Today (March 16), Bert Church high school will host teams from four Rocky View high school for a Special Olympics Unified bean bag toss tournament.

The event will pair students with and without intellectual disabilities, as they take turns tossing bean bags at raised platforms with a hole in the far end. Organizer Ian Ferguson, Learning Lead for Phys Ed and CTS at Bert Church, said that the idea to host originated when the school took a team to a different Unified event last year.

"We sent at team to the Unified basketball event, and than we participated in a bocce event in the fall, and when the opportunity came to potentially host an event here in the spring, I jumped at the opportunity."

Teams from Bert Church will go head to head with teams from Cochrane High, Chestermere High, and W.H. Croxford. According to Ferguson, the student body at Bert Church has risen to the occasion as the host school.

"Our sports performance class is acting as officials in the tournament and we had construction tech students build the targets for the games. We have our culinary arts students cooking for us."

Ferguson said that the enthusiasm of the hosting students reflects well on the school, and shows Bert Church is an inclusive school. He also thinks the Unified events are an important way to foster connections between students that might not otherwise cross paths.

"Students that aren't necessarily in the same classes, don't necessarily play on the same teams, run in the same circle of friends, get a chance to get together, get to know one another and forge friendships that translate into past the event."

The event will take place from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

 

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