CIAC Video Celebrates 30 Years of Unified Sports

CIAC Video Celebrates 30 Years of Unified Sports

“To me, the peak moment is every time a kid is included at their own school. It doesn’t have to be the few kids who reach a pinnacle experience. It’s the everyday experiences that matter the most.”
– Bob Hale
Director of CIAC-Special Olympics Unified Sports

Unified Sports is celebrating 30 years in Connecticut schools and a CIAC-produced video documents how a spirit of inclusion has resonated across the country and globally. The 15-minute video features interviews from directors and coaches who share stories and recollections on how Unified Sports began in Connecticut and gained traction to become what it is today.

“Through Unified Sports, we realized rather quickly that a lot of the barriers that existed in our schools broke down.”
– Michael Savage
Former CAS-CIAC Executive Director

The recently retired, and longtime, President of Connecticut Special Olympics, Beau Doherty, shares in the video how the support of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, was crucial to the growth of Unified Sports. Special Olympics’ partnership with the CIAC saw Connecticut become the first state in the country to launch Unified Sports in schools.

“You get to see love in action. You get to see what that really means.”
-Beau Doherty
President of Connecticut Special Olympics, 1993-2022

“It’s important that you change the life of one child, (for) one day. This program changes the life of the child forever.”
-Ann Malafronte
Director of CIAC Special-Olympics Unified Sports, 1995-2006

The CIAC Unified Sports origin video: