2 of 43

Unified Flag Football is officially a sanctioned championship sport.

Unified Flag Football rulebook has changed from the SOTN version to the SONA version.

All coaches trainings must be completed on the TSSAA Portal prior to first competition.

All athletes and partners must be added to their teams’ roster on the TSSAA Portal prior to playing.

3 of 43

Interscholastic Unified Sports is a school athletics/activities program that is co-supported by the State Special Olympics Program and the State High School Athletic/Activities Association. The following guidelines have been established as benchmarks of a quality interscholastic Unified Sports program:

• Teams are administered and supported in a similar fashion as other interscholastic sports teams.

• Teams are comprised of approximately equal number of students with and without intellectual disabilities.

• All teammates and coaches are accountable to following the official Unified Sports rules, applicable state association rules and regulations, and training standards prior to competition.

• Coaches follow the Unified Sports parameters of team composition to help minimize risk and ensure meaningful participation.

• In addition to participation, programs provide genuine competition experiences with place of finish results.

• All teammates are meaningfully involved in training and competitions and have the opportunity to contribute.

• Teams compete against other Interscholastic Unified Sports school teams using a consistent set of official Unified Sports rules.

• Interscholastic league-play and competitions are officiated

Guidelines for Interscholastic Special Olympics Unified Sports

4 of 43

5 of 43

TSSAA Portal Page & Tutorial Videos

6 of 43

Click Here to Visit Page!

7 of 43

Bowling

If you plan to participate in the TSSAA Bowling Sectionals and State Championship you must:

Ask your Athletic Director to add you to the TSSAA portal as a “Unified Bowling Coach” and add roster.
Coaches complete SOTN forms.
Athletes must complete physical and other athlete registration forms from SOTN
Partners must have a physical on file with your AD

*If coach, athlete, and partner forms have already been completed for another sport, they do not need to be completed again.

8 of 43

Bowling Quick Links

9 of 43

Bowling

Important Dates

10/1/2024 - DEADLINE to Register for 2024-25 Unified Bowling Season - Click Here to Register!

10/23/2025 - Unified Bowling Scheduling Meetings - West (4:00pm/ct), East (5:00pm/ct), Middle (6:00pm/ct) - Join Now! ��12/1/2025 - Sectionals Registration Due��1/9-17/2025 - Sectionals - See sectionals page

1/20/2025 - State Championship Registration Due

January 21-23, 2026 - TSSAA Unified Bowling State Championship - @Smyrna Bowling Center

1/31/2025 - End of Season survey due - Click Here to Complete Survey!

TBD - Unified Bowling End of Season Meeting

*Find other events in your area HERE

10 of 43

Unified Team Rules

TSSAA Sectionals and State Championship rules can be found HERE.�
Below is a snapshot from the summarized rules list linked above. It shows the “Baker” format and how teams will rotate bowlers.

11 of 43

Unified Pairs Rules

TSSAA Sectionals and State Championship rules can be found HERE.�
Below is a snapshot from the summarized rules list linked above. It shows the “Pairs” format and how teams will rotate bowlers.

12 of 43

Rules Review

A foul committed, regardless of the number of pins knocked down, results in that ball being marked as a 0.

Bowlers can not receive any assistance during the approach or release of the ball. This includes assistance from coaches, teammates, or equipment such as ramps. �
Unified teams shall follow the two athlete to one partner ratio during trio games. �
Partners can only be subbed for partners, and athletes can only be subbed for athletes.

