BELFAST — Unified basketball, in its simplest terms, packages all that is good and pure about sports and wraps it up in a perfect red bow.
And that spectacle was on full display Tuesday, March 12 at Belfast Area High School for the inaugural Belfast Unified Basketball Festival.
The five-team, end-of-season play day was a rousing success as a handful of student athletes played, danced, laughed, encouraged one another and displayed unparalleled sportsmanship on the court.
Unified basketball brings together both Special Olympic Athletes and general student-athletes (partners) in 5-on-5 competition.
Belfast athletic director Susan Robbins, who has been an athletic director for over 20 years at various schools, said Tuesday's event "went extremely well and everyone had a great time" and is looking forward to it becoming an annual event at BAHS.
"Unified Basketball has taken off in our state and the MPA began offering festivals as a way of celebrating the end of the season," she said. "I have hosted several over the years. When I learned that the Midcoast area did not have an end of the year festival, I offered to host KVAC schools in the area."
A team must have three unified student-athletes and two unified student partners on the floor at all times, with each side allowed up to 22 individuals on their bench and should, if possible, include an equal number of athletes and partners.
In addition, unified athletes must score at least 75 percent of the game’s points.
All teams play a minimum of six regular season games and a maximum of eight, in addition to taking part in optional, end-of-season festivals held statewide.
Games typically consist of two 20-minute, running-time halves, with the clock stopped for foul shots, substitutions and in dead-ball situations in the final minute of each half. Overtimes, if warranted, are four minutes in length.
However, Tuesday’s play day featured shortened contests and the full games were 20 minutes in length, with seven games on tap and each team competing in three games.
Scores from Tuesday’s play day included: Belfast 49, Mount View 26; Camden Hills 30, Mount View 23; Nokomis 34, Medomak Valley 18; Nokomis 35, Mount View 31; Medomak Valley 26, Camden Hills 22; Camden Hills 38, Belfast 36; and Belfast 44, Nokomis 41.
Midway through the festivities, a 15-minute dance party erupted on the court with athletes, partners, coaches and even fans converging to shake a leg to a handful of crowd-pleasing songs both past and present.
In regular season play, Oceanside finished the season 5-1, while Belfast finished 5-2; Camden Hills, 4-2; Medomak Valley, 2-4; and Mount View, 2-3-1.
Team members for Medomak Valley, coached by Tracie McLain, Paul Smeltzer and Jason Stewart, included Gavin White, Shamus Pease, Grady Pease, Josh Blake, Landen Stewart, Isaac Richardson, Lilly Hills, Joey Vargas, Skylar Hills, Hailey Campbell, Austin Richardson, Cole Bales, Finn Kelly and Marshall Addy.
Team members for Oceanside, coached by Josh Mitchell, Colleen Rickard and Aubrey Hoose, included Olivia Robbins, Liz Everett, Hannah Erickson, Brian Farnham, Shawn Williams, Chris Mansfield, Laiken Parent, Aiden Jones and Autumn Pierce.
Team member for Belfast, coached by Sara McIntire and Tina Young, included Ethan Abbott, Eddie Blakesley, Steven DeGraff, Nick Duffelmeyer, Connor Faulkingham, Mila Fenise, Gary Gale, Charles Gray, Brianna Grindle, Alex Higgins, Jacob Lindelof, Caden Nickerson, Breanna Shorey and Chris Taylor.
Team members for Mount View, coached by Vinny Vannah, included Christian Moody, Laurel Hunstburger, Billy Bragdon, Jordan Von Oesen, Breanna Gray, Jeremy Moulton and Julie Gray.
Team members for Camden Hills, coached by Anna Alley, included Emily Brown, Addison Hinds, Fisher Thomas, Levi Thomas, Emma Deetjen, Noah Widdecomb, Kanoa Wolfrum, Autumn Foster, Christopher Genthner, Tegan Carlson, Aden Gould, Manny Mosheyev, Abigail Butler, Cleo Dishner, Byron Sparhawk, Carter Thomas, Amelia Johnson, Brenna Odone, Hannah Leavitt, Landon Marquis, Madison Hannan, Tallulah Marks, Hollis Schwalm and Tully Glick.