MANCHESTER — The Burr and Burton Academy Unified Basketball Team will be representing all of Vermont at the nationwide Special Olympics USA games held in Minnesota next June.
The Unified Team from Burr and Burton, comprised of students with and without intellectual disabilities, was chosen to represent the state of Vermont in the nationwide basketball tournament, which is part of the Special Olympics event held every four years. The event will take place at the University of Minnesota between June 20 to 26, 2026.
“This is a total honor, going to the USA games,” said Head Coach Don Benasich. “Everyone involved is totally ecstatic to be chosen.”
One team from each state is chosen to represent at the Special Olympic games, held every four years. This year, Burr and Burton was chosen to represent Vermont, which, according to Coach Benasich, was due to the team making it to the state finals three out of the last four seasons, and with the team coming in second in all three appearances.
The team, individual athletes, and the school staff are busy coordinating fundraisers to get the students and coaches to Minnesota.
“We’ve been fundraising,” Coach Benasich said. “We recently did a coin toss, back in September, and we are talking with the local farmers’ markets to see if we can set up a booth for fundraising. We’ll also be fundraising at the high school basketball games and at Christmas time, possibly selling trees, and probably something else as well. We will be conducting fundraising efforts throughout the year. That’ll go directly to traveling expenses.”
The school estimates the cost of sending the team to Minnesota to be around $2,000 per person, including all students and coaching staff. Another potential avenue for revenue will be applications for state grants. The team is seeking to raise $30,000, with approximately $7,000 already in hand. Many of the athletes have also been fundraising on their individual Facebook pages.
“The athletes have put a lot of work into this,” Coach Benasich said. “We treat them like a varsity team. We have practices similar to those of a varsity team. They put a lot of work into preparing for their season, and particularly, for this tournament. We’re going to start practice soon to get them ready, focusing on conditioning and agility drills. We’re going to raise the bar a lot for them to prepare for this USA games.”
Coach Benasich told us that the most important part of this is that the student-athletes feel included.
“I mean, how they’re treated in school, who they practice with, you know, it’s important that they feel like they are a whole part of the school, that they feel comfortable in school playing with other varsity players and feeling confident. They take this really seriously. It’s such a big step for them to feel like they’re totally included in everything, and they do.”
“This is obviously a huge accomplishment,” said Julie Crosier, Assistant Athletic Director at BBA. “It’s a huge recognition, a recognition that Special Olympics Vermont would choose Burr and Burton athletes unified program to represent the entire state of Vermont in the USA games. That’s just so great.”
This is the first time that Burr and Burton Academy has been invited to participate in this tournament. The last team from Vermont was from Champlain Valley Union High School in Burlington, which came home with the championship for their division.
The games are not just about basketball. There are many other events in which special athletes participate, including track and field, swimming, and various team sports. Also included will be competitive cheer, pickleball, cornhole, flag football, and golf.
The Special Olympics organization promotes inclusion, with the primary goal of combatting discrimination. The organization estimates that approximately 6.5 million people in the United States have intellectual disabilities, and about 200 million globally. Their ultimate aim stated on their website is that people with intellectual disabilities are no longer subjected to injustice, exclusion, and discrimination.
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will unite 3,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, and 10,000 volunteers, with an estimated 75,000 fans in attendance from all 50 states.
“We’re going to be trying as hard as we can,” Coach Benasich said. “That’s what we’re going to do, put everything into it. We’re going to go, ready to take on whatever competition we have to. It’s going to be a great experience for them.”
If you would like to donate, please go to www.give.specialolympicsvermont.org/fundraiser/6699698
