The portable courts helping bocce thrive in New Zealand’s capital city

Portable bocce ball courts are from Packaworld are helping to pump up bocce participation in one of the world’s windiest cities.

Special Olympics Wellington has purchased two Competition Packabocce courts to help grow bocce in New Zealand’s capital and to ensure players can train in all weather.

Bert Warda, the head bocce coach at Special Olympics Wellington, says the high-quality inflatable courts are helping athletes maximise training sessions for future competition.

“It’s fantastic to be able to take them indoors or outdoors depending on the conditions, and the timing is perfect as our region’s bocce players prepare for the Special Olympics National Summer Games in Hamilton in December 2022.”

Trainings were previously held on a fixed court at Mornington Golf Club, but sessions were always dependent on the weather. Now the club’s training sessions take place at Toitu Poneke Centre in Kilbirnie, where the Packabocce courts are used indoors.

“The Packabocce courts are very easy to set up and the players enjoy them,” Warda says.

Designed for Special Olympics programmes and events, Competition Packabocce courts are easily transported in a wheely bag and can be pumped up and packed away in a matter of minutes.

The ancient Italian sport is still relatively new to Wellington but it is growing fast, with support from Special Olympics New Zealand and Special Olympics Manawatū – which also uses Packabocce courts in its programme and has one of the largest playing numbers of any bocce club in the country.

In 2018 there were more than 440,000 people playing bocce in Special Olympics programmes around the world, and over 600 in New Zealand across 27 clubs.

The upcoming Special Olympics Summer Games in Hamilton will bring more than 1,600 athletes together for the multi-day event, a year after it was cancelled due to the pandemic.