news blog

Bocce ball has become a star addition to the activity schedule at the Westminster Lakeland continuing care retirement community in Florida, after the purchase of a portable bocce court hit a sporting sweet spot with its winning blend of social connection and gentle exercise.

Bob Slavkovsky, a resident at Westminster Lakeland, said the inaugural bocce ball competition he helped organize in October drew in dozens of enthusiastic players who are now raring to keep rolling on a regular basis.

“We had a great turnout for a party to celebrate the opening of our bocce court, and we’ve set it up for a whole weekend every month in our activity center.

“People here love bocce and one individual has come up with a wonderful chart to keep score of the games.”

Whether you're setting up a backyard bocce court for some summer fun, planning competitions across multiple venues or managing a community-sports program at a leisure center, choosing between a fixed and portable bocce ball court is an important decision.

Each option has benefits and drawbacks depending on how you plan to use your bocce court, the specifications you require, and your budget.

In this helpful guide, we explore the pros and cons of fixed and portable bocce ball courts  to help you make the best choice possible.

The court you choose will depend on your circumstances and how you want to use it.

Some of Texas’ most skilful and enthusiastic bocce athletes rolled into action at the recent Special Olympics Texas Fall Classic, competing for glory on the same high-quality portable bocce ball courts that will be used at the Special Olympics USA Games next year.

More than 300 athletes and Unified Partners took part in the Fall Classic’s bocce competition, joining hundreds of other competitors taking part in swimming, golf and softball events across the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa on 2-4 October. 

Special Olympics Texas Executive Director of Competitions and Sports Programming Chad Eason said the portable Packabocce courts used at the event provided a professional playing experience and had proven invaluable for the state’s growing bocce ball scene.

As bocce fever continues to spread globally, Puerto Rico and St Kitts and Nevis have been unable to resist it, with the arrival of new Packaworld portable bocce courts bolstering the sport’s boom in popularity throughout the Caribbean region.

Bocce ball athletes throughout Puerto Rico flocked to its Special Olympics National Bocce Tournament in September, hosted using the new courts at Pista Rafael Meléndez Pagán – an athletics track in the coastal area of Barceloneta.

The athletes and courts will be back in action at the Coliseo Roger Mendoza in Caguas on 11 October for the bocce ball competition of the Special Olympics Puerto Rico National Games.

Bocce is gaining traction across Northern California thanks to a surge of participation in Special Olympics community programs – and the support of portable Packabocce courts that are making it easier to bring the sport to athletes.

While school-based unified sports are leading the charge in many US states, Northern California’s bocce boom is being driven by community programs – providing opportunities for people to participate in sport outside of school and during adulthood.

Special Olympics Northern California Sports Manager Mikey Parissenti says participation in the organization’s program has grown by 5-7% over the past year, with bocce’s accessibility playing a key role in that growth.

When Greg Travers decided to set up Vino Bocce to roll out bocce ball sessions at wineries across California’s Napa Valley and Sonoma counties, he knew portable Packabocce courts would provide the perfect stage.

“The plan is simple – bring bocce to wineries. The Packaworld courts are perfect.”

Kicking off earlier this month with an event at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards in Sonoma, Vino Bocce is now hosting occasions offering everything from bocce lessons and clinics to mix-and-mingle meet-ups and corporate functions, pairing wine appreciation with bocce fun.

Travers is a former commissioner of one of America’s largest bocce clubs – the Martinez Bocce Federation – and he said the response from its 2,400 members had been “100% positive”.