That is the impact that Unified sports programs have had on the Dunkirk school community.

“I love my team. It is so much fun to spend time with my friends, and I have fun,” Sedlacek said to the crowd before the thunderous conclusion to his speech.

Sedlacek followed his speech to the packed gym by revealing the gym’s newest banner to highlight Dunkirk’s commitment to inclusive sports as a National Unified Champion School through Special Olympics.

Unified sports are an inclusive athletic experience where athletes with intellectual disabilities are partnered with athletes of similar age or ability as part of the same team. Unified sports are fostered by Special Olympics to disprove stereotypes about people with disabilities. According to Special Olympics, approximately 1.2 million people worldwide take part in Unified sports.

Dunkirk student-athlete Mekiah Sedlacek pulled off the cloak to reveal the school’s first Unified Sports banner at a pregame ceremony before a boys basketball game between the Dunkirk Marauders and the Fredonia Hillbillies earlier this month.

While people with intellectual disabilities do not often get a chance to play on their school sports teams, the expansion of Unified sports across the nation has made a level playing field much more common. Unified sports can be found in more than 8,300 schools across the United States. A goal of the Special Olympics is that Unified sports programs will be in 10,000 schools by the end of 2024.

Two of the most influential figures of Special Olympics and Unified Sports were on hand for the ceremony to unveil the district’s first Unified Sports banner. They each shared a sentiment of pride for the Dunkirk community that night.

“This is their chance to share with the school and the community the hard work that the students and the administration have done to be a National Banner School, recognized through Special Olympics. We just think they do a great job,” said Michael Paglicci, Director of Programming for Special Olympics New York, Western Region. “… We’re just really proud of the work that (Dunkirk) put in. They should be very proud of themselves.”

“It really is a chance to see the work that the entire school community is putting in to create an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere,” concurred Nathan Johnson, Executive Director of Unified Sports in New York State.

Dunkirk offers bowling, basketball, and bocce as Unified sports. Bowling came first, followed by basketball, then finally, bocce as one of four schools to host the sport. Bowling takes place from January into March, while basketball follows not long after. Michelle Gilmour serves as the Unified Bowling and Unified Basketball Coach, while the Unified Club advisers are Jill Domenico and Megan Larivey.

Dunkirk Unified athletes celebrate during a pregame ceremony to reveal the school’s first Unified Sports banner.

“It was a slow process at first because we didn’t really know what we were doing, but it really caught on right away,” Gilmour said. “Jill (Domenico) and Megan (Larivey) do a fantastic job of really making sure the kids have everything, from pom-poms, to spirit days, to clap-outs before bowling matches. It really hypes all the kids up where everyone wants to be a part of it.”

The hype has definitely inspired a generation of athletes at Dunkirk to participate. This season, more than 50 students signed up to participate in Unified Bowling. “It’s really a wonderful thing to see,” Gilmour said.

Gilmour, a Physical Education Teacher at Dunkirk High School, is the school’s former Varsity Softball Coach. She helped lead the push for Unified sports as the first head coach, both with Unified Bowling and with Unified Basketball last year.

“When I left varsity softball, I was looking for something to be a part of. This was the perfect fit,” Gilmour said. “Honestly, I feel honored to be a part of it.”

Sedlacek has been a member of the Unified sports program at Dunkirk since its inception. Sedlacek originally wanted to join the varsity boys bowling team, but once the Unified program started, he found the team that was a perfect fit.

Dunkirk’s Lisbell Andino Robles (5), Dakota Sedlacek (1), and Ayden Hamernick (12) celebrate after a basket during a Unified basketball game last year against the Silver Creek Black Knights at Silver Creek High School.

“It’s really fun. I couldn’t have done this without my best friends,” Sedlacek said. “… We’ve always been a team together.”

That team has also found success. Sedlacek was proud to share his accolades as a Dunkirk student-athlete.

“The first two years, we’ve won first place, and I’ve got a feeling we’re going to win number three,” Sedlacek said.

