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The first-ever Special Olympics Caribbean Regional Bocce Tournament took place on 23-25 May, with athletes from across the archipelago throwing and rolling for glory on six portable courts provided by Packaworld.

The ground-breaking tournament was held at the Lions Centre in George Town, Cayman Islands’ capital, and welcomed teams from 16  surrounding Caribbean nations plus a US bocce squad representing Special Olympics North Carolina.

Competition Manager and Head Coach for Special Olympics Cayman Islands Nicole Thompson said the highlight of the tournament was bringing together athletes from so many neighbouring countries, making it a truly Caribbean competition.

Bocce has been experiencing a boom in popularity in the south of the Golden State, aided by Special Olympics community programs, passionate volunteers and new portable bocce courts that allow the game to be brought anywhere.

Nowhere was this more evident than at Special Olympics Southern California’s recent Ventura County Bocce Competition and Santa Clarita Valley Bocce Competition, where an impressive 29 teams  competed for glory.

Special Olympics Southern California Director of Sports and Programs Wendy Ellet said the recent purchase of 13 high-quality inflatable courts from Packaworld made it easier than ever to provide a memorable experience for the athletes taking part.

The growing sport of bocce took centre stage at the Pan-Cypriot Special Olympics 2024 earlier this month with 80 athletes from Cyprus, Malta and Greece competing in bocce singles action.

This year's event saw more than 650 athletes descend on venues in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca to compete in 10 different sports from 7-22 April.

Bocce is one of the fastest growing sports in Cyprus and three high-quality portable Packabocce courts were brought in to help ensure the Games’ bocce competition in Limassol on 12 April was a success.

Special Olympics Cyprus Office Director Costas Constantinou said more than one in 10 athletes at the Games competed in bocce this year.

A new aquatic sport is making a splash in Europe, supported by first-of-their-kind portable goals and fields from Packaworld to make bringing the game to new venues easy.

Water Skyball is a Hungarian invention, played in waist-deep water between teams of two.

Teams score points by throwing a ball into a goal that is divided into three sections – each worth a different number of points.

Water Skyball Federation President Zsolt Gyuris said the sport was created by the Fontanus Scientific Methodological Research and Educational Centre in 2013 and was growing in popularity thanks to its unique mix of strategy, movement and throwing accuracy.

Rugby training indoors usually means forgoing posts and sticking to drills that don’t include kicking drop goals or conversions. But that could all be about to change, thanks to a full-sized portable rugby posts innovation from the home of the All Blacks – New Zealand – that makes it to possible to play the game ‘for real’ on any surface and in any setting.

Developed by sports solutions company Packaworld International, the Rugby Packaposts feature a regulation height crossbar supported by inflatable uprights that are fully rigid once pumped up.

They have already trialled at tournaments and events in the USA but 18 February marked another milestone – their indoor debut at a special rugby training clinic for under-18 girls organised by Rugby UC.

Bigger, better and more ballsy than ever – bocce looks set to continue its meteoric rise in 2024.

The social and highly accessible sport has picked up where it left off before Covid and is now being played by more people and in entirely new locations.

From more unified sport on portable courts in US schools to bocce broadcasts and Olympic aspirations, we’ve taken a look at where bocce is headed this year.

Read our latest feature article exploring how far bocce has come, what the major trends are for the year ahead and where the game might be headed.

Bocce is going places.

A group of French Special Olympics athletes was introduced to bocce recently when one of Packaworld’s portable bocce courts was used at a multi-sport meeting in Issy-les-Moulineaux, on the outskirts of Paris.

The sport, which has similarities to lawn bowls and pétanque but is played within a walled court, was included to provide ‘taster sessions’ for athletes competing in basketball, climbing and a motor activity training programme (MATP) for those with limited mobility at the event.

Special Olympics France National Manager of Sport and Solidarity Events Antoine Fournier said more than 100 athletes played on the portable Packabocce court throughout the event, held on 17-18 November.

Lakers Social and Recreation Club is a beacon of community spirit in The Emerald Isle’s County of Wicklow, providing a supportive environment for children and adults with intellectual disabilities to thrive through the pleasure of social interaction and the joy of sport.

The Bray-based club was set up in 1989 by a group of local parents with intellectually disabled children who wanted to fill a social, sporting and developmental gap to help their children participate fully in the community and prepare for Special Olympics events in Ireland.

Lakers’ Fundraising and Communications Manager Grainne Clarke said the fast-growing sport of bocce had become a cornerstone of the club’s program because all its members could participate regardless of ability.