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.

​No more shooting between cones or through fluro training bibs lying on the ground. A Special Olympics programme in New Zealand is taking its football training to the next level with a set of new Packagoals from Packaworld International.

The portable goals are being used by the Special Olympics Hutt Valley to prepare for a local Tier 1 Football Tournament in May and then the big one later in the year – the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Hamilton from 8-12 December.

Mark Cullen, head coach of the Special Olympics Hutt Valley football programme, says the team is delighted with their new Football Packagoals.
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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.

Portable bocce ball courts are from Packaworld are helping to pump up bocce participation in one of the world’s windiest cities.

Special Olympics Wellington has purchased two Competition Packabocce courts to help grow bocce in New Zealand’s capital and to ensure players can train in all weather.

Bert Warda, the head bocce coach at Special Olympics Wellington, says the high-quality inflatable courts are helping athletes maximise training sessions for future competition.

“It’s fantastic to be able to take them indoors or outdoors depending on the conditions, and the timing is perfect as our region’s bocce players prepare for the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Hamilton in December 2022.”