Manhattan Special Olympics is making history by sending a team to the World Games for the first time.

Following their participation in the USA Games last summer, the Manhattan Special Olympics co-ed volleyball team has secured a spot in the Special Olympiad in Berlin set to commence next week.

In the past, Manhattan has sent individuals to compete, but never a full team.

Head coach Kim Schnee, who’s been working with the Special Olympics for almost 40 years, said it will be a completely new experience for her and the team.

To get to this point, the team has prepared by practicing twice a week throughout the last year, and in addition, each athlete had to pay $8,000. That required a fundraising effort that was reached last month.

The opening ceremony will take place Saturday, June 17.

The competition begins the next day with a two-day divisioning process that ensures competition is equal between the teams that will be playing each other. After that, the team will have matches over the next three days.