ÉSBCHS Celebrates Unified Student Athletes

Students from École Secondaire Beaumont Composite High School (ÉSBCHS) are excited about new friendships and athletic skills after getting the opportunity to compete in inclusive Special Olympics events with students from across Edmonton.

The inclusive education students and their student partners represented their school at the Metro Edmonton City Championship Meet at Foote Field on May 21, along with more than 1,000 other athletes from 37 schools.

The Special Olympics events included Unified Long Jump, Unified 2 x 200m Relay, and Turbo Javelin.

Being a Unified Athlete gives me the opportunity to unleash my potential and get better from there, student athlete Harmain says. When I fail, then I can just learn from those experiences, and I use those experiences to train and get better than who I was before.

ÉSBCHS has been a part of Unified Sport since 2019, when they attended the first annual Metro Athletics Unified Jamboree. Since then, they have participated in Track and Field Unified for two years.

The school’s Physical Education department head, Cherilyn Vreim, says that the aim of the Unified Sports Program at ÉSBCHS is to promote friendship and relationships between peers.

All kids should have the opportunity to participate, feel valued, and develop through athletics regardless of needs, she says, it improves the physical and mental wellbeing of everyone and builds community and an inclusive environment for our school.