When a substitution is made that substitute must complete the remainder of the game. Two substitutions are permitted. The starting player once removed cannot return to bowl for the remainder of the game. �
In Unified 3-Man Baker matches there are 3 positions:

Position 1 is always an Athlete who bowls frames 1,4,7,10.�Position 2 is always an Athlete who bowls frames 2,5,8

Position 3 is always a Partner who bowls frames 3,6,9

13 of 43

TSSAA�Unified�Teams �Official Scoresheet��Teams S coresheet Link

(Make a Copy)

Your Team

Opponent Team

Opponent Coach’s Initial

Your Signature

14 of 43

TSSAA�Unified�Pairs �Official Scoresheet��Pairs S coresheet Link

(Make a Copy)

Loser 8

Loser 7

Home Team

Away Team

Opponent Coach’s Initial

Your Signature

15 of 43

Bowling Sectionals Sign-Up Deadline 12/20/2024

Upper Middle TN

Montgomery Central

Kenwood

Hunters Lane

Wilson Central

Green Hill

1/15 @Pinnacle, Clarksville (9am-1pm)

Lower East TN

Maryville I Eagleton

Cleveland I Alcoa

Signal Mountain

East Hamilton

William Blount

1/16 @Crest Lanes, Maryville (9am-1pm)

Lower Middle TN

Valor I Overton I Antioch

Independence I Summit

Nolensville I Brentwood

Franklin I Page

1/16 @Franklin Lanes, Franklin (9am-1pm)

West TN

Gleason

Collierville

West View

Bartlett

Lake County

1/14 @Jackson Lanes, Jackson (9am-1pm)

Upper East TN

Dobyns Bennett

Karns

HVA

Seymour

Gibbs

Northview

1/17 @Fountain Lanes, Knoxville (9am-1pm)

Qualifying for State

Sectional Champion + Next 3 best match scores across all sectionals

State Bracket will publish on 1/18

16 of 43

2025 TSSAA Unified Bowling State Championship

Schedule

8:00am - Doors Open

11:45am - Introductions

12:00pm - Warm Up Begins

12:10pm - Competition Begins

*Awards for top 2 immediately after last game

1/24 @Smyrna Bowling Center, Smyrna (12pm-3pm)

Competition Schedule
12:10pm	Games 1-4
12:40pm	Games 5-8
1:10pm	Games 9-10
1:40pm	Games 11-12

Kenwood

Gleason

Gibbs

William Blount

Wilson Central

Dobyns Bennett

Nolensville

Franklin

17 of 43

TSSAA Unified Bowling State Championship Unofficial Schedule

Friday January 24th, 2025 Link to TSSAA Page��11:30am Coaches Meeting (if needed)

12:00pm Unified Bowling Begins (lanes 23-30;Warm up lanes 21-32)

12:00-12:10pm Warm-Up

12:15pm Round One Begins (rolling schedule)��3:00pm Awards (approximate)

*all times are Central (ct)

*Note Warm-Up Rule - There will be a 10-minute warm-up before the first game only. There will be warm-up lanes open for substitutes that are coming into the current match or will be starting the next match

18 of 43

Unified Bowling State Championship Hotel Accommodations

19 of 43

Coaching Stipend

To receive a $500 SOTN Head Coaching Stipend, teams must:

Represent a UCS School
Host 1 practice
Compete in 1 regular season game
Participate in Sectional
Complete End of Year Survey

20 of 43

Track & Field

If you plan to participate in the TSSAA T&F Sectionals and State Championship you must:

Ask your Athletic Director to add you to the TSSAA portal as a “Unified T&F Coach” and add roster.
Coaches register as a coach on SOTN
Athletes must complete physical and other athlete registration forms from SOTN
Partners must have a physical on file with your AD

*If coach, athlete, and partner forms have already been completed for another sport, they do not need to be completed again.

