Ox Ridge participated in its second Unified Sports “Skills Day” event recently as the only elementary school in the region sending a team.
Unified Sports, which is a program associated with the Special Olympics, seeks to join students with and without a disability on sports teams for training and competition. All Unified Sports players are of similar age and matched by sport skill ability, according to the Special Olympics Connecticut website.
The Special Olympics Unified Sports School Program, administered by CIAC, currently boasts a participation of more than 3,500 athletes and partners, in 200 schools throughout the state.
Principal Luke Forshaw said the philosophy of Unified Sports is based on a simple idea: training and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
“The students and faculty at Ox Ridge school have embraced this simple, but powerful inclusive philosophy to build a team of students who, with support from their coach (and teacher) Caitlin Hoffer had an amazing season of fun and friendship together,” said Forshaw. The event was held at the Floyd Little Field House in New Haven.