OBU Announces Special Olympics Unified College Program
October 24, 2024
A kickoff event celebrating a new partnership between OBU and Special Olympics Oklahoma creating OBU's Special Olympics Unified College program will be held on Oct. 29 from 7:30 to 8 p.m. at the OBU Recreation and Wellness Center. Preceding the kickoff will be OBU’s annual Trunk-or-Treat, led by athletics, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Following the kickoff will be the Bison Boogie Bash. This glow-in-the-dark themed party will feature costumes, candy, climbing, games, music and esports. Everyone in the community is welcome to partake in all the campus events that evening.
Special Olympics college programs connect college students and community members with intellectual disabilities through shared experiences, building accepting campus communities and friendships that lead to social inclusion. Thanks to a collaboration between Bison Recreation and Special Olympics Oklahoma, athletes from Shawnee and the surrounding area now have an opportunity to participate in OBU Unified Intramural Sports.
Special Olympics College is a way for college students and individuals with intellectual disabilities to connect and build friendships. In many cases, this will allow OBU Students to partner with the athletes. Created by college students for college students, the network seeks campuses that share the common goal of enhancing the lives of people with special needs.
Unified Sports is a chapter of Special Olympics, and in the last two years, it has partnered with ESPN and started doing this on college campuses. David Gardner, Assistant Director of Bison Recreation and Wellness, said, “There’s a mentoring part that includes our student involvement partnering with the athletes. The concept of inclusion is achieved by weaving it into your intramural program, allowing the students to partner with the athletes.”
OBU will be the fourth school in Oklahoma to have Unified Sports on their campus.
“This is not only an opportunity to become involved in Unified Sports, but also inclusive youth leadership and whole-school engagement for our campus,” Gardner said.
Gardner believes OBU will be able to incorporate all three aspects.
“I am excited to be a part of something bigger than myself,” said Rinzey Walters, Co-Chair of OBU Unified Sports Club. “I believe that providing an inclusive and motivating environment for adults with intellectual disabilities is extremely valuable and fosters a great community for any individual involved.”
Walters also explains that this program is an opportunity for athletes to express themselves in a competitive way. It allows OBU students to not only be involved, but to also bring awareness to the impact they can make on individuals through sports.
“I felt like this fits our mission really well as far as wanting to do things in the community and meet the needs of those athletes here,” Gardner said. “I think it also meets our student’s needs in terms of interacting and involving faith along the way.”
Gardner provided an even more detailed explanation of how Unified Sports will work. “Let’s say we are going to do an Intramural cornhole tournament,” Gardner said. “We will have a Men’s Division, Women’s Division, and now we will have a Unified Sports Division, which, in doubles, you would have an athlete partnered with a student. They will compete against others in the Unified Sports Division.”
Gardner said OBU plans on easing into the program this semester with one or two events. However, they plan to get a couple more during the next semester and continue growing from there.
For more information about OBU’s Unified Sports program contact David Gardner.