More than 80 teams from around the Midlands made their way to Brookland-Cayce High School for its inaugural Special Olympics cornhole tournament.

The event was held on Dec. 6 and was hosted by the Lexington Two high school’s Bearcat Buddies. The organization pairs students with and without disabilities together to build relationships and promote an inclusive school environment.

“Events like this are important for many reasons – connecting with other inclusive schools, providing students with a safe environment to work on social goals, and most importantly promoting inclusion,” Haley Williamson, a Brookland-Cayce High School special education teacher who coordinated the Cornhole Tournament at the school, said in a release. 

Brookland-Cayce High School is a Unified Champion School. The Special Olympics Unified Champion program is “for schools Pre-K through university that intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together students with and without intellectual disabilities to create accepting school environments, utilizing three interconnected components: Special Olympics Unified Sports, inclusive youth leadership, and whole school engagement,” according to the Special Olympic website.

“Being able to facilitate an environment that fosters friendships and hopefully inspires other future special education teachers makes my heart full,” Willamson said.

Willamson’s students participated in the event but also helped with decoration and game setup and also spoke during the opening ceremony. 

Other volunteers from the school supported the event, including the Brookland-Cayce baseball team and head coach Matt Kline, who kept score for the games. Student Council members helped with registration and handing out snacks. Choir members sang the National Anthem, and JROTC cadets managed parking and presented the colors for the opening ceremony.

Eight different schools from the area sent teams to partake in the fun, including five from Lexington County. These schools were AC Flora High School, Batesburg-Leesville Middle School, Batesburg-Leesville High School, Beechwood Middle School, Horse Creek Academy, Meadow Glen Middle School, Sandhills Middle School and White Knoll Middle School.

Williamson was pleased with how the event turned out and said programs like this are part of what inspired her to pursue a career in special education. She hopes this tournament is just the first of many to come. 

“This meant so much,” Williamson said. “Events like this inspired me to become a special education teacher when I was in high school. For my students, they loved being able to hang out with their friends and compete with them.”