Chief Sealth High School was the site for the “Kickoff” to the 2012 Unified Soccer League competition to benefit Special Olympics Washington and Seattle Public Schools, today Saturday March 31.

The day-long kickoff included a “March to the Match”, Opening Ceremonies, athlete clinics, and a soccer competition played at the Southwest Athletic Complex. The event was cut short due to the inclement weather, ending at Noon instead of 2:00 pm.

VIP's on hand for the event included Gary Wright (Sounder FC VP), Greg Epperson (Special Olympics Senior Director of Sports), Eric McCurdy (Seattle Public Schools AD) and Andrea Cahn (Special Olympics Senior Director of Unified Sports)

The 2012 league will feature 12 high schools, eight middle schools and five elementary schools from the greater Seattle area (see the list below).

Students who participate will represent their school in training (on school grounds) and compete in league and regional / state competitions. All Unified Soccer participation is free of charge and all teams have the opportunity to compete against other teams in the KC Region based on age and ability level.

Unified soccer teams are made up of five athletes with intellectual disabilities and five unified partners without intellectual disabilities. Playing rules state that 3 athletes and 2 partners play at a time.

About Unified Sports/Soccer
Special Olympics Unified Sports brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities, who train and compete on the same teams. Throughout the year, in a variety of sports ranging from basketball and soccer to golf and skiing, Unified athletes build their bodies, sharpen their skills, challenge the competition and have fun.

Seattle Unified Soccer League Teams
High School
Ballard 1
Ballard 2
Nathan Hale 1
Nathan Hale 2
Nova
West Seattle 1
West Seattle 2
Chief Sealth
Rainier Beach
Cleveland
Ingraham
Franklin
Garfield
Roosevelt

Middle School
Hamilton
Whitman
Denny

Elementary School
MLK Jr.
Wedgwood
Greenwood
Daniel Begley
Olympic View

Schools with participants
McLure Middle School
Eckstein Middle School
Washington Middle School
Mercer Middle School
Aki Kurose Middle School

For more information visit http://www.specialolympics.org/unified_sports.aspx

or

http://www.specialolympicswashington.org/calendar/sporting_events/seatt…