1. 2019-20 AIA Unified Badminton Coaches’ Webinar

2. Unified Badminton
Unified Badminton is AIA-sanctioned sport facilitated in conjunction with Special Olympics Arizona (SOAZ), which combines students with intellectual disabilities (Unified Athletes) and students without intellectual disabilities (Unified Partners) together to compete on co-ed Badminton Doubles teams.
Each Doubles pair consists of one Unified Athlete and one Unified Partner.

3. Unified Badminton Rules
Rally Scoring
Rules & service guidelines can be found on AIA Online website here:

4. Unified Badminton Rules
DIVISIONS
To ensure player safety, the following divisions have been established to accommodate teams of varying skill and ability level –
GOLD DIVISION
Adequate understanding of the rules
Advanced Playing Skills
SILVER DIVISION
Basic understanding of the rules
Novice Playing Skills

5. 2019-20 Season Timeline Practice Start Date: August 12
Competition Start Date: August 26
East Valley Qualifier: September 24 (NEW DATE)
West Valley Qualifier: October 17
End of Regular Season: October 22
Unified State Championship: October 26

6. Regular Season
SOAZ’s “8-practice” rule is in effect for participation in AIA Unified Sports. Practices must be at least one hour to qualify as a sanctioned practice, and all eight hours of practice must be completed prior to the team’s first competition.
Unified Badminton teams are encouraged to schedule as many regular season interscholastic contests (matches) as they’d like under AIA rules. Please note there is a minimum number of regular season contests required to qualify for the state championship

7. 2019-20 State Championship Qualification
In order to qualify for the 2019 State Championship tournament –
Unified Doubles teams must participate in a minimum of two interscholastic contests (matches) against other high school Unified Badminton teams during the regular season.
Teams must attend a qualifying Unified Badminton Sectionals tournament in Phoenix
**transportation funding is available for schools traveling from outside of the valley**

8. East Valley Sectionals Tournament
Date: Tuesday, Sept. 24 (NOTE: date has changed since fact sheet
was sent out via )
Time: 8:30am – 1:30pm
Location: TBD (looking for a more centrally located school to make it feasible for West Valley schools can attend)
Entry Deadline: Friday, September 5pm
Upload into Basecamp under appropriate Unified Sectionals folder
9/24/19 East Valley Sectionals – click here

9. West Valley Sectionals Tournament
Date: Thursday, Oct. 17th
Time: 8:30am – 1:30pm
Location: Cortez High School
Entry Deadline: Tuesday, October 5pm
Upload into Basecamp under appropriate Unified Sectionals folder
10/17/19 West Valley Sectionals – click here

10. Sectionals Tournament Entry Forms
Unified Badminton Entry Form & Assessment Instructions can be found on the AIA Online website here:
Or you can download the form directly by clicking here: form.xlsx
Registration Completion Process
Complete Badminton Individual Assessment Forms
Complete Assessments Summary Form
Complete Team Entry Form
Upload into Basecamp under appropriate Unified Sectionals folder
9/24/19 East Valley Sectionals – click here
10/17/19 West Valley Sectionals – click here

11. 2019 AIA State Unified Badminton State Championship Tournament
Date: Saturday, Oct. 26th
Time: 8:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Independence High School
Entry Deadline: Monday, October 5pm
Must confirm partcipation & scratches by this deadline – no additional registration paperwork is required

12. Meaningful Involvement
Fundamentally, the principle of meaningful involvement ensures that every player is given an opportunity to contribute to the success of his or her team through their unique skills and qualities.
This means that every teammate:
(a) demonstrates sufficient sport specific skills and game understanding;
(b) plays a valued role on the team that emphasizes his or her personal talents; and
(c) has an opportunity to play without a heightened risk of injury

13. Player Domination
Meaningful Involvement is not achieved when certain team members:
Display superior sports skills without involving their teammates.
Serve predominantly as on-field coaches rather than teammates.
Control most aspects of the game, especially during the most critical periods..

14. Player Domination Protocol
If a coach feels that an opposing team’s Unified Partner is dominating play, the coach can call a time-out (uncharged) to discuss with the opposing team’s coach.
If the coaches cannot come to a consensus on if the Unified Partner was dominating play, the official shall make the final decision.
If it is deemed that the Unified Partner is in fact dominating play, the official shall sanction the player and/or coach. Sanctions will include: issuing a team warning for player domination, citing the Unified Partner and/or coach with unsportsmanlike conduct, or removing the Unified Partner and/or coach from the game if the violation is egregious.
Teams are allowed a maximum of two warnings for player domination. Upon the third violation of player domination, the offending team will be required to forfeit the game.

15. Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management platform that allows us to create "projects" for each individual sport season to house all related information and resources related to communication, registration, scheduling, etc.
If you did not receive a link to join Basecamp, please contact Thomas Miranda at
Click here to access AIA Unified Badminton Basecamp Project:

16. Basecamp Features (and Direct Links)
Message Board: all announcements and season/competition updates will be posted HERE
Docs & Files: all resources will be house HERE (e.g. sports rules, registration paperwork, schedules, brackets, contact info, etc.)
Calendar: manage deadlines, competition dates, etc. -- can be synced to your outlook, gmail, iCal from HERE
To-Do Lists: manage your registration deadlines, entry verification, etc. HERE
Campfire: chat with SOAZ staff and/or other coaches to ask questions, share ideas, etc. HERE

17. Contacts West Valley Qualifier & AIA State Championship
Thomas Miranda, Palo Verde Area Director
East Valley Qualifier
Nick Staloch, Four Peaks Verde Area Director

18. Thank you. Questions?