Unified, Adapted Programs Broaden Participation Opportunities

One of the goals of the NFHS and its member state associations is to continually find new opportunities for students to participate in education-based activity programs in our nation’s 19,500-plus high schools.

After two challenging years due to the pandemic, the 2021- 22 National High School Athletics Participation Survey indicated a total of 7,618,054 participants in these vital programs. In addition to the most popular sports like football, basketball, volleyball, track and field, baseball and softball, there was more widespread participation in other sports in the history of the survey.

Among the new sports gaining the most interest in recent years are programs for students with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. This year’s survey indicated participation by high school students in 69 different sports, as well as 16 Adapted Sports and 16 Unified Sports.

Adapted and Unified Sports are the key programs nationally for students with disabilities, with 24 state associations sponsoring championships in some Unified sports and 10 others offering state-culminating events in some Adapted Sports. In the past, a couple of states offered Allied Sports as well for students with disabilities. While the three programs vary somewhat in structure and name, they share a similar mission of bringing everyone together.

Adapted Sports
This past year’s survey showed a total of 7,689 combined participants in Adapted Sports in 14 states. The 16 different Adapted Sports included basketball, indoor bocce, bowling, corn toss, cross country, floor hockey, football, golf, handball, soccer, softball, strength training, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The Adapted sport and state with the largest participation was indoor bocce in Maryland with 146 schools and 813 participants.

Students with disabilities play the sport in a similar manner to the sport played by able-bodied participants. Sports that are offered vary from state to state, as do the rules associated with them. Some examples of rules modification are in soccer where a felt-covered ball may be used, or in softball when athletes use plastic balls and bats.

In 1992, the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) made strides in establishing the importance of providing opportunities for all students to play high school sports. Its partnership with the Minnesota Association for Adapted Athletics was the first of its kind in the nation.

In Adapted Sports, each sport is split into two divisions — a cognitive impairment division and a physical impairment division.

Unified Sports
Unified Sports differ from Adapted Sports with a focus on students with intellectual disabilities and pair a special-needs athlete with a student without a disability. Established by Special Olympics, the mission of the program is to give students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy — all while developing friendships.

The first state association to establish a partnership with Special Olympics was the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference in 1992. Today, more than half of the NFHS member state associations have some type of affiliation with Unified Sports.

In the most recent participation survey, basketball, cheer, softball, and track and field recorded the highest participation among Unified sports. Softball led the way with 10,357 combined participants, with the majority of participants from Ohio. Missouri had the largest number of Unified Cheer participants, while Indiana was tops in Unified track and field programs. New York was the leader in Unified basketball with 300 schools and 3,209 combined participants.

Other sports in which states offered Unified participation were bass fishing, bocce, bowling, corn toss, cross country, cycling, flag football, golf, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

Allied Sports
No participation in Allied Sports was recorded in the most recent NFHS sports participation survey; however, schools in Baltimore County, Maryland, have offered these programs in the past. Allied Sports programs are a mix between Adapted Sports and Unified Sports to a degree. In Allied sports, students with intellectual disabilities and ones with physical disabilities compete on the same team.

The programs were designed to offer students with disabilities the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers within the school.

“It is great to see a growing interest in several emerging sports, as well as programs like Unified and Adapted programs,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS. “Our goal continues to be to involve as many students as possible in high school sports and other activity programs.”