Sedlacek also credited Coach Gilmour for her efforts with Unified Bowling and Unified Basketball over the past few years.

“We try our best. I’ve got confidence from my head coach, Michelle Gilmour,” Sedlacek said. “Mrs. Gilmour is the best teacher that I ever met, and the best bowling coach and basketball coach.”

It is not just the best of the best from Dunkirk’s faculty and staff that have become involved with Unified sports; the school’s best athletes have also joined in on the fun. The roster of varsity standout athletes to participate in Unified sports over the years includes varsity girls basketball players Molly DiCara and Shyla Karin, football and baseball starter Paul Trippy III, baseball pitcher and 2024 Senior Class President Zach Zentz, former varsity baseball stars Tyler Karin and Brady Corbett, and former softball and volleyball standout Alyssa Salerno, among many others.

“Last year, winning the Bowling Championships was pretty fun. Everyone was so excited and everyone was doing really good together. Just the environment of everyone being around everyone, everyone was cheering, everyone was excited,” Salerno said. “I remember every single time Brady Corbett and Tyler Karin would bowl, everyone would scream and go crazy because everyone was so excited.”

The athletes have all participated in various events, like the annual Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics, or the Torch Run to kick off the Special Olympics at SUNY Fredonia.

“It was fun to be a part of something,” Salerno said. “Me and Mekiah had a lot of fun together. We did the Polar Plunge, we did the Special Olympics, we went and played bocce, and of course, all the bowling and basketball games.”

Sedlacek and Salerno were Co-Presidents of the Unified Sports Club until Salerno graduated last year. She returned home to watch the banner presentation and visit with her friends from the Unified program prior to catching the Dunkirk-Fredonia basketball game later that night.

“It’s definitely good to be back, especially with the athletes,” Salerno said, while also noting she stayed in touch with multiple Unified athletes after graduation. “It’s fun just to be back and be around them all.”

Salerno is now in the second semester of her freshman year at Canisius University. Her experiences with Unified sports have given her countless stories to share with others that she interacts with on campus, including many who were also involved in Unified sports.

“It’s definitely left a big impact on me,” Salerno said. “… It’s fun just to continue on with that, to make new friends and meet new people outside of Dunkirk.”

The recent ceremony was held prior to the biggest event of the year in the Dunkirk High School gym, a boys basketball rivalry showdown with neighboring Fredonia. Nothing gets more of a response from the community than Dunkirk-Fredonia games, and both Johnson and Paglicci noted how they were impressed that Dunkirk made space for the Unified athletes to shine on the same stage.

“That National Banner award is really about the school climate and the culture that’s created. It’s our vision at Special Olympics that not just schools, but society as a whole should be more inclusive in their mindsets; to just embrace diverse communities and individuals with different abilities because everybody has value and everybody can bring something to the table,” Johnson said.

Paglicci said Dunkirk is part of “an elite club” of fewer than a dozen schools in Western New York to have already achieved Banner School status. He added, “They are promoting their inclusive efforts throughout the entire community and their school. To be one of a handful or so of schools in our region is really a testament to them and the program they have established; how the students, the staff and the rest of the school community have embraced inclusion as a priority.”

A school is eligible to be recognized as a National Banner School if it meets 10 specific criteria, available online at specialolympics.org. The three main focal points for Banner recognition are inclusive youth leadership, whole-school engagement, and sustainability.

“At the end of the day, it’s not just one type of person we’re trying to serve, it’s the whole community,” Paglicci said.

Johnson noted that while there are a good amount of schools in the Buffalo metropolitan region increasing their involvement with Unified sports programs, Dunkirk is one of the leaders in the smaller regions of the state.

“Having a school that is excelling down here that can sort of set the standard for the region is phenomenal. It’s just great for the region, it’s great for the program, so we’re just excited to be here to celebrate with them,” Johnson said.

Gilmour added, “It’s been wonderful watching our school and community come together to support it. We really feel like one big happy family. Our kids really enjoy it. Just seeing the interactions between them, it’s absolutely wonderful to see.”