Water Skyball aiming for rapid growth with support from new portable goals

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.

“It’s a totally different sport and anyone can play. We now have teams playing in Hungary, Germany, Poland, Romania, Greece and Austria – many from universities.”

The fact that people didn’t have to swim to take part meant anyone could enjoy it, including children, older people and people with disabilities, Gyuris said.

Innovation is part of the sport’s DNA

The Federation recently trialled a new portable invention – Water Skyball Packagoals – to make it easier to grow the game in new locations and amongst new communities.

The four-metre-wide goals are inflatable yet rigid when set up, allowing organisers to take the sport into schools, remote swimming pools and new countries for competitions.

“The goals are performing excellently,” Gyuris said. “They are very stable and easy to take with you.”

Water Skyball Packagoals were developed by Packaworld International, a company headquartered in New Zealand and best known for portable goalball goals and a range of high-quality inflatable Packabocce courts helping to grow bocce in social leagues and at major Special Olympics competitions around the world.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said he saw “immense potential” in Water Skyball.

“It’s fantastic to be able to support the growth of a totally new game that is democratising aquatic sports and making them accessible to a broader audience.”

The future of Water Skyball

Gyuris said the next step for the sport would be setting up competitive leagues outside Hungary, including German, Polish and Slovenian championships.

The Federation would also explore opportunities in other countries by setting up relationships with universities and aspiring clubs to grow the sport internationally.

“We have established a men’s and women’s Water Skyball National Championship and Super Cup in Hungary and we are now at the stage where we can take the sport to new countries.

“The last barrier to doing that was the mobile field and goals. We had aluminium goals but they were very difficult to set up and transport.”

Gyuris said the sport’s potential to get more people physically active and support rehabilitation from injury had helped it secure funding from private investors. It had also secured funding through prominent grant schemes, such as the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme for education, training youth and sport.