Unified Race To Highlight Special Olympics Northern California’s Games

27Tuesday morning will see students with and without intellectual disabilities be more than just students who attend the same school ““ they will become teammates. At Special Olympics Northern California’s annual Bay Area Games, 30 students receiving special education will compete alongside 30 general education, non-disabled students in Unified 4×100 track relays. The Unified races will be one of the many highpoints of Bay Area Games as more than 500 Special Olympics Northern California special education student-athletes compete in track & field events on Tuesday at Acalanes High School in Lafayette.

Sponsored by Chevron and hosted by Special Olympics Northern California as part of its Schools Partnership Program, Bay Area Games will also include a Unified track relay, where students with and without disabilities will race as teammates. The 2015 Bay Area Games is the fourth annual interscholastic competition created specifically for special education students-athletes and their general education peers ““ all of whom currently participate in the Special Olympics Northern California’s Schools Partnership Program. Every student-athlete will be recognized for their achievements by having a Special Olympics Bay Area Games medal draped around their necks by Bay Area law enforcement.

What: Fourth annual Bay Area Games ““ hosted by Special Olympics Northern California

Who: More than 500 special education students hailing from Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo counties along with general education peers

When: Tuesday, April 28 ““ Opening Ceremonies at 10 a.m., Competitions 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (approximately), Unified track relay races 11 a.m.

Where: Acalanes High School ““ Lafayette, Calif.

Participating Schools: Alameda County ““ Roy Johnson High School; Contra Costa County ““ Acalanes High School, Alhambra High School, Bridge Transition Program, Del Valle Transition, Diablo Vista Middle School, Dougherty Valley High School, Freedom High School, Heritage High School, Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School, Liberty High School, Martinez Transition Program, Miramonte High School, Monte Vista High School, San Ramon Valley High, Springhill Elementary, Stanley Middle School; Mission Valley SELPA – Bridgepoint High School; San Francisco Unified ““ A.P. Giannini Middle School, Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary, Serramonte Adult Transition, Sunset Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall High School; San Mateo County ““ George Washington Elementary School, Hillsdale High School, Mills High School, MP Brown Elementary School, Oceana High School, Sequoia High School; Tri-Valley ““ Dublin High School, Granada High School, Livermore High School, Murray Elementary School, Village High School, Wells Middle School.

About Special Olympics Schools Partnership Program

The Special Olympics Northern California Schools Partnership Program is a unique education program active in over 300 K-12 public schools, positively impacting 36,560 general and special education students. Through a program known as Project Unify®, Special Olympics assists schools in initiating Unified Sports and whole-school involvement activities, where general education and special education students create climates of inclusion, acceptance and respect on campuses and in communities. Find out more about how Special Olympics is educating students to play unified and live unified at www.SchoolsPartnershipProgram.org and www.OurUnifiedSchools.com.