Huntington Unified Sports Participates in Youth Summit

Huntington High School students participating in the varsity Unified Sports program were among 275 young people across 14 separate high schools who gathered for this year’s Unified Youth Summit at Sayville Old Junior High School.

Alongside their teachers and coaches, the students learned how to develop a plan to grow social inclusion and Unified programming in their schools.

Sponsored by the Special Olympics of New York, the free event brings together students with and without intellectual disabilities in a conference setting to educate and inspire them to make a positive impact in their schools and communities.

The 275 Unified athletes were joined by 100 staff members from Amityville, Center Moriches, Commack, Connetquot, Deer Park, Harborfields, Huntington, Islip, Northport, Patchogue-Medford, Rocky Point, Sayville, Sachem North and Walt Whitman high schools.
Huntington unified students went on a field trip to Sayville on Friday November 7th.

“The field trip provided the students an opportunity to interact with other students in the same program in other districts,” Huntington physical education teacher Eric Mininni said. “We were able to interact and learn new ideas to bring to our program.  It was a fun day for the students and teachers to see each other and discuss the possibilities of building the program further.”

Special Olympics New York and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association have collaborated to offer the Unified Champion Schools program since 2013. In a Special Olympics Unified Champion School, students with and without intellectual disabilities play on the same sports team. They also lead events and activities throughout the year that encourage all students to practice and value inclusion.

“At hundreds of these schools statewide, the program is reducing bullying and teasing, overturning negative stereotypes and spurring healthy social interactions,” according to the Special Olympics.

The recent summit featured student presentations as well as leadership-building games and activities that taught students how to make their schools a more inclusive place.

Huntington UFSD’s commitment to its Unified varsity sports program continues to grow. The Blue Devils now sponsor three varsity Unified Sports teams in bocce, bowling and basketball. Planning for an intramural program providing a taste of other sports is ongoing.