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UNIFIED
CHAMPION
SCHOOLS
Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools is
a youth-centered, school-focused initiative that
uses Special Olympics' sports and education
programs to encourage inclusion, participation
and leadership through the power of sport.
As a Special Olympics Delaware initiative, our
Unified Champions Schools Program offers
schools (preschool through college) multiple
opportunities to be engaged in its traditional
and Unified Sports programs as well as other
non-sports inclusive activities. Special Olympics
Unified Champions Schools Program is funded
in part by the U.S. Department of Education
under the national Unified School Strategy
(formerly known as Project UNIFY.)
Unified Champion Schools promotes inclusive
school communities through activities including
Spread the Word to End the Word®, Unified
Sports®, and Cool Schools at the Polar Bear
Plunge. Unified programming in schools
have also sought to create additional ways
to get peers involved in unified training and
competition, such as adding Unified team
soccer in addition to Unified basketball. Special
Olympics Delaware expanded its relationship
with the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic
Association to, once again, offer Unified Track
& Field as part of the DIAA State Track &
Field Competition, in addition to Unified Flag
Football, which debuted in 2015.