Unified Sports Bring Together Athletes For More Than Wins And Losses by Jim Paulsen, Star Tribune/TNS | March 10, 2026
MINNEAPOLIS — Liam Chau is a popular kid at Stillwater High School. A senior with a permanent smile, Chau rarely makes it an hour without students waving, stopping to say hi and chatting. Jill, Liam’s mom, said a simple trip to Target can take more than an hour because of Liam’s lofty standing within the community.
It wasn’t always like this for Liam, who is naturally outgoing. The fist bumps, the hugs and interactions with other students weren’t as overt.
Over the years, his network of friends grew. It came via the Unified Sports program at Stillwater, a Special Olympics program that supports teams composed of students with and without intellectual disabilities.
Liam has Down syndrome.
The goal of Unified Sports is to bring together “friends” and “partners,” students with and without intellectual disabilities. They play together on the same teams, with two groups of athletes working together.
For students with disabilities, broad acceptance within the hallways of a school can be difficult. In the Unified program, there is no separation.
“This is why we are proud to be a part of (Unified Sports),” Stillwater senior Victor Malchav said. “When you first meet someone with special needs, they may not feel really comfortable, but once you really get that relationship going, that deep friendship, it grows (into) something bigger.”
