Montecatini Terme hosts international dodgeball cup at renovated PalaTerme

Montecatini Terme turned the renovated, air-conditioned PalaTerme into an international dodgeball stop from July 10 to 12, with 18 delegations in the Invitational Dodgeball Cup 2026. The field gave the Tuscan city a clear signal of ambition: 11 Italian teams, two English sides, three Irish teams, one Spanish entry and one American team all showed up for a three-day tournament built to look bigger than a one-off local event.

Reapers Toscana Dodgeball carried the host banner and the pressure that comes with defending last year’s title. The weekend sat inside a wider push to keep dodgeball moving up in Italy and across Europe, and the mix of foreign entries made the point on the court. This was not a domestic tune-up dressed up as an international competition. It was a proper cross-border bracket, with English, Irish, Spanish and U.S. representation giving Montecatini one of the more international stopovers on the 2026 dodgeball calendar.

The venue did its share of the selling. PalaTerme was presented as a renovated, climatized arena meant to bring major events back to Montecatini, where a summer tournament can live or die by comfort. The site included a spectator area, food trucks, the venue snack bar and a supercar exhibit, turning the Cup into an all-day destination rather than a quick in-and-out match site. Friday’s opening ceremony leaned into the show, with the mascot Charlie, described as an avvoltoio, helping kick off the competition.

That setup mattered because the event was about more than a trophy. FIGeST says dodgeball is played around the world and grew out of palla prigioniera as a competitive evolution, while CONI lists FIGeST among Italy’s associated sports disciplines. In other words, Montecatini was not just hosting teams, it was hosting a sport trying to deepen its footing. A successful weekend at PalaTerme would strengthen the case for bigger events, more hotel nights and a more permanent place for dodgeball on the international circuit.