Sports & Competitions

2026 Traditional Basketball Tournament

Saturday, March 21

Special Olympics Connecticut will hold its annual Traditional Basketball Tournament and Individual Skills Competition at eight venues in Waterbury on Saturday, March 21st. All are invited to come watch the games and cheer on the participants at all venues, free of charge.

Venues will include ACES at Chase, 565 Chase Parkway; Duggan Pre K-8, 38 West Porter Street; Holy Cross High School, 587 Oronoke Road; Jonathon Reed Elementary School, 33 Griggs Street; Kennedy High School, 422 Highland Avenue; Waterbury Career Academy, 250 Berkley Avenue; Waterbury PAL, 64 Division St, and West Side Middle School, 483 Chase Parkway, all in Waterbury.

Opening Ceremonies will take place at Holy Cross High School and Waterbury PAL at 9 a.m. Individual skills competition at Holy Cross High School and team competition at Duggan Pre K-8, Jonathan Reed Elementary School, Waterbury Career Academy, Waterbury PAL, and West Side Middle School will continue from 9:40 a.m. to 4 p.m. Awards will be presented at the conclusion of individual events and games throughout the day. (Times are subject to change.)

Traditional Basketball Tournament

o Date - Saturday, March 21

o Hosted by 8 Venues across Waterbury:

ACES at Chase - 565 Chase Parkway
Duggan Pre K-8 - 38 West Porter Street
Holy Cross High School - 587 Oronoke Road
Jonathon Reed Elementary School - 33 Griggs Street
Kennedy High School - 422 Highland Avenue
Waterbury Career Academy - 250 Berkley Avenue
Waterbury PAL - 64 Division Street
West Side Middle School - 483 Chase Parkway

o Anticipated Participants

Team players - 396
Skills players - 120
Coaches - 93
Teams - 46
Chaperones - 22
Local Coordinators - 14
Hometown escorts - 5

2026 Winter Games

February 28 and March 1

More than 700 athletes, Unified Sports^® partners, and coaches participated in our 2026 Winter Games, presented by Eversource, February 28th and March 1st. It was an event to remember after weeks of training enduring frigid cold temperatures and record-setting snowfall to prepare for the event. Competition took place in eight sports with additional activities that added to the excitement and fun of the event.

Sports, venues, and competition days included:

Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding at Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort, 99 Powder Hill Road in Middlefield on Saturday and Sunday.
Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoeing at Eversource, 1885 Blue Hills Avenue Ext. in Windsor on Saturday and Sunday. Dedicated Eversource volunteers made and stockpiled "man-made" snow to make this event possible.
Figure Skating and Speed Skating at the International Skating Center of Connecticut, 1375 Hop Meadow Street in Simsbury on Saturday.
Floorball at the Pratt & Whitney Hangar Museum, 423 Airport Avenue in East Hartford on Saturday and Sunday.
Gymnastics at Farmington Valley Gymnastics and More, LLC, 5 Northwest Drive in Plainville on Sunday.

Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® offerings over the course of the weekend ensured our athletes were prepped and prepared to put their best foot forward:

21 Special Smiles (dental) screenings were provided by volunteers from the UCONN School of Dental Medicine and the CT State Tunxis dental hygiene program.
40 athletes received nutrition education from Athlete Leader and SOCT employee Angie D'Amico.
27 gymnasts participated in warm-up exercises led by 15 physical therapy students from Quinnipiac University's EQUIP Rehabilitation program.