Module Summary

What is the Special Olympics

Founded in 1968, the Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to 5 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.

Unified Champion Schools

The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools ® is a program that is aimed at promoting social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting systems-wide change. With sports as the foundation, the three-component model offers a unique combination of effective activities that equip young people with tools and training to create sports, classroom and school climates of acceptance. These are school climates where students with disabilities feel welcome and are routinely included in, and feel a part of, all activities, opportunities and functions.

This is accomplished by applying the three pillars of Unified Champion Schools program; Unified Sports, Inclusive Youth Leadership, and Whole School Engagement within schools.