The Schuylerville Central School District is excited to announce the launch of Unified Sports, an opportunity for our students that will promote social inclusion and offer athletic and competitive experiences at a regional level. Special Olympics Unified Sports joins people with and without disabilities on the same team. Its origin was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding. Schuylerville Unified Sports will be a collective effort among faculty, staff, and students, and will begin in April with a month-long basketball season!
Eligibility
- Students in grades 9-12
- Teams will be made up of players and partners
- Practices will be held once a week
- Four home games and four away games will be played against area school districts
- A Sectional tournament will be held at the conclusion of the season
Students with limitations in adaptive areas (players) will be paired with other Schuylerville High School students (partners) on the court during play. If a student is interested in participating as a player or a partner, the student or student’s parent/guardian should send an email to unifiedsports@schuylerville.org. The district’s Athlete Approval Committee will review athletes’ eligibility and determine the formation of the Unified Sports basketball team.
Schuylerville CSD Unified Sports Athlete Approval Committee
- Gregg Barthelmas, Superintendent
- Jordan Tezanos, Director of Pupil Personnel Services
- Katie Elsworth, Middle School Principal
- John Bowen, Athletic Director
- James Ducharme, High School Principal
- Macey Koval, Schuylerville High School student/Varsity Basketball player
Schuylerville CSD Unified Sports Coaches
- Chad Jorgensen, Schuylerville Middle School Special Education teacher
- Jason Mehan, Schuylerville High School Varsity Girls Basketball Coach/Director of Technology
“Simply put, this is going to be incredible,” said Superintendent Gregg Barthelmas. “Our mission at Schuylerville is to provide academic, athletic, and co-curricular opportunities for all students. The addition of Unified Sports in our district is going to be an opportunity for students of all abilities to come together and play the game of basketball, while building something really special. I look forward to the launch of this program and the school spirit and camaraderie that will no doubt result.”
Student Volunteers
In order to create a dynamic, yet organized environment for games, several student volunteers will be needed for the following positions. Click here for a Google Form for student volunteers.
- Crowd controllers
- Students with motivational strategies who will rally the crowd for enthusiasm and athlete support
- Announcers
- Students with good vocal entertainment qualities and confidence; announcers will be provided with athletes’ names and bios
- Score board & time clock officials
- Music
- DJ to create and provide motivational playlists and music during athlete entry, halftime, and timeouts
- Cheerleaders
- Student support on the sideline to help rally the crowd
- Sales team
- Students that will assist with the sale of Unified Sports merchandise
Schedule
Once developed, a schedule of home and away games will be shared with the community. We look forward to the launch of Special Olympics Unified Sports in Schuylerville, and empowering our students to engage in an experience that will be fun and exciting for all!