Portable courts to bridge the gap in Florida Keys’ bocce scene

Bocce will soon be booming across the islands of the Florida Keys thanks to the recent arrival of eight high-quality portable bocce courts purchased by Special Olympics Florida.

The revolutionary courts, developed by Packaworld International, will be provided to schools in the archipelago so they can run school-based and inter-school unified bocce competitions for students. Generous grants from the Ocean Reef Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys helped make the purchase possible.

“The portable courts allow us to offer the sport of bocce to a wider range of individuals with disabilities and also provide inclusive opportunities for those without disabilities," said Ruth Coleman from Special Olympics Florida.

“They will make local competitions possible and we will have children as young as eight learning how to play, as well as students in Unified Championship Schools and older adults who do not compete in team sports.”

The Unified Champion Schools initiative is run by Special Olympics Florida, bringing together students with and without intellectual disabilities to enjoy the camaraderie of competition.

State wide, Special Olympics Florida serves nearly 60,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities, providing sports competition and training, crucial health services and life-changing leadership programs.

The new Packabocce courts were used for the first time at a session for coaches on 7 January, where coaches got together to practise setup and share tips and advice about engaging people in bocce.

Organisers plan to use the courts at the Monroe County Games on 3 March – an inter-school event that will be attended by 75 students, along with two community teams from local Adult Training Programs.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said the Florida Keys were an ideal location to deploy the portable courts.

“The Florida Keys are a textbook place to use portable courts because of the logistical challenges of finding a place to play together on existing fixed courts and the challenges of transporting court walls between islands.”

The sport of bocce is an ancient game enjoying ever increasing modern popularity, both within the Special Olympics and among young people who are playing in a growing number of social leagues and competitions at bars, restaurants and music festivals across the USA.

The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands off the southern coast of Florida stretching over 137 square miles.

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