Portable courts create ‘bocce wonderland’ at New York State Fall Games

Portable courts from Packaworld set the stage for the bocce competition at the Special Olympics New York State Fall Games recently.

The inclusive game was one of seven sports played at the annual event, which saw around 1,000 athletes from across the state competing for glory on 21 October.

The bocce competition was hosted on 10 Packabocce courts, all set up within the eye-catching Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said bocce was currently riding a wave of popularity and he was proud to see the courts helping to take competitions to the next level.

“It was a real bocce wonderland out there – an amazing event."

"Uniting people in the joy of sport is what Packaworld is all about and there are few movements that do inclusive and memorable sporting experiences better than Special Olympics."

Growing support for bocce and unified sports

Roberts said bocce was undergoing a “renaissance” in New York, due to its social nature and the support of high profile funding partners.

Late last week worldwide hospitality giant Delaware North partnered with Special Olympics New York to grow Unified Sports in Western New York schools, committing $100,000 over four years to support the participation of students in inclusive sports like bocce. The funding aims to help grow unified sports competitions, which see athletes with and without intellectual disabilities playing alongside each other in the same teams.

Earlier this year New York City Public Schools joined forces with Special Olympics New York to co-fund a $350,000 initiative to bring unified sports to students at more schools in the city. Bocce’s accessibility to people of all ages and abilities has made it a poster child for inclusive sport and a star performer in the unified sports programme, with Vance Toure, Special Olympics New York Director of Program for Unified Sports UCS and Community Engagement, saying the sport was “catching like wildfire”.

Roberts said Packaworld’s inflatable Packabocce courts made it easy for competition organisers to bring the game to “just about any flat surface they might choose to play on”.

Unlike conventional rigid courts, Packabocce courts can be transported easily, set up and packed away quickly, and are also wheelchair accessible due to an entry gate, allowing them to welcome all athletes.

The high-quality courts are fast becoming a mainstay of Special Olympics community bocce programs and major competitions, including the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin earlier this year.

> Find out more about our portable bocce courts on our Packabocce product page.