 feet long. These are the kinds of courts that were used in town squares and courtyards during the days of the Ancient Roman empire.

They look good and work fine, but they are far from portable. They certainly can’t be packed up and taken to communities and locations crying out for new and accessible recreational opportunities.

Packaworld was announced as a finalist in the Global Gold category of the 2016 Wellington Gold Awards last night.

This award recognises major business contributions from Wellington-based exporters of goods and services. Previous winners include Icebreaker (2006) and Xero (2012).

Packaworld CEO Peter Roberts said he was “blown away” by the news.

The award finalists were named at Te Wharewaka o Poneke function centre, in Wellington. A full list of finalists is available on the awards website, and features in an article in today's edition of the Dominion Post.

Children from 10 primary schools took part in the first ever  Mini Water Polo Festival at the Pelican Centre in Tyldesley, UK.

Over 90 children from St. George's Central, St. Philip's, Holy Family, St. Michael's, Garrett Hall, St. Richard's, Tyldesley Primary, St. Ambrose Barlow, St. Stephen's and St. John's all took part in five minute matches against other teams in their group.

"It was an exciting final match," said Paul Costello, tournament organiser.

Packagoals proved a big talking point amongst water polo enthusiasts at the Liverpool Aquatic Centre, Wavertree.

 Joanne Mountfield, Swim Northwest Regional Manager and ex international, had nothing but praise for the adult and junior water polo goals on display.

"These are brilliant," she said. "I can clearly see that these could be put to good use especially from a coaches perspective. Must admit I didn't expect these to be so rigid and stable [in the water] and it's hard to believe that they're inflatable and compact down into a small bag. This is a real bonus and will make it a lot easier for us to promote our sport further afield to schools nationwide."