GERMANY: Youth Unified Sports® Highlights

The first regional Youth Unified Sports® Basketball competition took place in Noerdlingen, Germany, during the Special Olympics Bavaria Regional Games (July 27-30, 2009) when more than 600 athletes from Bavaria and neighboring regions competed in seven sports.

Five Special Olympics Unified Basketball teams with young male and female players aged 15-20 competed in the three day tournament. Teams were composed of players from institutions and special schools for people with intellectual disability and regular high schools.

Special Olympics Germany, who committed to developing Youth Unified Basketball, focuses on the region of Bavaria to achieve its goals.  The development is part of the Special Olympics European Youth Unified development project and aims at recruiting 1,000 new young Unified Basketball players aged 12-25  in six countries (Serbia, Russia, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania and Ukraine) between June 2008 and June 2010. The ultimate goal of the project is to break down social barriers between individuals with intellectual disability (athletes) and without intellectual disabilities (partners) by bringing them together on teams for sports training and competition.

Special Olympics Germany is planning to expand the project to other regions in the country to establish up to 18 Youth Unified Basketball teams by June 2010. Mr. Harald Spaniol, 51, Coach and Physical Education teacher at the Regular High School Laurentiusschule in Neuendettelsau, motivates other teachers to get involved. “Being part of such a Unified Sports team is a great experience for all students. If you do not give your students the chance to participate it’s almost like stealing them great moments and experiences,” he says.

The Youth Unified Basketball development project is supported through a Special Olympics Christmas Record Grant. Special Olympics awards funds each year through its Christmas Record Grants initiative. These grants funded through the sales of A Very Special Christmas® albums support Special Olympics Programs around the World.

Photo: Youth Unified Basketball the team from Bruckberg during time out discussing team tactics. (Photographer: Sabine Brecklinghaus SOEE)