21 of 43

Track & Field

Important Dates

April 22nd, 2025 - Lower Middle TN Sectional - @ Green Hill High School

April 23rd, 2025 - East TN Sectional - @ Gibbs High School

April 25th, 2025 - Upper Middle TN Sectional - @Kenwood High School

April 29th, 2025 - West TN Sectional - @ Collierville High School

May 16-18, 2025 - SOTN Summer Games (Track) - @Lipscomb Academy Track Registration Deadline March 26th��May 22nd, 2025 - TSSAA Track and Field State Championship - @Hayes Stadium, MTSU

*Find other events in your area CLICK HERE

22 of 43

Unified Track & Field Links

Unified T&F Coaches Training
Unified T&F Timeline
How To Register/Host Video
Competition Calendar
Event Hosting Guide
T&F Team Organizer
T&F Meet Organizer
Unified Track & Field Coaches Guide
Unified T&F Rules & Regulations
TSSAA Unified T&F Page�

23 of 43

Unified Track & Field Events

Boys & Girls Long Jump

Athlete 1 and partner 1 will have 3 attempts each. Athlete 1’s farthest mark will be added to partner 1’s farthest mark for a total distance.

4x100m (mixed gender)

2 athletes:2 partners ratio will be used. The following order must be used: partner, athlete, partner, athlete.

Boys & Girls Shot Put

Athlete 1 and partner 1 will have 3 attempts each. Athlete 1’s farthest mark will be added to partner 1’s farthest mark for a total distance.(4kg,8.8lb)

Boys & Girls 100m

Athlete 1 and partner 1 will race in separate heats of the 100m. Athlete 1’s time will be added to partner 1’s time for a total time.

Boys & Girls 100m

Athlete 1 and partner 1 will race in separate heats of the 100m. Athlete 1’s time will be added to partner 1’s time for a total time.

*Athletes & Partners are limited to 2 events per meet *JV Shot Put will remain mixed

24 of 43

Unified T&F Season Flow Chart

3. State Championship

TSSAA Unified T&F State Championship registration link and schedule to come.��*Unified Partners can NOT compete in both varsity and Unified State Championships.

2. Sectionals

Register for your area’s sectional prior to the listed deadline. You can only have ONE varsity entry per event. All other entries are JV.

Regular Season

Compete in regular season meets to record performances. Best performance should be used as “Seed time/mark” for sectionals. ��Find Unified meets HERE.

*Athletes & Partners are limited to 2 events per meet

25 of 43

T&F Sectionals Sign-Up Deadline April 11th, 2025

Qualifying for State

April 22nd, 2025 - Lower Middle TN Sectional - @ Green Hill HS

Registration OPEN Deadline April 11th, 2025

April 23rd, 2025 - East TN Sectional - @ Gibbs HS

Registration OPEN Deadline April 11th, 2025

April 25th, 2025 - Upper Middle TN Sectional - @ Kenwood HS

Registration OPEN Deadline April 11th, 2025

April 29th, 2025 - West TN Sectional - @ Collierville HS

Registration OPEN Deadline April 11th, 2025

*Submit Roster to ccoulter@tssaa.org using TEAM ORGANIZER (make a copy)

Winning team of each sectional is guaranteed 1 position in each event. Next best performance per event, not on champion team, at each sectional will advance to State.

26 of 43

TSSAA Unified T&F State Championships

May 22nd, 2025

Milesplit Link

Schedule

27 of 43

2025 Flag Football Important Dates

Important Dates

May 13th @6pm/ct - Unified Flag Football Informational Meeting - Join Here!

August 1st - Registration Deadline

Scheduling Meetings:

August 5th - East TN @5pm/ET, West TN @5pm/CT - Click Here to Join!

August 6th - Middle TN @5pm/CT - Zoom Link - Click Here to Join!�

August 25th - First Competition, Eligibility Due, Coaches Training Due

September 19th - State Championship Registration Due

October 18th - Unified Flag Football State Championship - @Richard Siegel Park

October 31st - End of Year Survey Deadline

Competition Schedule

Week	Date
1	9/1 - 9/7
2	9/8 - 9/14
3	9/15 - 9/21
4	9/22 - 9/28
5	9/29 - 10/5
6	10/6 - 10/12

