A Pima County park facility will play host to the Special Olympics March 11-12 when the organization holds for the first time in Southern Arizona its state championships for basketball and cheerleading.

The 2016
basketball and cheerleading competition takes place at the
Sporting Chance Center facility at
Curtis Park, 2100 W. Curtis Road, along the Rillito River Park section of
The Loop. Some competitions also will be held at the
University of Arizona Student Recreation Center. Competitions take from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 11 and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 12.
The Sporting Chance Center is owned by Pima County and operated by Southern Arizona Community Sports, a 501(c) (3) organization with a goal of increasing opportunities in youth basketball for Southern Arizona youngsters. On July 19, 2013, the Sporting Chance Center hosted its first official event — the 20th Annual Sporting Chance Summer Slam youth basketball tournament, the longest running youth basketball tournament in Arizona and the largest in Southern Arizona.
Tom Carle, operations manager for the Sporting Chance Center, looks forward to the busy weekend with the special athletes.
“What you see and experience with these people is absolutely amazing,” Carle said. “It puts a whole lot of things in perspective about life.”
Registration begins at the Sporting Chance Center and the UA at 8 a.m. Evaluation rounds take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Click here for
the competition schedules.