Meet Team PEI 2026 Basketball Athlete, Conner Arsenault
After starting off in Special Olympics PEI's youth program, FUNdamentals, Conner Arsenault is putting on the Team PEI basketball jersey for his first Special Olympics Canada Summer Games!
Conner, a 20 year old from Miscouche, joined Special Olympics when he was 8 years old. His mother, Tammy Arsenault, signed him up for the Summerside FUNdamentals program. FUNdamentals teaches young athletes basic sport motor skills in a fun atmosphere. These skills provide support for everyday activities as well as a base for Special Olympics sports training and competition as athletes grow older. Tammy wanted to get Conner, who wasn't initially too interested in sports, out into the community more. Speaking about FUNdamentals, Conner shared "I enjoyed it. It was a great opportunity to get out there, try something I have never done, and meet some people. I had a good time with it!"
Conner continued his involvement with Special Olympics when he got to high school. Attending Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside, Conner participated in Unified Bocce in Grades 11 and 12. Conner's Unified Bocce team won a Gold medal in their division at the 2023 Unified Bocce Provincial Championships.
Conner was a member of Team PEI Basketball in 2022 when the team attended their first Provincial Summer Games in Nova Scotia. A sentiment shared by many of this teammates, Conner recalls those Games as being his favourite Special Olympics moment. In the last game of the tournament, Team PEI was up against a very tough team, one whom they had lost to in the Round Robin. Team PEI "came back stronger then ever, and we ended up winning the whole thing! It just felt surreal to me."
Now a member of Team PEI 2026 Basketball, Conner says that Special Olympics has given him more skills.
Outside of Special Olympics Conner is very musically inclined. He has played drums since Grade 7, and was a member of his schools' band all through Junior High and High School. Conner has since continued with private lessons.
In his down time Conner enjoys drawing, card games, and playing video games. His favourite card game in Magic the Gathering, and for video games, Conner leans towards Nintendo games, a hobby that he shares with his Basketball teammates, Braden Gaudet and Zachary Hebert. Conner also shares a longtime friendship with teammate Ty MacLeod, stretching back to their days in FUNdamentals together.
Conner worked previously at Community Connections as a Maintenance Assistant. He recently completed his Block 1 in Carpentry at Holland College. Conner used his skills daily at work, as he is working towards getting enough hours to go for his Block 2. Conner's ultimate goal is to earn his Block 4, and to become a Red Seal carpenter.
Looking ahead to the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games 2026, Conner says his goals are to have a good time, and to experience a place he has never been to before.
Tammy and her daughter, Conner's sister, Montana, will also be attending to cheer on Team PEI 2026!
If you would like to support athletes like Conner, please consider Drafting and Athlete. The Team PEI Draft an Athlete program allows supporters of the Special Olympics movement to fund a Team PEI athlete’s journey to National Games.