What are Unified Sports®, Unified Champion Schools® and Special Olympics College programming

What are Unified Sports®, Unified Champion Schools® and Special Olympics College programming


Special Olympics New York offers inclusive programming for individuals with and without intellectual or developmental disabilities through Unified Sports®, Unified Champion Schools® and Special Olympics College programming.

Are you an athlete?​ A Special Olympics athlete is a participant with an intellectual or developmental disability.
Are you a partner? A Special Olympics partner is a participant without an intellectual or developmental disability

Unified Sports: Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. 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.

Unified Champion Schools: The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program 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. This is accomplished by implementing inclusive sports, inclusive youth leadership opportunities, and whole school engagement.

Special Olympics College: Special Olympics College connects college students and individuals with intellectual disabilities through shared experiences. Together, college students and Special Olympics athletes can work together to build accepting campus communities and build friendships that help lead the social inclusion movement of Special Olympics. Special Olympics College programs are made up of the three components of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®: Special Olympics Unified Sports®, Inclusive Leadership, and Whole Campus Engagement.


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