A program that has students with and without intellectual disabilities compete together on school sports teams is expanding to include two bocce tournaments in Alberta this October.
The Special Olympics initiative is widespread in the United States, where students in more than 4,300 middle and high schools participate.
Canada has been slower to embrace Unified Sports, though Ontario holds Unified competitions alongside the Special Olympics high school championships and Alberta has been experimenting with the program for about a year.
John Paton, the executive director of the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association, told the Examiner he had been hearing about Unified Sports for a number of years, but it wasn’t until a presentation by the school athletic association in Washington State inspired him to bring the program to Alberta.
Alberta’s high school program, which is funded by grants from the provincial and federal governments, launched last year with basketball and track and field competitions.
The basketball tournament drew 33 participants to an Edmonton event and 45 to one in Calgary.
Shanna Kurylo, the program co-ordinator who has been pitching Unified Sports to schools around the province for just over a year, said feedback from athletes and coaches “was absolutely incredible” at the events.
One assistant principal said his students were more excited to be there playing basketball than they were for their school trip the next month.
The idea behind the movement is to get students (those with disabilities and those without) interacting and building relationships. Athletes get to compete for their school and partners and coaches gain mentorship and leadership experience.
“What struck a chord with me was a comment from a teacher who said that the kids who didn’t have intellectual disabilities were now walking down the hall and giving other kids high fives,” Paton said.
As of Friday, eight teams had registered for the Edmonton bocce tournament, which is scheduled for Oct. 7 at the Edmonton East Soccer Centre, 12720 Victoria Trail.
The best Alberta bocce team will get the chance to travel to Ontario to participate in the Special Olympics Ontario High School Championships in June.
Kurylo said she’s been working hard to expand the program and convince more schools to join. (Compared to traditional sports teams, the time commitment is low and teams typically practice at lunch to avoid conflicts over field usage).
But it can be tough to explain how rewarding it is without showing staff the smiles on kids’ faces or the excitement in the air at a local championship.
“It’s something that you really have to see and go experience to understand it,” she said.
