By Andrew Diveley

For The Diamondback

The University of Maryland will continue its partnership with the Special Olympics for an inclusive intramural sports program designed for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Unified Sports program pairs students and their peers with disabilities to compete together on intramural sports teams, according to Julie Johnson, this university’s intramural sports and the Reckord Armory assistant director. It first launched at this university last year with bocce and basketball, Johnson said.

This academic year, the program has expanded to include soccer and flag football.

The program also has a relationship with this university’s TerpsEXCEED program, which enables people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate in campus activities, including the unified sports offerings.

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Johnson said she brought the unified sports initiative to College Park last year after starting a similar program at Towson University. Unified sports programs have become increasingly popular across the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association, which includes this university, Johnson explained.

“This is a perfect opportunity for [this university’s] students to grow through sports and they make friends with people who are participating in this program that they may never have met otherwise,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she loved volunteering with the Special Olympics in middle and high school. As a result, she hoped to get involved with the Special Olympics in her professional career, she added.

Johnson emphasized the valuable social connections and personal growth that unified sports foster for all participants.

Reagan Wagner, a freshman criminology and criminal justice major said she became involved with the program after learning about its connection to the Special Olympics. Wagner’s mother is affiliated with the Special Olympics and encouraged her to join the unified sports program, she said.

“I don’t have a disability myself, but I’m finding different communities on campus [and] trying to see where I have a group to hang out with,” Wagner said.

Evan Miller, a graduate student, is a peer advocate for the TerpsEXCEED program. Evan said the Unified Sports program allows him to spread kindness in an athletic setting.

“It brings kindness and happiness to many people,” Miller said. “It makes them feel more appreciated to be part of something they would really enjoy.”

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Moving forward, Johnson is optimistic about the program’s continued growth and impact.

The unified flag football league kicked off this fall, Johnson said, and the program plans to add a volleyball league in the spring semester.

For Johnson, her goal is for this university’s unified sports teams to compete with other schools at the regional and national levels. She hopes this university gains recognition from the Special Olympics, which celebrates schools for their work in unified sports and other unified activities on campus.

“My goal is to get us to be a unified banner school and a unified champion banner school,” Johnson said. “I want us to get to banner status and have that national recognition and continue to grow the program.”