00:02 - And your back with us here at PC and as we begin the competition for unified sports

00:07 - interscholastic unified sports a fully inclusive coed sports program

00:12 - is offered by three hundred and twenty nine high school athletic departments

00:16 - in all twelve of the p i w a's districts for our athletics

00:21 - the teams comprised of proportional number of students with and without intellectual

00:25 - disabilities who train and compete together

00:27 - as equal peers

00:28 - and little bit earlier this week

00:31 - our own Corey Clark who is

00:33 - playing double duty here as a producer a host and also directing today.

00:38 - He got a chance to talk to one of the primary folks with Pennsylvania special

00:42 - Olympics about this amazing program

00:44 - like vino.

00:48 - My

00:48 - vino is these

00:49 - senior adviser for special Olympics

00:52 - pa

00:53 - Mike thanks for joining us.

00:55 - Go ahead thanks for inviting us to appreciate the opportunity to share about our

00:58 - interscholastic unified sports program.

01:02 - So when our viewers hear that when they hear unified

01:06 - interscholastic what does that mean.

01:09 - So unified sports brings together students to add.

01:12 - Intellectual or developmental disabilities including

01:15 - autism alongside students without disabilities

01:18 - and a practice together they compete together is equal appears to their part of a

01:23 - teen and the whole concept of unified it is to promote inclusion so

01:27 - students went to without the Sybil cities

01:30 - are together on a high school team

01:32 - just like a boys track and field team and the girls' track and field team

01:36 - a highschool have a unified track and field team.

01:39 - The only difference is

01:40 - that team has students with disabilities

01:42 - who are training practicing competing side-by-side

01:46 - a long got

01:47 - a student athletes without

01:49 - intellectual disabilities

01:51 - and how many sports

01:53 - do they participate in.

01:55 - So we offer a

01:56 - classic unified bochy in the winter season

01:59 - and we offer interscholastic unified track and field in the spring season

02:03 - we partner very closely with the poi w a we've had a relationship.

02:07 - For the last eleven years and we're very grateful

02:09 - for the p i w a

02:11 - for all their support

02:13 - and we align ourselves with the pii to blame season Gore esau or bochy season

02:18 - alliance with the pa to play winter sports he's in

02:20 - track and field season

02:21 - alliance with the piano play spring sports season.

02:25 - How many schools are involved even and on a

02:28 - Pennsylvania level but even

02:30 - nationally speaking.

02:32 - Yeah great question so nationally.

02:35 - There at nine thousand eight hundred schools that are doing the program here in

02:38 - Pennsylvania we have four hundred and eighteen

02:41 - schools that are participating

02:43 - spread across fifty seven county he's.

02:45 - So we're

02:46 - we're very pleased with the partnerships that we had and

02:49 - worked very closely with athletic directors and special

02:51 - education directors principals and superintendents

02:54 - and all those schools in school districts

02:57 - and is does it require any special certifications

03:02 - who who are the coaches of these teams.

03:05 - Yeah so our coaches really come from a variety of backgrounds

03:08 - a lot of our coaches are special education teachers

03:10 - but a lot of our coaches or general education teachers

03:13 - they are all required to complete a unified

03:16 - sports certification course they take online

03:20 - there are also required to complete an in-person sport

03:22 - specific training whether they coach by to your track and field

03:26 - and then we have a

03:27 - unified champion school's staff that works directly with all the schools provide

03:32 - resources and support throughout the season

03:34 - you know to ensure that the coaches have everything they need to be able to properly

03:38 - teach and instruct

03:40 - and coach

03:41 - that our student athletes whether it

03:43 - be in the sport a vaccine the winter or track and field in the spring

03:46 - and what about the athletes how are they.

03:49 - Eligible.

03:51 - So

03:52 - eligible eligibility for athletes it's a high school

03:54 - programs everybody on the team it's like the poi double a.

03:59 - So if you're a student with an intellectual and developmental disability

04:03 - or autism

04:04 - you're eligible as

04:05 - special Olympics athlete

04:07 - and then if you're a student doesn't.

04:10 - Who is not a special looks at the you're eligible to beyond the team as well

04:14 - and so the team's themselves Corey

04:16 - have a proportional number of special Olympics athletes and a proportional number

04:21 - of students that are not special Olympics athletes

04:23 - and again the whole key with unified is that

04:26 - all of those teammates are equals they all

04:29 - train together they support each other

04:31 - they encouraged together

04:33 - encourage each other

04:34 - and the all compete against each other.

