Last Wednesday, the Platte Valley Vikings hosted the annual Special Olympics Basketball tournament. This is a long-standing tradition, as Valley has been hosting for the last six years.

There were over 20 teams represented from various locations, including middle and high schools from all over northeastern Colorado. Jeff Franklin, the manager for the region made sure the event ran smoothly, with a large help from Valley.

Greeley West sent three teams, and each played two games within their division. Divisions were determined by skill level and age group. Each division competed against each other, and Greeley West’s teams  placed third in each of their divisions. There were also two wheelchair teams that played against each other, comprising of students from different schools altogether.

There were four courts in play during the tournament. The games had four quarters, each being about 6-8 minutes long. Each break was about two minutes long. The entire day was built on a very tight schedule, finishing the day with a provided lunch of hotdogs, pizza and kool-aid.

Jeff Franklin stated, “if I had to rank today on a scale, I’d say 9.5 out of 10. I say that because Valley has been so amazing; they provide the food, venue, some of the volunteers and more. It’s been a great day and I couldn’t have done it without them”.