A tournament that changed what inclusion could look like

Most people remember the Special Olympics 2018 USA Games for the stadium lights and the energy in the stands. What some folks did not see was what happened in the University of Washington’s Husky Union Building, which was a meaningful return for me to my alma mater. A gaming tournament brought athletes, families, and volunteers into a space they had never been invited into before.

For me, this was the first real test of the social impact programming I had just built at Xbox. Leadership asked me to help create something that had never existed at Special Olympics. While the idea had originated as a Microsoft hackathon project the year prior, there was no playbook and no precedent. My only reference point was a charity esports tournament I had run the year before during our annual employee giving campaign. That event was held together with tight timelines and tighter resourcing, and it still broke fundraising records. It proved to me that impact comes from intention, not from production value.

The tournament that began a movement

We wanted a tournament that met athletes where they already were. Many of them loved gaming. They just had not been given a place to compete. Our goal was simple. Build something that felt fun, accessible, and true to their interests.

Some people doubted it. A few questioned why gaming belonged at the Special Olympics’ USA Games. Others worried we did not have the production polish to make it feel worthy of a national stage. My answer stayed the same. The athletes were the north star. If the experience served them and aligned with the mission of Special Olympics, I was going to make it happen.

Screens. Consoles. Lights. Volunteers who showed up ready to support. Athletes arrived from across the country after qualifying in prelims. Some walked in buzzing with excitement. Others were nervous. A few had clear strategies and came ready to win.

The moment everything shifted

Tim Schriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, opened the tournament with a message about wanting this to become a recurring event. I remember him saying, “We are about revolutionary thinking, and revolutionary thinking means we have to break down barriers, and breaking down barriers means we have to find every available opportunity for people to play and compete.”

Once the games started, the energy was immediate. We brought in professional shoutcasters and interpreters so the experience felt competitive and inclusive at the same time. You could see what it meant to athletes who had waited for a chance like this.

One of the defining moments came from Tim Dempsey and his unified partner. They called themselves Team Shake and Bake. They practiced every week leading up to the tournament, and Tim later said he gained a brother through that process. The next year, when Tim competed in solos, his former partner showed up in the Twitch chat to cheer him on. Watching that long term connection unfold showed why this was so important.

People stopped asking why gaming belonged here and instead asked how we could do more of it.

Why it worked

Video games had never been part of Special Olympics programming at the USA Games level. That alone made this meaningful. It opened a new entry point for athletes who connect through play. It lowered the barrier to competitive esports, which can be tough to access without the right support. It also showed that inclusion can take many forms. A game setting. A controller. A brand new tournament.

When you build spaces where people can show what they can do, doors open.

The movement that followed

What started as a single room full of screens, consoles, and hopeful athletes has now grown into the Special Olympics Gaming for Inclusion tournament hosted by Xbox. The event even won Xbox the Corporate Community Impact Award at the 2021 Sports Humanitarian Awards presented by ESPN. The tournament continues to evolve every year and I could not be more proud of what we achieved together. The heart of it remains the same: create real opportunities, center the athletes, and lead with intention rather than spectacle. I’m so excited to see where Xbox continues to take this partnership in the years to come.

This tournament became one of my clearest reminders that gaming is more than entertainment. It can be a unifying force. It can build confidence. It can spark friendships that last. It can reshape how people see themselves and how others see them.

What we carry forward

The 2018 tournament proved that you can build meaningful impact without overproduction. You can challenge assumptions by showing what is possible. You can give people a platform and watch them take it further than you imagined.

Aizle Impact continues to build on lessons from moments like this. Gaming is at its best when it creates space for everyone to play, compete, and belong. That is where real impact begins.