A total of 338 Central Missourians competed Saturday in a Special Olympics bowling tournament at the Fulton Bowling Center.
Diane Brimer, Central Area Special Olympics director, said Special Olympics teams came from Fulton, Jefferson City, Columbia and Eldon.
In December they will attend district competition at either St. Charles or St. Joseph. The state tournament is scheduled for May 31 next year.
Joey Garrard, 38, of Fulton said he has been competing in Special Olympics since he was 8 years old.
"I really enjoy doing this. It's fun," Garrard said. He is a Global Messenger for the Special Olympics program.
About 50 unified partners teamed up with Special Olympics competitors at Saturday's event in Fulton.
Unified Sports joins people with and without developmental disabilities on the same team. Ken Petterson of Fulton said the pairing was inspired by an idea that playing together and training together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
In Unified Sports, teams are created by people of similar age or ability. This makes practices more fun and games more challenging.
One of the Fulton teams included Thomas Swenson, 21, a Fulton High School graduate, with his Unified Partner, Brian Larson.
Petterson of Fulton said his son Aiden competed in Saturday's event as a Unified Partner with Eric Crosby of Fulton.
Other teams organized Saturday included Kayla Weaver with her Unified Partner, Kate Larson; and Cristina Briceno with her Unified Partner, Emme Curran.
Larson, Petterson and Curran are fifth graders at Bartley Elementary School in Fulton.
Weaver is a third grader at McIntire Elementary School in Fulton. Crosby is a junior at Fulton High School. Briceno is 36 and has been bowling for five years.
When tournaments are organized, scores from practices are used to match teams with similar scores against each other. This gives all teams a chance to win the competition.
Teams in Saturday's competition have been practicing together since August.
Tournament competition continues today with six bowling sessions spread over two days.