Hundreds of Western New York athletes gathered at Sahlen’s Sports Park in Elma on Friday morning.
Special Olympics New York, in partnership with Delaware North, hosted the UCS Unified Bocce Tournament, creating an environment of connection, competition, and teamwork.
Michelle Bonar, associate director of development for Special Olympics New York’s Western Region, said more than 350 athletes from 19 unified schools participated.
"This tournament is one of the culminations of the hard work and dedication that our athletes have put in," she said.
"We're just really excited to come out and watch and play some bocce."
The partnership began in 2022 with Delaware North making a $100,000 investment to help Special Olympics New York grow its unified sports network, said Delaware North VP Katie Gorman.
Unified sports refer to games involving athletes with intellectual disabilities and athletes without.
"They play together, they compete together, and they build some really special friendships," Gorman said.
Gorman said Delaware North renewed the partnership at $125,000. The initial investment helped Special Olympics New York grow from 47 area high schools to 59.
"We know that four years from now they'll grow to even more," she said.
Ethan Spino, from Iroquois Unified Bocce, said the opportunity has been beneficial for him in numerous ways.
"I got more comfortable talking to my partner players, and they got to know a little bit more about me," he said. "If I didn't have that in high school, I would not have met them. I would not feel comfortable talking to them about stuff that they didn't know about me and stuff. So that kind of opened me up and brought my guard down."
For Jamestown athlete John Waite, sports have provided relief and a healing experience.
"Back in middle school days, I was always bullied and didn't have very many friends," Waite said. "But as soon as my eighth grade through high school years came through, I made a lot more friends since then."
Bocce is competitive and accessible, with adapted equipment enabling athletes, including those who use wheelchairs, to participate. The half-day event included a medal ceremony.
