Project UNIFY ®
Special Olympics Project UNIFY ® is an education-based project that uses sports and education programs to activate young people to develop school communities where all youth are agents of change – fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. New Hampshire's program is a collaborative initiative between New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA) and Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH). The project is made up of several components that are aimed at activating youth and affecting change in high schools throughout New Hampshire.
Unified Sports® Teams
- Three seasons of Special Olympics Unified Sports will take place within New Hampshire high schools each year.
- Unified Sports will bring students with intellectual disabilities and their peers without disabilities together on the same team.
- The Special Olympics Unified Sports teams will be an additional team representing its high school.
- Unified Sports teams from high schools around the state will compete against other teams in regular season play and will culminate with a championship.
- High school students with and without intellectual disabilities participate in a day-long introduction to Unified Sports.
- During the day, students will come together to play sports while learning about New Hampshire's Project UNIFY program.
Youth Activities
- Youth activities encourage students with and without intellectual disabilities to become leaders in their schools.
- Students, in conjunction with the NHIAA Student Ambassador program may participate on school committees to promote school-wide activities as well as participate in statewide trainings.
- Youth rallies educate other students about Special Olympics programs, New Hampshire's Project UNIFY, the abilities and gifts of persons with intellectual disabilities and the hurtful and exclusionary effect of casual use of demeaning language such as the r-word.
High School Plunge
- The High School Plunge is an exciting event that allows high school students, faculty and school district employees the opportunity to brave the icy Atlantic to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics New Hampshire.
More Information
- Click Here to download our Project Unify brochure and discover how your school can participate.
- Visit the NHIAA Unified Sports page to view the sports schedules.
- Click Here to read the NHIAA Unified Sports Policies and Procedures
- Click here to see the newspaper articles about the NHIAA/SONH partnership.
- Contact Tom Charbono, Field Services and NHIAA Unified Sports Manager
The U.S. Department of Education, through the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, is a major funding source for Special Olympics Project UNIFY.
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