MADISON, N.J. (Sept. 26, 2014) – Drew University Athletics and Special Olympics New Jersey are teaming up this fall to create the newest chapter of the growing Unified Sports program.
 
Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team and is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. The partnership is inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
 
Drew head women's basketball coach Brittany Gaetano initiated the affiliation between the Rangers and Special Olympics last spring to create Drew University Unified Sports, where students will begin sharing the playing field with a group of talented athletes beginning with soccer during the fall season.
 
"The beauty of Unified Sports is that it's athletics in its purest form," Gaetano said. "It exemplifies all of the qualities that make us fall in love with sports in the first place. It's about competition, hard work, commitment, and most importantly, respect. This program is an opportunity to bring all people together, regardless of physical ability, to compete on the same field while creating friendships and memories that will last forever."
 
Gaetano is beginning her seventh semester teaching the Leadership in Physical Fitness with Arc/Morris, a program that pairs Drew students with a group of 12-15 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Arc/Morris for an hour-long gym class. The Arc/Morris will be active members in the Unified Sports program beginning in the fall. Read more about the Arc/Morris class here.
 
The Drew Unified Sports program will continue with basketball during the winter season, and adding other sports such as volleyball, softball and even Harry Potter-inspired quidditch as the program continues to grow. All Drew students are invited to sign up for participation with Drew Unified Sports, regardless of athletic background. In Unified Sports, teams are made up of people of similar age and ability, which makes practices more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all. Having athletics in common is another way to eliminate preconceptions and false ideas.
  
Young people with disabilities don't often get a chance to play on their school sports teams, but more and more U.S. states are adopting the unified sports approach that Special Olympics pioneered. The governor of New Jersey just signed a bill into law that encourages schools to make opportunities for sports participation available to all students. Special Olympics New Jersey, which championed the new law, is cited in the new law as a consulting organization. For almost 20 years, Special Olympics has offered sport teams that blend people with and without intellectual disabilities, and that is a model that encourages sports and fun, and which also gets people together to learn more about each other.