Our Unified Pickleball Tournament was designed to address a lack of meaningful interaction between Special Needs students and their General Education peers. We aimed to create an inclusive, engaging event that brought students together through sport and teamwork.
Working closely with our local Special Olympics organization and school staff, we organized and promoted the event, hosted a skills clinic to prepare participants, paired the teams and created brackets, and even made custom medals. The tournament fostered connection, teamwork, and understanding—successfully helping bridge a social gap on our campus. We are already planning more inclusive events for next year.