(Casper, WY) – The Wyoming High School Activities Association will work with Special Olympics Wyoming to encourage and develop Special Olympics Unified Sports® through school memberships in Wyoming.
Unified Sports brings together equal numbers of teammates with intellectual disabilities (Special Olympics athletes) and without (Unified partners) on sports teams for training and competition.
It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Special Olympics Wyoming offers Unified Sports programs year-round in 12 of its 16 sports.
WHSAA Commissioner, Trevor Wilson, is pleased by the ever-growing interest among the member schools. “We are very excited about our partnership with Special Olympics and Unified Track and Field. We look forward to providing more opportunities for students in an educational–based arena this spring.”
Through this endorsement, WHSAA hopes to promote Unified Sports programs throughout its schools as well as create opportunities for students throughout Wyoming to have increased opportunities for community service and leadership activities. WHSAA currently incorporates Special Olympics relays into their State Track and Field and State Swimming competitions.
Jen Haines, President and CEO of Special Olympics Wyoming added, “Special Olympics Wyoming is pleased to partner with the Wyoming High School Activities Association to bring Unified Track to our Wyoming schools. Through Unified Track, our Wyoming high school students with and without intellectual disabilities will develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience the joy of sports with their teammates. We are excited about the endless opportunities for inclusion this partnership will bring to our schools and communities.”
Unified Sports is an integral part of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®—a program that strategically creates sports, leadership, and whole school engagement opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities.
Wyoming has over 60 UCS schools and has a goal of 80 for the 2023-2024 school year. The model is supported by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education.
This strategy has been proven, through research, to be an effective and replicable means to providing students with and without intellectual disabilities the opportunity to form positive social relationships and promote a socially inclusive school climate.
About WHSAA
The WHSAA believes that interscholastic activities programs are essential to the education of youth, and therefore, are an integral part of the school curriculum. By promoting activities, the Association establishes its belief that Wyoming youth gain immeasurable values from these programs and reaffirms its conviction that excellence in education can be achieved through activities. The WHSAA is a private nonprofit association that is funded by membership dues and the gate receipts from the various culminating events in each activity. Membership is voluntary. Visit Wyoming High School Activities Association at www.whsaa.org.
About SOWYSpecial Olympics Wyoming is a nonprofit organization providing year-round sports training, athletic competition and other related programs to children and adults with intellectual disabilities; offering them continuing opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship. Special Olympics Wyoming changes lives by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect. Engage with us on Instagram: @SpecialOlympicsWY or Facebook: facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsWyoming Visit Special Olympics Wyoming at www.sowy.org.