SOMN.org SOMN.ORG. Special Olympics Minnesota Unified Sports: Minnesota Schools

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1 SOMN.org SOMN.ORG Special Olympics Minnesota Unified Sports: Minnesota Schools 1

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Students with Disabilities & Legal Obligations...3 Starting a Special Olympics Club...4 Unified Sports...5 Unified Sports Paperwork...8 2

3 Special Olympics Minnesota Unified Sports: Minnesota Schools Handbook STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES & LEGAL OBLIGATIONS Special Olympics Minnesota strives to ensure that all students have an opportunity to engage in their school community and that there are no factors preventing a school from doing so. Washington DC, January 25, 2013 The Office for Civil Rights issued guidance clarifying school districts existing legal obligations to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities. In addition to explaining those legal obligations, the guidance urges school districts to work with community organizations to increase athletic opportunities for students with disabilities, such as opportunities outside of the existing extracurricular athletic program. Students with disabilities have the right, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, to an equal opportunity to participate in their schools extracurricular activities. press@ed.gov Special Olympics Minnesota is in each corner of the state and within 10 miles of every city in the Twin Cities metro area. Whether your school already offers adaptive sports or inclusive opportunities, Special Olympics Minnesota can build on these opportunities or add new inclusive programming to students with disabilities at little to no cost. Special Olympics Minnesota offers children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Through Special Olympics athletic, health and leadership programs, people with intellectual disabilities transform themselves, their communities and the world. 3

4 Special Olympics Minnesota STARTING A SPECIAL OLYMPICS CLUB Special Olympics Club The first step to adding Special Olympics programming to your school is to designate one individual as the Special Olympics school liaison. The liaison is responsible for communication between the school and Special Olympics Minnesota. This can be an administrator, coach, counselor, principal, student leader or teacher. Student Involvement Inclusive programming succeeds when student leaders are involved. Whether this is a varsity captain, student council, National Honor Society or other service club, having participation from peers creates a positive environment and a more meaningful experience. Students can coach, participate as a Unified Partner or mentor a Special Olympics Athlete. Program Offerings Special Olympics Minnesota offers 16 sports, leadership activities and fundraising opportunities that benefit the school. Selecting the program(s) that works best for a school is left to each school to decide 4

5 Special Olympics Minnesota SPECIAL OLYMPICS UNIFIED SPORTS Unified Sports is an inclusive sports program that combines individuals with intellectual disabilities and partners without intellectual disabilities on the same team. This is a significantly growing program that has direct results in building more inclusive school climates and is a program that the National Federation of State High School Associations supports. How much does it cost a school to add Unified Sports? NOTHING! This is a free program! Special Olympics Minnesota pays for a Unified Sports team s jerseys, equipment and tournament fees. Schools may choose to pay a coach or for transportation to the state tournament; however, most Unified Sports teams do not pay coaches and families transport participants to state tournaments. How many participants does a school need? Unified Team Sports teams consist of 5-16 participants with an equal distribution of students with and without an intellectual disability. Unified Sports for individuals consist of relays or teams with a minimum of two participants. Individuals without an intellectual disability are considered Unified Partners. This means schools can start a team with fewer people and do not have to co-op with other schools, eliminating the bus and travel costs for a school. Unified Sports flourish in schools when this is a student driven program and students approach their peers in Special Education and ask them to compete on a Unified team with them. What ages are eligible? The minimum age to compete is eight. Teams compete against other teams with similar ages and skill levels. All skill levels and abilities are welcomed and there is an appropriate sport and event for everyone. 5

6 Special Olympics Minnesota SPECIAL OLYMPICS UNIFIED SPORTS Who coaches and/or manages the team? Unified Sports teams are coached by teachers, parents or student leaders. Special Olympics Minnesota staff will meet with the coaches to discuss the rules and competition information. All coaches are background checked and certified as a Special Olympics coach. How much of a time commitment is Unified Sports? Teams practice a minimum of one hour a week. Teams can practice during physical education, with a school team, after school or on weekends. Practicing once a week helps schools better manage facility space. Games occur at the end of the sports season at the state tournament. Unified Sports seasons: Fall Flag Football (Sept.-Oct.) and Bowling (Sept.-Nov.) Winter Aquatics and Basketball (Jan.-March) Spring/Summer Athletics, Gymnastics, Tennis, Volleyball (April-June) Late Summer Bocce, Golf, Equestrian, Softball (June-Aug.) Are there any additional funding opportunities available to a school? Schools can take advantage of Special Olympics fundraising, including the highly successful Polar Bear Plunge that generates over three million dollars annually. Schools are able to directly fundraise for their Unified Sports team through the Polar Bear Plunge. What are the additional benefits for the school? Unified Sports helps build an environment of inclusion in a school, it can decrease bullying and helps break down social barriers that still exist today. Students that participate in Unified Sports see new friendships develop, learn new social skills and build leadership skills. These benefits are felt equally by students with and without a disability. Schools that require students to complete service hours for graduation, student council or National Honor Society are able to complete these requirements through Unified Sports. How do I start a team? Contact Mark Anderson at or mark.anderson@somn.org. Mark will help get your school off the ground, start practicing and competing against the 200 other Special Olympics teams in Minnesota. 6

