Lasting bonds: Unified Sports receive glowing reviews from community

Stands have been packed for contests, from assembly games during the school day to evening showcases at SUNY Fredonia with dance parties that filled the floor at Dods Hall, the Unified Sports audience is only growing as more schools offer life-changing opportunities to students of all different abilities.

Unified Sports offer an inclusive athletic experience where athletes with intellectual disabilities are partnered with athletes of similar age or ability as part of the same team. Unified Sports are fostered by Special Olympics to disprove stereotypes about people with disabilities. According to Special Olympics, approximately 1.2 million people worldwide take part in Unified sports. More than 8,000 schools across the United States foster Unified Sports programs, with Special Olympics hopeful of reaching the 10,000 school mark by the end of the year.

Dunkirk High School and Silver Creek High School have each been named a National Unified Champion School through Special Olympics. Dunkirk unveiled its banner prior to a Dunkirk-Fredonia boys basketball game last February, with applause from a packed gym as Dunkirk student-athlete Mekiah Sedlacek unveiled the banner. Just prior to the unveiling, he shouted, “We’re all best friends here!”

That sentiment carries over into Unified competitions across the region. Fredonia and Silver Creek-Forestville held a Unified basketball game during the school day at a Silver Creek school assembly on May 6 to celebrate Silver Creek receiving its own National Unified Champion School banner. The bleachers on both sides of the gym were full of fans cheering loudly with every basket.

Dunkirk students cheer as the District receives its banner to recognize being named a National Unified Champion School through Special Olympics.

Fredonia soon hopes to join Dunkirk and Silver Creek with National Banner status. A school is eligible to be recognized as a National Banner School if it meets specific criteria, with three main focal points being inclusive youth leadership, whole-school engagement, and sustainability.

Naomi McKnatt, the mother of a Unified athlete at Fredonia, recently advocated for Fredonia to receive recognition as a Unified Champion School. McKnatt spoke to the impact the program has had on her son, Luke, who will wrap up his education at Fredonia this coming year.

“Luke’s future is far brighter because of Unified, the relationships that he has made and the dreams that we now dare to dream because we’ve seen and experienced firsthand the pathways that are forged by way of opportunity,” McKnatt said.

Fredonia’s Unified program was founded in 2019, beginning with a Unified Bowling team. Unified Basketball soon followed, and Unified Bocce has since been established, as well.

“Since its introduction to our school, Unified has transformed not only the lives of the special needs individuals within our school, but the culture of the school community as a whole,” McKnatt said.

Fredonia’s Elijah Schrantz celebrates after making a shot during a Unified Basketball game in Silver Creek.

There was no better representation of her point than at Fredonia’s commencement ceremony earlier this summer.

At the Fredonia High School commencement ceremony, Student Body President Ava Rukavina spoke to the impact Unified Sports programs have had on her throughout her four years in high school.

“Becoming involved in the Unified program was the best decision I made in high school,” Rukavina said. “It taught me so much more about life and friendship. I can honestly say I’m a better person for having met and befriending each and every athlete I played with these past four years.”

McKnatt’s son, Luke, is one of the teammates Rukavina played alongside of. Luke McKnatt was diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder at two years old. Throughout his education, Luke was often placed in self-contained classrooms, which limited his ability to socialize with the rest of the student body. Unified Sports changed all of that.

“Unified Sports opened doors for our son that we thought had been long shut,” McKnatt said.

Students celebrate after a basket by a Silver Creek-Forestville student during a Unified Basketball game in Silver Creek.

Prior to joining the Unified Bowling team, Luke McKnatt had never played a team sport. He now plays on all three Unified teams: Bowling, Basketball, and Bocce. His brother, Asher, competes with him on the Unified Bowling team, and his youngest brother, Solomon, participates in the annual Polar Plunge fundraiser to support Special Olympics.

“Unified not only brings students together; it has unified our family,” McKnatt said.

Unified Sports contests and celebrations have also garnered attention throughout the community, including interest from media outlets and engagement through social media channels, as well.

“To see the reaction that’s getting on social media from people, it’s really opening the arms and welcoming in a whole bunch of other people,” said Steve Waterson, Director of Community Relations at the Resource Center.

Even after competitors move on from the Unified program, McKnatt stressed that the bonds that were formed do not fade. She has witnessed former teammates and supporters of her son return to cheer him on at competitions this past year.

“The bonds being formed are lasting and contagious. … We truly have an extended family of friends, coaches and supporters,” McKnatt said.

Rukavina is undoubtedly one of those supporters, as shown through her final remarks before walking off the stage as a Fredonia graduate.

“We should all strive to be the best versions of ourselves and be accepting of those who are different than us,” Rukavina said. As she called on her classmates to live a life worth being remembered for, Rukavina said, “If Unified taught me anything, it’s that being kind and accepting is a really good place to start.”