28 of 43

Flag Football Quick Links

29 of 43

Rules

2 - 20min halves (running clock)
3 athletes/ 2 partners on field (5)
Start on 5-yd line
Midfield = 1st down
Extra Point = 1pt - 6yds, 2pt - 12yds
7yd QB Rush, No QB Runs
No Pitches
No Partner-Partner Passes
Returnable Interceptions
Screen Blocking/Non-Moving
General Penalties/ Unsportsmanlike

30 of 43

Rules Review

QB’s can NOT run beyond the line of scrimmage, even if they are rushed

Pitching the ball in any form is not allowed behind the line of scrimmage. All passes MUST be beyond the line of scrimmage�
The ball is spotted where the forward part of the ball is upon the pulling of the ball carriers flag.�
Interceptions can be returned, the ball is spotted where the interceptor is downed.

2 Timeouts per game, not per half

Spinning is allowed; Jumping/Hurdling as a ball carrier is NOT�
The center can receive a handoff given that they snap the ball and take one step back from the line of scrimmage prior to taking the handoff. �
Flags must be over the jersey with one flag on each hip and one flag at the rear. If the uniform impedes the jersey or flags are not properly placed, flag guarding will be called.

Screen blocking rule includes any movement made to impede the path of a defender

31 of 43

Hosting an Event - Field Arrangement

1 football field = 3 Flag Fields��Endzones will go outside field width �

Field 1

Field 2

Field 3

32 of 43

Hosting an Event - Needs (per field)

Equipment

18 cones
Line of Scrimmage & Rush Marker
Scoreboard & Clock (optional)
Down Marker (optional)
Penalty Flag (optional)

Personnel

Rules Official
Official Assistant
Sideline Assistant (optional)
Clock & Score Manager (optional)

33 of 43

SO Missouri Coaches Training Video

34 of 43

Equipment

Youth/Intermediate Football

One-Piece 3 Flag Belt

Practice Jerseys

Mouthpiece (optional)

Cones

35 of 43

Flag Football Uniform Examples

School Name

Numbers Front & Back

Unified Logo

**Pants must be contrasting colors to flags**

36 of 43

Flag Football Uniform Examples

School Name

Numbers Front & Back

Unified Logo

No Player Names

*In this example, the PLAYER name was replaced with the school mascot

37 of 43

Competitions

Weekly
Round Robin
Scrimmages

*JV Games��(Example Schedule)

38 of 43

State Championship

39 of 43

TSSAA Unified Flag Football State Championship Schedule

9:00am - Packet Pick-Up

10:00am - 1:00pm - Morning Session

1:00pm - 2:00pm - Break

2:00pm - 5:00pm - Afternoon Session

5:15pm - Awards

40 of 43

TSSA Unified Flag Football State Championship

Indy

Valor

HVA

Powell

Franklin

Nolensville

Harpeth

Brentwood

Field 6, 11am

Field 7, 11am

Field 8, 11am

Field 9, 11am

Field 7, 12pm

Field 8, 12pm

Field 7, 3pm

Valor

HVA

Nolensville

Brentwood

Nolensville

HVA

41 of 43

Field 6, 12pm

Field 9, 12pm

Field 7, 2pm

Field 8, 2pm

Field 8, 3pm

Indy

Franklin

Powell

Harpeth

Powell

Valor

Powell

Brentwood

Powell

1 of 43

2 of 43

3 of 43

4 of 43

5 of 43

6 of 43

7 of 43

8 of 43

9 of 43

10 of 43

11 of 43

12 of 43

13 of 43

14 of 43

15 of 43

16 of 43

17 of 43

18 of 43

19 of 43

20 of 43

21 of 43

22 of 43

23 of 43

24 of 43

25 of 43

26 of 43

27 of 43

28 of 43

29 of 43

30 of 43

31 of 43

32 of 43

33 of 43

34 of 43

35 of 43

36 of 43

37 of 43

38 of 43

39 of 43

40 of 43

41 of 43

42 of 43

43 of 43