Team sports are about having fun, promoting physical health and bringing people together. Special Olympics Unified Sports® teams do all of that – and shatter stereotypes about intellectual disability in the process.
Bringing People Together
In communities around the world, from the United States to Southeast Asia, Special Olympics athletes and their teammates without intellectual disabilities practice and play together on Unified Sports teams.
Unified Sports is a moving and exciting initiative for higher ability athletes of all ages, from youth to adults. Mixed teams provide the public direct opportunities to experience first-hand the capabilities and courage of Special Olympics athletes.
By having fun together in a variety of sports ranging from basketball to golf to figure skating, Unified Sports athletes and partners improve their physical fitness, sharpen their skills, challenge the competition and help to overcome prejudices about intellectual disability.
Inspiring Leadership
Special Olympics Unified Sports is fun for all ages – but is particularly powerful as an educational tool in schools. Special education teachers have reported the program to be extremely effective at integrating youth, promoting physical activity and inspiring leadership. One teacher reported, “I’ve seen more interaction on the field today between classmates than I’ve seen in my classroom all year.”
"Passing a ball across a court or racing down a field side by side teaches tolerance and acceptance in a way that is rarely achieved in the classroom."
K. Riordan, Special Olympics Unified Team Coach
Are you a fan yet!
A World of Neglect
People with intellectual disabilities are every society's most neglected population. Nearly 200 million people, or three percent of the world's population, have an intellectual disability, making it the largest disability population in the world.
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