6 northern Minnesota schools come together for BSU Unified Bocce Invitational
Nov. 30—BEMIDJI — Mornings inside the John Glas Fieldhouse at Bemidji State are usually calmer than they were on Thursday, when Sherry Holloway led a charge to pack the facility.
Holloway, BSU's Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) program coordinator, organized the BSU Unified Bocce Invitational, an event for six different high schools in northern Minnesota.
For three hours, Unified athletes and partners played bocce ball, took photos with the Bemidji State mascot and danced, celebrating another event that promotes inclusion in sports at all levels.
"People often say how cool stuff like this is for kids with disabilities, and it is, but it's really cool for everyone else to learn about disability awareness and being an ally," said Jackie Stoffel, a Unified physical education teacher at Bemidji High School. "It's about coming together and supporting others despite their differences."
Unified sports allow students of varying ability levels and backgrounds to participate on equal terms through ongoing fitness, sports, leadership and wellness activities. It's a program aimed at developing the physical, intellectual and social growth of all participants.
Unified participants from Bemidji, Bagley, Red Lake, Thief River Falls, TrekNorth and Menahga all gathered at BSU on Thursday, along with 35 volunteers and other Bemidji State faculty.
Many of the volunteers are students in classes taught by Holloway. Jaxon Leindecker, a BHS graduate, was one of the first Unified partners in Stoffel's program. On Thursday, he was one of the volunteers.
"The first time I was involved (in the Unified program) was the first time it was ever offered in high school," Leindecker continued. "I remember when it first started, there was only one event for us to do. There were about 10 athletes and around 12 partners. Now when you look around, her classes are filled. It's growing every single year."
Emily Fultz runs the Unified program in Bagley. But with fewer numbers, she relies on locally hosted events to get the athletes some exposure to out-of-school activities.
"A lot of our kids, they aren't part of anything else," Fultz added. "Feeling that inclusion makes them feel like they can do something within the school. They look forward to doing sports, competing and being a part of something they feel really included in. They love meeting other kids from other schools, too."
Holloway noted that the Special Olympics did some restructuring within the last year, which brought unforeseen financial and staffing challenges to hosting Unified sports.
That's when Bemidji State stepped in. As a proud Unified Champion School, BSU opened its doors for a wave of student-athletes just two days after it ran a campus tour to address wheelchair accessibility challenges on campus.
"We had to change the way we do things," Holloway said. "Financially and with personnel, it's a challenge. But BSU stepped up. BSU didn't ask us to pay rent today. We got a small stipend from the Special Olympics. But most of this is BSU and the area schools taking on the responsibility themselves. It's priceless. It's what makes this so special."
Holloway's students also get a chance to network with high school special education faculty. Not only did the BSU Unified Bocce Invitational bring differently abled athletes together, but it also paired aspiring educators with future coworkers.
"DAPE teachers get to spend the day with other DAPE teachers," Holloway said. "My BSU students, they get to see DAPE teachers and other professionals in action. This is multi-layered, to have a day like this."
"We're very fortunate because of people like Sherry Holloway and BSU," Stoffel said. "They took on this event so all of our kids in northern Minnesota could participate. Without BSU and Sherry, we wouldn't have had this day today. This builds an experience for her students, and it builds an experience for our students."