04:37 - Again his teammate so it's truly there no labels

04:40 - the purpose of unified is to shed labels and you get

04:43 - students to see each other for who they are

04:46 - and the unique talents that they have

04:48 - and again if you're in track and field

04:50 - you may have a shot putters

04:52 - and or might be three special Olympics athletes and five Janet's students

04:56 - there are all practicing for the shop but they're are

04:58 - all pushing each other do the best that they can be

05:01 - and then when you go to competition they are all competing

05:04 - against each other side by side so

05:06 - they compete against each other

05:08 - regardless of whether they have a disability or not

05:10 - they are grouped together by.

05:13 - They are similar times or distances so those shot putters that

05:16 - those

05:17 - put the shop longer are grouped together and those that

05:19 - put the shot shorter a group together so everybody has

05:22 - an opportunity to be

05:24 - successful and compete against students have similar

05:27 - ability levels.

05:28 - What is it like talking about how it compares to the the varsity sports.

05:34 - What's the experience like for the student

05:37 - i say at school and then at the meets

05:40 - wow that it's incredible

05:42 - so a lot of special education students have never had the opportunity to wear of

05:46 - varsity uniform so the day of a track and field

05:49 - meet their walk in the hallways and their students

05:52 - their fellow students are high fiving them

05:54 - you know they wear the same school uniform

05:57 - as their

05:58 - peers are in the athletic community.

06:01 - If they're playing in a bochy match their in the main

06:03 - gymnasium they have the cheerleaders out the pep band.

06:07 - Street just like a boys and girls basketball game so the experience

06:11 - particularly for special education students who have never had an opportunity

06:15 - to represent their schools as and interscholastic athlete

06:19 - for the for first time have that experience

06:22 - and we have a lot of Janet students who

06:24 - have never played a nurse glass export before either

06:27 - who had that same experience so

06:29 - it's very similar in terms of

06:31 - what the other interscholastic athletes

06:34 - experience whether it be on the competition venue

06:38 - where cheerleaders and music and introductions and exactly the same way

06:42 - as he went as and interscholastic competition

06:45 - but also in the hallways of the school the respect that there are afforded the pride

06:49 - that is attached or representing your school when you're.

06:53 - Competing to try and eat that afternoon against to other high schools or

06:56 - competing in a do match in a bochy match

06:59 - in the mayonnaise iam so.

07:01 - We've had a lot appearance over the years and students come up and say

07:05 - wow i never imagined that i'd be representing my school or my thunder or daughter

07:10 - would be wearing that school uniform and proudly representing their school than being

07:14 - so embraced by their

07:16 - fellow students

07:17 - it's pretty remarkable Corey.

07:19 - So how how do people find out more and then how did they

07:23 - get involved if they don't have this at their school.

07:27 - So they can go to our special Olympics but upside if they just Google special

07:31 - Olympics pa or special moves Pennsylvania to come right up

07:34 - and ride on our website there is actually a thing that says there's up a

07:37 - menu that said unified champion school

07:40 - they just type of there and then they just

07:42 - submit an interest for to say hey i'm interested

07:45 - please reach out to me and that week connect back to.

07:48 - The teacher of the parent

07:50 - whoever is interested in learning more about the

07:51 - program cause we're certainly looking to grow.

07:54 - This

07:55 - this upcoming year we're going to be adding

07:56 - another eighty five schools throughout the state

07:59 - we average

08:00 - usually about eighty five the ninety new schools per year

08:02 - and our intention is to be in every county to provide

08:05 - this opportunity in as many schools as possible

08:08 - most of our schools are a high schools

08:10 - but the other thing Korea i wanted to mention is that we all

08:12 - also do this program in the middle schools in the elementary schools

08:16 - the difference in those programs is

08:18 - there are intramural sports so they're done inside the school building

08:22 - to a little bit differently than the high

08:23 - schools where it's treated like a p i w a sport

08:26 - the middle and elementary school with the chinchilla murals and they'll play

08:29 - against other middle schools for elementary school it's

08:30 - and will be called friendly matches are friendly games

08:34 - to.

08:35 - You know allow the students have that opportunity for competition.

08:40 - All right Mike pavilion our senior adviser for special Olympics pa

08:44 - thanks for what you do and thanks for taking the time to tell us about it.

08:48 - Thanks so much gory.

08:51 - And a fantastic interview Korea and micro vino he's the real deal

08:55 - and we also want to

08:57 - make mention of

08:58 - Matt errand the

08:59 - president and ceo of Pennsylvania special Olympics

09:02 - Jennifer trespass

09:03 - Lauren salter

09:04 - shell Boone.

09:06 - All

09:06 - very instrumental in team i u s

09:10 - and

09:11 - what a great program is will see those athletes here.

09:15 - We'll take a break and be back with more

09:18 - state championship action.

09:20 - As we wait to see who crosses the finish line here

09:23 - keep it all here

09:24 - rpc it

09:26 - and.