Page 77 - Revised Unified Sports Curriculum electronic version Rev. 8.1_2

UNIFIED BADMINTON UNIT

HISTORY/ENVIRONMENT/CULTURAL INFLUENCES

WHEN: 1600s

WHERE: Europe and Asia

WHO: Ancient civilizations in Europe and Asia

ORIGINAL GAME:
 Ancient game known as “Battledore and Shuttlecock” began as upper class pastime in
England and other European countries
 Original game consisted of two people hitting a shuttlecock backwards and forwards using a
bat or paddle as many times as possible without allowing it to hit the ground.
 During the early 1800s, a contemporary form of badminton, called “Poon”, emerged in India,
which included a net for players to hit the shuttlecock across.
 Game achieved popularity in the mid-1800s when British officers introduced it as a recreational
game for the guests of the Duke of Beaufort in Gloucestershire, England

HISTORY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS
 The first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Soldier Field in Chicago,
Illinois where 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. States and Canada
compete in track and field and swimming on July 19-20, 1968.
 Special Olympics Arizona was officially started in 1975, Phoenix, Arizona.
 Unified Sports® introduced to United States in mid-1980’s, a major focus in Arizona in 2008.

WHAT IS UNIFIED SPORTS®?
 Unified Sports® is a program which combines athletes with and without intellectual disabilities
to form sports teams for training and competition.
 Unified Sports® dramatically increase inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in to the
community by breaking down historical barriers which kept these people apart.
 An estimated 50,000 athletes now participate worldwide in Unified Sports® programs in
cooperation with schools, civic association, Parks and Recreation departments, and other
community sports organizations.
 Unified Sports® is a program endorsed and developed by Special Olympics International.
 Unified Sports® presently includes athletics (track & field), badminton, basketball, bocce,
bowling, cheerleading, flag football, floor ball, golf, kayaking, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis
and volleyball with several other sports undergoing field testing.

HISTORY OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS UNIFIED SPORTS®
 The concept of Unified Sports®, originally called “Integrated Sports,” was brought to the
attention of Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver at the 1983 Special Olympics
National Conference in Park City, Utah.
 The idea was generated through Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) due to changes
occurring in the field of intellectual disabilities. Most of the agency director and leadership of
this period were interested in programs putting people with intellectual disabilities together with
people without disabilities. Social integration was the buzzword of that time period. It was in
this climate SOMA created an integrated softball tournament.

Special Olympics Arizona (SOAZ) 1 06.01.2011
Permission from PUSD #11