News · March 24, 2025 · IMPACT CONSULTANTS

UNSS: when shared sport shapes the future

Shared sport at UNSS, an innovative legacy: the National Solidarity Cross-Country

The Paralympic champions of LA 2028 are still at school today: when shared sport shapes the future.

On Saturday 15 March, Verneuil-sur-Seine hosted an exceptional sporting event, bringing together hundreds of young athletes from all over France under the aegis of UNSS (the French national school sports union). Beyond the competition, the day highlighted an essential dynamic: shared sport, where able-bodied students and students with disabilities run together, support each other and go beyond their limits.

Some of these young people may well be the Paralympic champions we applaud in Los Angeles in 2028 - but their future is being built today, in schools and colleges. At the heart of that success is the daily commitment of physical education teachers and school staff, the true craftspeople of inclusive sport.

PE teachers, builders of talent and inclusion

Across France, PE teachers play a fundamental role in awakening and supporting young athletes, able-bodied or with disabilities. Their commitment goes beyond the classroom: they spot potential, adapt exercises, encourage mutual support and instil the confidence every student needs to find their place and progress. Thanks to their work, bridges are built between school sport and high-level sport.

Shared sport, a driver of performance and cohesion

The mixed races in Verneuil-sur-Seine showed that shared sport benefits everyone, both humanly and in terms of performance. By running together, learning to synchronise and support one another, young athletes develop a vision of sport in which inclusion becomes a strength. PE teachers and UNSS staff are at the forefront of this approach.

A call to partners

The number of licence holders with disabilities among UNSS members is growing, but the objective is clear: to double it by 2028. UNSS calls on public and private players to commit alongside PE teachers and schools:

• adapted equipment in schools;
• training for teachers in leading shared sport;
• inclusive competitions organised on a larger scale;
• better articulation between school sport and disability sport federations.

Companies, local authorities, patrons: join us so that the Paralympic champions of 2028 can one day say it all started on their school grounds.