Surrey Schools brings students together with Surrey Unified Basketball and Soccer leagues

Nearly 300 students from secondary schools across Surrey and White Rock were a part of this year's first-ever Surrey Unified Soccer League and the returning Surrey Unified Basketball League, with each competition creating opportunities for neurodiverse and neurotypical players to share the field and court. (Photo by Jacob Zinn)

The Surrey Unified Basketball League returned to the court this year while Surrey Unified Soccer made its debut, presenting opportunities for neurodiverse and neurotypical Surrey and White Rock students to work together in the name of inclusion.

Last year, the district piloted its first-ever unified basketball tournament, seeing great success in creating a supportive and fun environment for students of all neurological backgrounds. Heading into this year, the district’s Student Support department decided it was time to expand its offerings and added soccer as an option for students to engage in, broadening the possibilities of unified sports in Surrey Schools.

Sixteen secondary schools were represented in the inaugural Surrey Unified Soccer League, with finals culminating at École Salish Secondary. (Photo by Jacob Zinn)

“We were really excited to give students more opportunities to access extracurricular activities by adding another sport,” said Dianna Alvaro, acting principal of Student Support. “Our goal with unified sports is to increase that sense of community and connectedness with all of the learners at our schools.”

More than 150 students from 16 secondary schools competed in the three-on-three basketball league, while about 125 students from 12 secondary schools took to the field in soccer, playing on teams of four and five.

Both sports included rules requiring a certain number of neurodiverse and neurotypical students to be on the court and field at all times, ensuring everyone receives a fair opportunity to play.

“It’s a great experience for our neurotypical students – a lot of them are from leadership classes or school sports teams and some of them are friends with the students playing on the unified team already,” said Alvaro. “They come together in a variety of ways and it’s just really great to see.”

Each league ran for four weeks, culminating in championships held at Sullivan Heights Secondary for basketball and École Salish Secondary for soccer.

The Frank Hurt Hornets defending their title in basketball, making themselves two-time champions after defeating the Elgin Park Orcas in the final. Not to be outdone, the Orcas made a splash in the soccer league, winning the inaugural championship against the Tamanawis Wildcats. Sullivan Heights and École Salish also won the Team Spirit Awards for soccer and basketball, respectively, cheering on teams throughout the tournaments.

Alvaro said everyone who was a part of the tournament was outstanding, from the amount of parent participation to the school counsellors, BASES teachers, IESWs, vice-principals and other staff who embraced coaching their teams through each game. She also noted the tournaments saw many new friendships between students from different schools, bonding over the love of the game.

“The kids are starting to get to know each other now from the different sports and play days, and during the lunch break, I saw kids from four different schools playing with each other on an empty court,” she said. “They wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity to meet each other without unified sports, and so they’re also increasing their social connections and communities too, outside of their own schools.”

With this season wrapped up, Alvaro said they are grateful to the host sites for their work in putting on the tournaments, and they’re looking forward to the unified sports they have in store for next year.

“These leagues just really speak to the need for sport at all levels and the need for everyone to feel included in their school community,” she said.