7 Special Olympics Minnesota UNIFIED SPORTS TEAM FORM School: Team Code: (three letter abbreviation of your school) Head Coach or Team Supervisor: Mailing Address for Head Coach or Team Supervisor: Street City State Zip Contact Information for Head Coach or Team Supervisor: Office Cell Unified Sports interested in: Athletics Aquatics Basketball Bocce Bowling Equestrian Football Golf Gymnastics Softball Tennis Volleyball Traditional Sports interested in: Alpine Skiing Poly Hockey Powerlifting Snowboarding 7

8 Special Olympics Minnesota UNIFIED SPORTS PARTICIPANT PAPERWORK All coaches, Unified Partners and Special Olympics Athletes are required to have paperwork on file in order to compete. Coaches & Unified Partners 1) Volunteer Application- Page 9 Minors under the age of 18, also need to complete a reference form- Page 11 2) Level 1 Certification (online training) Protective Behaviors & General Orientation This training highlights Special Olympics Minnesota programming and information about working with individuals with an intellectual disability Special Olympics Athletes 1) Medical Application- Page 12 2) Consent Form- Page 14 8

9 VOLUNTEER APPLICATION section a: instructions Before you complete this application, please read the following: Event volunteers do not need to complete this form. To become an event volunteer, please If you have already been placed in a volunteer position, please proceed with completing this application. If you have not been placed in a volunteer position, please volunteers@somn.org. After completing this application please go to the following link to find your General Orientation and Protective Behavior quizzes: *Your application will not be processed without completion of General Orientation and Protective Behavior quizzes. section b: current volunteer position with special olympics Coach (delegation/team) (*must be at least 16 years of age to coach) Unified Partner - volunteer application is the Unified consent form (delegation/team) Local Sports Management Team (position/delegation) Area Sports Management Team (position/area) Athlete Leadership Mentor Youth Activation Committee Member Summer Camp Counselor Other section c: personal information Name: Gender: Female Male Date of Birth: Home Address (PO Box not valid) Address: First Middle Initial Last Number Street Apt. # City State Zip Code Home Phone: ( ) Cell Phone: ( ) Health/Accident Insurance Company: Policy Number: section d: background information Yes No Do you currently use illegal drugs? Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offense? Have you ever been charged with neglect, abuse or assault? Has your driver's license ever been suspended or revoked in any state in the past five years? Do you have any physical or medical limitations that need to be taken into account in order to place you successfully? Indicate: If your volunteer position will involve transporting athletes, please complete the information below: Name of Vehicle Insurance Carrier: Policy Number: Yes No In the past five years, have you been charged with a major moving violation, such as speeding, DWI, reckless driving, etc? In the past two years, have you had any minor violations such as speeding less than 10 mph over, failure to obey traffic signals, etc? Are there additional reasons we should be concerned about your ability to transport athletes? I understand that if I am transporting athletes in my personal vehicle and there is an accident, that my personal vehicle insurance will carry primary responsibility. Please continue on reverse side (complete and sign). 9

