Packaworld’s custom-made inflatable water polo playing fields featured at the Karratha Water Polo Association’s annual Australia Day water polo tournament at Malus Island, located 20 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia.

Known as ‘H20Polo@theisland’, the tournament attracted more than 50 players and numerous spectators, who enjoyed a day of sun, sport and the sea in a spectacular offshore setting.

Karratha Water Polo Association President Justin Angove said being able to play water polo in a location where few would even dream of playing made the event special. 

Imagine playing water polo in a remote patch of ocean 20 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia or enjoying a major beach water polo tournament on the Sydney shoreline. This dream will become reality this summer thanks to Australian sporting pioneers using specially made water polo playing fields that float on the ocean’s surface.

​Malus Island in the Dampier Archipelago will be the setting for the Western Australian event, which will see dozens of private vessels anchor for a unique Australia Day tournament. Inflatable water polo goals and custom-made water polo playing fields from Packaworld International will be used to create a one-of-a-kind experience for everyone taking part.

An award-winning swim school in Wellington, New Zealand is inspiring children to learn to swim with the help of Junior Water Polo Packagoals.

Tawa-based Easyswim Swim School launched junior water polo sessions in February 2017. These ‘Splash Attack’ sessions are a form of junior water polo played in shallow school pools so all children can play.

The swim school’s founder and director Todd Morton says introducing the sport at a junior level has given swimming teachers a way to help children understand the practical importance of skills in the water and comprehend not just how to swim, but also why swimming skills are important.

Perth’s youngsters are keeping active in Western Australia’s summer heat thanks to the introduction of Junior Water Polo Packagoals at Beatty Park Leisure Centre in North Perth.

More than 80 children are enjoying the inflatable goals from Packaworld International each week as part of Triton Water Polo Club’s shared Flippaball Competition with Newman Water Polo. Over 50 children also turn up to Triton’s junior training sessions each weekend.

Triton Flippaball Coordinator Jemma Day says the club’s newest purchase, from the ‘professional’ range of Junior Water Polo Packagoals, is taking the hassle out of training for the club and stands out amongst the alternatives.

Heading into the finals of the Rotorua Primary School Flippaball Competition, Water Polo Packagoals are making an impression with tournament organisers and enabling safe and speedy setup so more children can get active and play the popular aquatic sport.

Tournament organiser and John Paul College Sports Director Arthur Faulkner says around 245 students from schools throughout the Rotorua District have been participating each week in the spring competition.

"The Division A finalists this year are the Lynmore School Makos and St Mary's Cougars. They typically perform well year upon year, but some of our country schools including Rotokawa School have been real up-and-comers.

A Wellington businessman has single-handedly steered his innovative portable products company to international success.

Packaworld​, a provider of blow-up sporting goods, has recently secured a contract with five ships operated by P&O Cruises, which will use specially designed inflatable bocce courts on board.

Bocce is similar to lawn bowls and usually played on a sizeable court.
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The traditional bulky wooden courts had posed a significant barrier to offering the Italian sport on cruise ships or in shared spaces in the past.

Packaworld chief executive Peter Roberts said the inflatable, Packabocce courts could be used inside or outdoors, and can be set up and packed away in minutes.

Five cruise ships operated by P&O Cruises have added the sport of bocce to their list of on-board activities, thanks to an innovative portable court developed by a New Zealand company.

Packaworld developed inflatable ‘Packabocce’ courts in competition and recreation sizes to overcome the storage challenges posed by traditional bocce courts, which are 60 feet long and 12 feet wide. The size and bulk of traditional courts has posed a significant barrier to offering the Italian sport on cruise ships or in shared spaces in the past.

​P&O Cruises Head of Entertainment Brett Annable said it was exciting to be able to offer bocce as an activity in a part of the world where it was less well known.

The Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre are the latest Packaworld customer who've acquired Packagoals.

​The  Junior Water Polo Goals have proven to be a great hit with Aquatic Centres and Water Polo clubs around New Zealand as they're quick and easy to set up, pack up and store. Inflated in less than a minute they not only look great but are providing a lot more options for facility managers.

"This is a fantastic product and will really help with growing Junior Water Polo in the Waikato region," said Doug Campbell, Waikato Water Polo Club. 

“Using these goals has significantly reduced the health and safety risk to our young staff, which is a huge priority for the Waikato Water Polo Club. Our previous goals were: cumbersome, rigid and heavy, making them awkward and difficult to set up and put away."

The Governor-General, Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae the personal representative of New Zealand's Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand, was very impressed with the Packaworld products on display at the Holiday Parks Association of New Zealand (HAPNZ) annual conference.

Of particular interest was a Packabench, the ultimate mobile seating solution, which was proudly shown off by Packaworld Head, Pete Roberts.

"Jerry was very interested with all the products we had on display and was surprised at the speed I managed to inflate one of the Packagoals," said Roberts.  

Swimming Pool and Aqua Centre Facility Managers are quickly realising that the inflatable goals, from Packaworld, not only provide a professional looking water polo goal but also serve to protect the pool side environment.

"It's a bigger problem than I actually thought," said Packaworld Head, Pete Roberts after inspecting the pool side of one of Wellingtons biggest aqua centres. "The good news is that there is a solution" 

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.

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."   

"These are so much better than I thought they'd be," said NZ assistant coach,  Jess Dorman after trialing out the new inflatable Packagoals from Packaworld. 

"They sit really nicely in the water and can certainly take the impact of some fierce shots - I'm impressed. That said, the best thing about them is the way they can be quickly packed away which from a coaches perspective will solve a lot of problems about transporting goals to venues that do not have proper equipment." 

Auckland play host to the 13th Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Festival, with over 2000 participants it makes it the largest water polo event in the southern hemisphere.  This year the biennial event has attracted 131 teams from around NZ, United States, Singapore and Australia.

"We're excited about being involved in this event which provides us with an ideal opportunity to show off what we've got to offer to the water polo fraternity." said Packaworld head, Peter Roberts. "Our Water Polo Packagoals are one of our biggest sellers here in New Zealand and they cater for both adult and junior versions of the game - Flippaball. "