The Special Olympics Saskatchewan Unified Sports Invitational is gaining worldwide attention. The Unified Sports Invitational was created by Special Olympics Saskatchewan Youth Coordinator Chris Hamilton as a way for athletes to continue competing in a safe, virtual environment during the pause in programming. In the Invitational, athletes can take part in 3 of the Special Olympics Saskatchewan Unified Sports offerings: Bocce, BAGGO and Basketball. Athletes are encouraged to submit their scores online until April 30th. The participants with the top scores from each sport will then be invited to take part in the World Championship in May. 

With Special Olympics being a global organization, Chris had the idea to invite the entire Special Olympics global family to take part in the Invitational. ESPN created a program called "50 Game Changers" to celebrate the Special Olympics' 50th Anniversary. Chris invited each of the Game Changers to participate in the Invitational. Arpita Mohapatra from Odisha, India is one of the Game Changers who accepted the opportunity to participate and compete. From there the Invitational caught on across India and SO Bharat introduced BAGGO as a Unified Sport to their athletes. Chris took part in a Zoom meeting that featured approximately 180 interested viewers in assisting to help implement BAGGO to their membership. Coaches from Punjab displayed their dedication by creating homemade BAGGO boards for the athletes and the implementation of BAGGO has turned out to be a great success.  

The Unified Sports Invitational has seen representation from other countries around the world as well including South Africa, Thailand, India and the United States. To date, 135 athletes have participated from across the world. To join the Special Olympics Saskatchewan Unified Sports Invitational or for further details, click the button below. 

Join the Unified Sports Invitational