Auburn’s First Step Towards Inclusiveness in School Sports

Writer: Prableen Kaur

Editor: Rowan Santos

Date: 2-14-24

A Unified Sports game was held at Auburn Senior High School, on Tuesday, February 6th. This “Pack the Gym!” night was free to attend, open to all. This was our Auburn Mountainview Unified Sports team’s first game. To summarize, it was absolutely astounding and is a highly notable thing that our school has started. 

Special Olympics Unified Sports is a fully inclusive program. Differently abled athletes are brought together with equal opportunities to compete in sports teams. They work in tandem towards the same purpose of playing sports: Preconceptions, prejudice, and false ideas are thrown away. Shoulder-to-shoulder, play as teammates together. 

They decided for this event to play a game of Basketball against the opposing Auburn High Unified team. The game was exceedingly entertaining and we were able to see all these wonderful athletes. I would say you could no doubt see their passion shine through.  Their smiles and joy from playing illuminated the dim lighted gym. The crowd was fully immersed and went wild for the athletes, especially from the opposing team. It was heart-warming to see students take time out of their day to show support for the unified team's first game. In the end, the Lions had victory!

It is remarkable to see inclusion in a sports team at Auburn Mountainview. It’s always daunting to join a sport because of the overwhelming pressures, but the unified team accepts all no matter your abilities. We’re absolutely thrilled we get to witness the beginning of this passionate team. Coach Rocha has done tremendously influential work, as this is Mountainview’s first step into an equitable environment. Hopefully, this team will open doors for more to pursue a sport they are interested in, and is a wake-up call for more inclusion at Auburn Mountainview. 

Let's hear what the players have to say!