TOWNSEND — Superintendent Brad Morgan is pleased to report that North Middlesex Regional High School hosted a Unified Sports Basketball Jamboree with student-athletes from North Middlesex, Ayer-Shirley, Littleton and Groton-Dunstable high schools.
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, North Middlesex Regional High School hosted a Unified Sports Basketball Jamboree as part of the Unified Sports Basketball season, which runs from Oct. 7 to Nov. 19.
Unified Sports are a program of the Special Olympics of Massachusetts, which is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team, inspired by the principle that training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.
The Jamboree included three games for each team. Each game consisted of two 10-minute halves, with family and friends cheering on athletes from the sidelines.
North Middlesex High School was coached by Mandy Connor, Groton-Dunstable High School was coached by Angus MacDonald, Littleton High School was coached by Erik Arnold, and Ayer-Shirley High School was coached by Chad Linstruth. Jess Boccelli and Shannon Belanger served as assistant coaches for North Middlesex.
Ryan Burson and David Lorden both volunteered to serve as referees for the Jamboree, while volunteers Jake Steinmann and Nolan Lyle ran the scoreboards and Kathryn Douglas ran the scoreboard clocks. Ryan Demar and Jason Rivers also volunteered to help set up the event.
The event also included a chuck-a-duck fundraiser that earned $157 to support the Unified Sports Programs at North Middlesex. North Middlesex students Morgan Morris and Sophie Pofcher collected funds.
“I want to express my gratitude to all of the volunteers who contributed to making this event so special for all of the student-athletes who participated,” said Superintendent Morgan. “We are very proud of our Unified Sports program here at North Middlesex, but none of it would be possible without the dedication of our staff and volunteers.”
To learn more about Unified Sports programs from the Special Olympics, visit: https://www.specialolympics.org/what-we-do/sports/unified-sports.