Great Bend will host the Special Olympics Kansas West Region Basketball and Cheerleading Competition on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The first event will start at 9 a.m. at the Panther Activity Center, 2450 19th St.

“This will be the first time we’ve done this in Great Bend,” said Brent Kaiser, regional director. He hopes it will become an annual event here.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the community,” including donations for meals and people signing up as volunteers. They still have openings for about 25 volunteers and community members are invited to join in helping make this event a success for Special Olympics Kansas athletes.

Special Olympics accepts volunteers aged 12 and older but those 12-15 years old must have adult supervision. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Kaiser by email at kaiserb@soks.org. 

The Special Olympics state basketball and cheerleading event will be March 17-18 in Hays but to qualify athletes must first attend a regional event. 

There are 41 counties in the western region with the major cities being Great Bend, Garden City, Liberal, Hays and Dodge City.

Sign up to volunteer  online at https://www.givepulse.com/event/348273?fbclid=IwAR0T2uNTDaOoSUGLQ0TYucKHMo2xEwe-E9ktYoz3WR5mKFmeFtgc3C2mZ7s