Unified Sports buddies James Toews and Stephanie Bergey, both grade 12s at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, partook in the Unified Sports Tournament on May 14, 2024. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

let me be brave in the attempt

Unified Sports tournament brings together Red Deer schools for fun and teamwork

May 14, 2024 | 3:30 PM

“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt.”

Stephanie Hagan, with the biggest smile, read those words — the Special Olympics Oath — to kick off the second annual Unified Sports Tournament at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School on Tuesday.

The event brings together students from Thurber, Notre Dame, and new this year, Hunting Hills, to enjoy some friendly competition in sports and games such as basketball and bean bag toss.

It’s all under the banner of Unified Sports, which is an initiative of Special Olympics, and here in Alberta, in conjunction with the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association (ASAA).

Toews and Bergey compete in a friendly game of basketball during the tournament. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

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James Toews, a grade 12 student at Thurber, has been involved in Unified for two years.

“It’s really cool to see all the kids and how much fun they have, as well as supporting them and having some fun ourselves. Their joy is just priceless,” he says.

“It’s such a childish joy that we don’t see in ourselves, and they just let themselves be free to have so much fun. It’s cool to play sports with them, interact and have that friendship.”

Rocco Barber (left) of Notre Dame goes up against a student from Lindsay Thurber at the tournament. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Chris Good, principal at Thurber, says the tournament is the school’s best sporting event of the year.

“At our school, we have a really active athletic program, and we host a lot of tournaments in every sport, but to me, this is the most important one, the best one,” he says.

“I love the way it brings together so many different kids from our schools. We’ve got our Unified athletes and their partners, many of whom are athletes on our other teams. There’s competition, but today is also about fun and working together.”

To learn more about Unified Sports, visit specialolympics.ca.

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