ASAA Unified Sports
The Alberta Schools' Athletic Association (ASAA) has partnered with Special Olympics Alberta to bring this international program to our province. This partnership enables CIF member schools to implement Unified Sports programming on their respective campuses. The program started in September 2015 and continues to grow and gain support from high schools across Alberta.
What is Special Olympics Unified Sports?
Special Olympics 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.
The concept of combining athletes with and without intellectual disabilities was first introduced in the mid-1980s to provide another challenge for higher-ability athletes and promote equality and inclusion. Unified Sport has become a transformative platform for breaking down barriers, fostering greater acceptance and promoting social inclusion and empowerment through sports. It is now a global movement that brings people together through sport. About 1.2 million people worldwide take part in Unified Sports. This program empowers individuals with and without intellectual disabilities to engage through the power of sports.
Components of a Unified Sports Program:
A Special Olympics Athlete is an athlete with an intellectual disability; typically, someone who is interested in sport participation, is competitive, and enjoys playing on a team.
A Unified Partner is someone without an intellectual disability; typically, someone who is interested in sport participation, is competitive, and enjoys playing on a team.
Meaningful Competition is an important component of Unified Sport. Coaches are responsible for putting players of comparable skill together on a team and on the court in a game so that an evenly matched competition will allow opportunities for every team member to contribute.
Divisions: Competitive & Recreation
Division 1 - Competitive
- All athletes and partners must have attained the necessary sport-specific skills and tactics to compete without modification and
Division 2 - Recreation and Player Development
- Athletes are learning or new to the sport.
- Unified Partners take on a more facilitator role and support athletes in developing their skills and understanding of the game.
- In this case, Unified Partners have a heightened focus on communication, defending the opposing Unified Partner and passing.
Teammates may be of varying ages and ability levels. However, they must be engaged together on the same team in the activity and in a meaningful and appropriate manner.
How to Get Involved?
- Form a team by reaching out to colleagues, and school administrators to initiate the program. Whether you are a teacher, coach, or school staff member, the first step is to collaborate with your school to get the program started. To get the program off the ground, reach out to unified@asaa.ca for additional support and guidance.
- Pair a group of Unified Sports Athletes/Special Education Students with a smaller group of mainstream students.
- Select Unified Partners from leadership classes, sports teams, or through extracurricular sign-ups. Unified Partners are typically chosen from a leadership class, a sports team, or students can sign up for it as an extracurricular activity. Unified Partners range from the starters on the basketball team to student leaders to students who have never had the opportunity to play on a team.
- Participate in in-person sports, virtual events, athlete showcases, or qualify for school championships.