Module Summary

Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences, which takes us to the first pillar of the UCS program; Unified Sports. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability, these teams would combine an approximately equal number of students with and without intellectual disabilities.

The first step towards being a Unified Champion school is to meet the following standards:

1. Unified Sports is offered in at least 2 semesters throughout the school year.

2. Unified Sports participation occurs regularly over the course of each sport season or school term and includes competition.

3. An adult coach for each sport who has received training on Special Olympics Unified Sports.

4. Unified Sports is officially recognized by the school in a similar style as other athletics/activities.