(KAIR)--Special Olympics Kansas is gearing up for the inaugural Unified Basketball Tournament schedule to take place this weekend in Atchison.

The sixteen team field will be made up of teams from as far away as Topeka and Kansas City, and will include teams from Atchison High School and Atchison Middle School. Director of Sports for Special Olympics Kansas Clint Armistead says the unified format means that the athletes will be assisted by peers without intellectual disabilities, and will give them the chance to experience interactions with peers they may not see on a day to day basis, since they may be in separate parts of a school building. Armistead says this is an excellent chance for these kids who normally do not hang out with a school's general population to participate in sports and to be active members of the school. It is hoped that the friendships and the teamwork that is developed on the court, will transition to the classroom.

Armistead says that the tournament is strictly structured to give participants the best opportunity to excel. It is five on five basketball, and the teams are placed in divisions based on the skill level of the players on a team. He says this provides a great opportunity for those athlete who are still learning to play the game to develop those fundamentals needed to excel in a safe environment. But it also allows more talented athletes to work on more difficult skills.

Atchison High School student Lindy Hanson, who helped coordinate the event, says she had heard of it being done elsewhere, and wanted to bring it to Atchison. She said the Middle School had done field trips where they did things with Special Olympics and Unified sports.

She adds that the tournament is a partnership between the Middle School and the High School.

The Special Olympics Unified Basketball Tournament will take place Sunday afternoon from 12 noon to 5:00 at Atchison Middle School. The event is free, and everyone is invited to attend. For more information, visit ksso.org/kusl.

Middle Schools participating include Aubry Bend and Pleasant Ridge from the Blue Valley School district, Arrowhead from Kansas City, KS, and Clark Middle from Bonner Springs.

Participating High Schools include Washburn Rural, Harmon, Schlage, Bonner Springs, and Lawrence.