Special Olympics Unified Sports Handbook

Special Olympics Unified Sport s ® b rings together athletes with and
without intellectual disabilities to train and compete on the same
team. Th roughout the ye a r, in a va riety of sports ra n ging from
b a s ketball to golf to fi g u re skat i n g, U n i fied Sports athletes improve their
p hysical fi t n e s s , s h a rpen their skills, ch a l l e n ge the competition and have
f u n , t o o .
The concept of combining athletes with intellectual disabilities and those
without (called part n e rs) was fi rst introduced in the United States in the
mid-1980s to provide another level of ch a l l e n ge for higher ability athletes
and to promote equality and inclusion. To d ay, the initiat ive includes virt u a l ly
all Special Olympics sport s , and Unified Sports competitions are an
i m p o rtant part of Special Olympics Wo rld Games, as well as local, s t ate
and national Games.
Unified Sports enables athletes to:
• learn new sport s ;
• develop higher- l evel sports skills;
• have new competition ex p e ri e n c e s ;
• ex p e rience meaningful inclusion as each athlete is ensured of play i n g
a valued role on the team;
• socialize with peers and fo rm friendships (the program provides a
fo rum for positive social interaction between teammates and often
leads to long-lasting friendships); and
• part i c i p ate in their communities and have choices outside of Special
O lympics (Unified Sports programs often are initiated by commu n i t y
p a rt n e rs , i n cluding parks and re c re ation dep a rt m e n t s , s ch o o l s , B oy s
and Girls Clubs of A m e rica and community sports orga n i z at i o n s .
These part n e rships help further include athletes in their community).
The Special Olympics Unified Sports Handbook
This handbook includes all the info rm ation coaches need to start and maintain
a successful Unified Sports program. For more info rm at i o n , contact the
Special Olympics Sports & Competition Dep a rtment at +1 (202) 628-3630.
© Special Olympics,Inc.,2003
All rights reserved
Introduction