10 SOMN.ORG section e: emergency contact Name: First Middle Initial Last Home Phone: ( ) Cell Phone: ( ) section f: consent and waiver of liability PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE POINTS BELOW BEFORE SIGNING: I understand that: In the course of volunteering for Special Olympics, I may be dealing with confidential information and I agree to keep said information in the strictest confidence. In the course of volunteering for Special Olympics, I may be dealing with vulnerable people and will be held to strict parameters of interaction with them. The relationship between Special Olympics and volunteers is an "at will" arrangement and it may be terminated at any time without cause by either the volunteer or Special Olympics. I grant Special Olympics permission to use my likeness, voice and words in television, radio, film, or in any form to promote activities of Special Olympics. The information that I have provided will be verified, and I give permission to Special Olympics Minnesota to make an inquiry of others concerning my suitability to act as a Special Olympics volunteer. I hereby authorize any person to release any information about me concerning my suitability to act as a Special Olympics volunteer as such person deems relevant in his or her sole discretion. I do not have to agree to this background check, but that refusal to do so will exclude me from consideration for most types of volunteer work with this organization. If under 18 years of age, I will submit two reference letters with this application. The guidelines for the reference letters can be found at the following link: In consideration of participating in Special Olympics Unified Sports, I represent that I understand the nature of the event and that I (and/or my minor child) am (are/is) qualified, in good health, and in proper physical condition to participate in Unified Sports events. I fully understand the event involves risks of serious bodily injury which may be caused by my own actions or inactions, by the actions of others participating in the event, or by the conditions in which the event takes place. I fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and/or damages I (and/or my minor child) may incur as a result of my (and/or my minor child s) participation. I acknowledge that at any time that if I (we) feel that the event conditions are unsafe, I (and/or my minor child) will discontinue participation immediately. If during my participation in Special Olympics activities I should need emergency medical treatment and (and/or my minor child) am (are/is) not able to give my consent for or make my own arrangement for that treatment because of my injuries, I authorize Special Olympics to take whatever measures are necessary to protect my (my minor child s) health and well-being, including, if necessary, hospitalization. I (and/or my minor child) release, indemnify, covenant not to sue, and hold harmless Special Olympics, its administrators, directors, agents, officers, volunteers, employees, and other Unified Sports participants, and sponsors, advertisers, and if applicable, any owners and lessors of premises on which the activity takes place from all liability, any losses, claims (other than that of medical accident benefits), demands, costs or damages that I (and/or my minor child) may incur as a result of participation in Unified Sports events and further agree that if, despite this Consent and Waiver of Liability, Assumption of Risk, and Indemnity Agreement, I, or anyone on my behalf, makes a claim against any of the Releasees, I will indemnify, save, and hold harmless each of the Releasees from any litigation expenses, attorney fees, loss, liability, damage or cost which may incur as a result of such claim. I affirm that I have read and understand the above information and that the information I have given Special Olympics Minnesota is true and complete. I am providing my social security number so that appropriate background checks can be initiated to help determine my suitability for appropriate volunteer assignments. Applicant s Signature Parent/ Guardian Signature (If under 18 years of age) Date Date SSN: (*Required for background check. All applicants 18 years of age and older must have a background check on file.) I am under 18 and have attached two reference letters (referenced in section f) Please return completed form and required attachments to: You can also reach us at: Special Olympics Minnesota Direct: Washington Avenue South, Suite 550 Toll Free: Minneapolis, Fax: to coacheducation@somn.org SOMN.ORG 10

11 VOLUNTEER REFERENCE FORM FOR MINORS This form needs to be completed for Class A volunteers or Unified Partners who are 17 years of age or under. Special Olympics Minnesota enhances the human potential and quality of life for children and adults with intellectual disabilities by offering year-round sports training and competition. Special Olympics Minnesota offers five annual statewide competitions, more than 60 Area events, and training programs for more than 4,300 coaches and opportunities for 14,000 volunteers who give their time and knowledge as local coordinators, event managers, day-of volunteers and coaches. NAME OF VOLUNTEER/UNIFIED PARTNER: AREA: I wish to become a Class A volunteer. Class A volunteers are defined as volunteers who have regular, close physical contact with athletes such as coaches, chaperones, Unified Partners, Area and local sports management team members, heads of delegation, ALPs mentors, drivers for athletes and volunteers who have administrative and/or fiscal authority. I ve read the information above and I know of no reason why cannot serve as a Class A volunteer for Special Olympics Minnesota. DELEGATION: I wish to become a Unified Partner. Unified Sports is a program that brings together athletes with intellectual disabilities and their peers without intellectual disabilities on the same team for training and competition. A primary goal of Unified Sports is to equalize the ability level of Special Olympics athletes with their partners and to promote inclusion through same team practice and competition. Athletes in this program need to have the necessary skill level to participate in the sport so they can be appropriately matched with their Partners. I ve read the information above and I know of no reason why cannot serve as a Unified Partner for Special Olympics Minnesota. Reference Signature: Reference Name (Print): Relationship to Volunteer: Reference Signature: Reference Name (Print): Relationship to Volunteer: If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please volunteers@somn.org. 11

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