news blog

Australia's all abilities hip hop Team stunned the competition at the recent ICU World Cheerleading Championships to claim gold in their first-ever attempt, supported by a secret weapon – portable line markings supplied by Packaworld to fine tune their training routines.

The 24-strong squad, made up of athletes aged from 11 to 39 with a wide range of abilities and disabilities, stole the show at the world championships over 25-28 April at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, USA.

Australian Cheer Union All Abilities Programme Lead Toni Altschwager says the result was exceptional, with the team triumphing over squads from the United States, England, Wales, Scotland and Canada.

Portable bocce courts are transforming physical education in New York City's schools, supporting an American boom in the Italian sport and opening doors for inclusion across the city's diverse communities.

Special Olympics New York Director of Unified Sports Vance Toure says bocce participation is skyrocketing, with its school programs experiencing 10 per cent growth in participation over the past year alone.

Unified bocce – where athletes with and without intellectual disabilities play together on teams on the same court – is increasingly common in schools across America, but New York’s push to bring it to middle schools, as well high schools, is novel.

"Bocce has been spreading like wildfire through schools in New York."

The 2025 Interscholastic Unified Sports Indoor Bocce State Tournament showcased the momentum of Maryland's unified bocce movement, with 32 teams battling for state honors on 12 portable Packabocce courts at Hagerstown Community College.

Held on 11 March, the tournament was evidence of the continuing growth of unified bocce in Maryland schools, where participation has increased by 23% in the past year – from 1,471 players in the 2023-2024 season to 1,812 players in 2024-2025.

Special Olympics Maryland Senior Director of High School Unified Sports Zachary Cintron says Packaworld’s high-quality inflatable courts have helped the sport grow in schools across the American state.

Portable goalball goals from Packaworld are helping Minnesota State Academy for the Blind to revolutionise its successful goalball program by allowing athletes to play the game they love in competition conditions.

That’s according to the academy’s athletic director Charlie Lechtenberg, who said goalball – a team sport designed specifically for athletes with visual impairments – had become the most popular of the six sports offered at MSAB.

“The students love everything that goalball has to offer and they love competing and travelling to other schools to play,” he said.

"Having goals will help better prepare students for our upcoming tournaments – they will have a better feel of the court.

Dozens more social bocce leagues have sprung up across the USA in recent years, fuelled by a new generation of players, portable bocce courts, and the kind of raw enthusiasm only the American Bocce Company (ABC) can provide.

Traditionally enjoyed by a more mature audience, bocce has captured the imagination of younger generations over the past decade, with participation numbers now reaching all-time highs.

ABC co-founder Alex Gara said ABC had recorded a 1,000% growth in players in its social bocce leagues since 2015 and numbers today were 40% higher than the previous peak in 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic.

A bright idea from a bocce lover in the remote Canadian town of Killarney has transformed its community centre’s curling rink into a hot new venue for summer bocce.

The transformation has been made possible through the purchase of two of Packaworld’s portable bocce courts, which take centre stage on Tuesdays for a social league being run by the local council during curling’s off-season.

Municipality of Killarney Project Coordinator Sanket Shinde said bringing the traditional Italian sport to the area was part of the municipality’s goal of improving community wellbeing and social engagement through recreation.

Although Killarney had a population of less than 500, locals deserved the same kinds of opportunities to enjoy physical activity as people in larger localities, he said.