Students of Jardon Vocational School in Michigan are having a ball with Packaworld’s Competition Packabocce courts.

As well as putting smiles on faces, the portable bocce ball courts are helping students’ cognitive, physical, social and emotional development and contributing to educational outcomes – such as learning how to make a game plan, analyse it, and plan for improvement.

​“On the bocce ball court there is no physical contact, but a lot of friendly competition,” says Nanette Renkiewicz, Jardon’s psychologist and bocce ball coach. “We’re seeing individual growth and team growth, as well as learning about sportsmanship: how to give and take ‘smack talk’ and compliments.”

The start of 2021 has been a time of new beginnings in the USA. Joe Biden has been inaugurated as the new president, NASA’s Perseverance rover will soon touchdown on Mars, and for those who love bocce ball – the first major American Bocce Company event of the year has been held in the shape of the Winter Ball Championship.

This year’s event was proudly supported by Packaworld, which supplies the portable bocce courts used in American Bocce Company​  leagues across the USA. Thirty-two teams duked it out across five days, competing in pairs at Bridge 410 in Chicago.

“Our Winter Ball Championship has been the perfect way to get bocce rolling for 2021, says American Bocce Company president Alex Gara.

A group of masked bocce players relaxes around a portable Packaworld bocce ball court in the backyard of a stylish event venue in Chicago, Illinois. They are in pairs, spaced apart, and each stands alongside their own set of bocce balls – freshly cleaned and glistening with soapy water from buckets that take pride of place at the head of each court.

After months without bocce because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, these players are learning how to enjoy the sport they love safely. It’s slightly different to what they have known in the past, but the return to play measures introduced by the American Bocce Company mean organised leagues are again possible.

“The biggest challenge has been navigating new information, evolving protocol, and city-wide uncertainty”, says American Bocce Company President Alex Gara.

Bocce ball has been undergoing a quiet revolution over the past few years as new portable courts allow enthusiasts to take the sport to exciting new locations.

No longer are players limited to parks and venues that have existing courts made of wood or stone. High quality inflatable courts made from heavy duty thermoplastic have allowed a new generation of players to transform almost any environment into a bocce lover’s dream.

Many bars, music festivals, breweries, luxury resorts and even cruise ships have become bocce hotspots, using portable courts to run pop-up events and social leagues. Some of the settings for these events are hard to believe – from bocce ball on the decks of cruise ships to high rolling in the open air at a Chicago whiskey bar, the modern game of bocce is reaching new heights.

From ancient Italy to the city of Omaha, Nebraska, the sport of bocce ball has brought people together in an age-old sporting ritual. Add quality craft beer to the mix and you will find the ideal recipe for new friends and good times.

Jeff Larson and his team of social sport enthusiasts at All in Sports brought portable Packabocce courts to Omaha, founding new bocce leagues in fall 2019. Now the sport is taking off, with new leagues springing up across the city.

Mr Larson says bocce and beer is “undeniably a match made in heaven”. This enlightened understanding led to a partnership with the Nebraska Brewing Company to host the Game on Omaha! brewery league, based on the dreams of backyard bocce enthusiasts.

“What’s better than bocce and beer! The two go hand-in-hand."

A popular swim school in Washington State is inspiring children to learn valuable water skills and discover a love of aquatic sports with the help of portable Junior Water Polo Packagoals from Packaworld International.

7C’s Swim School teacher and junior water polo coach Kat Cunningham started water polo clinics in 2018 for swimmers over the age of eight who displayed the right skills and a willingness to play.

Held at the swim school’s Woodmoor Elementary aquatic venue in Bothell, the lessons were initially run only occasionally, as a low-key way to show children how to use their newfound swimming skills to have fun. But they grew in popularity and, with the addition of inflatable Water Polo Packagoals in 2019, the swim school has taken its water polo coaching clinics to the next level, Ms Cunningham said.