P.E.I. para athletes reach new milestones on national and world stages

Veronica MacLellan was in class when she learned she had reached a milestone no other P.E.I. para swimmer had achieved.

The 15-year-old had earned senior national team carding through Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program, making her the first para swimmer from the province to receive that level of support.

“I found out in the middle of French class, and I ran out and called my mom,” she said. “It was crazy.”

MacLellan is among several Island para athletes celebrating major achievements this year.

Archer Chad McCormack recently won silver and helped set a Canadian record in Chile, while wheelchair rugby player Kristen Cameron is preparing to represent Canada at the first Women’s Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Paris.

In a statement to CBC News, Jeff Perry, executive director of ParaSport and Recreation P.E.I., said the three athletes’ achievements reflect both their talent and the support they’ve received from coaches, families and sport organizations.

He said making sure Islanders have access to equipment, coaching and opportunities to try para sports is key to developing the next generation of athletes.

“Each of them has taken a different path, but they’re all raising the profile of para sport and continue showing what Island athletes are capable of,” Perry said.

‘It makes me feel very proud of myself’

MacLellan, who won two bronze medals at the 2025 Canada Summer Games, knew she was being considered for carding but wasn’t sure whether she would receive development or senior-level support.

The funding can help athletes cover costs such as travel, accommodation, meals and coaching. MacLellan said she is still learning what expenses are eligible, but expects the support to help her attend competitions and work with her coach.

“It makes me feel very proud of myself,” she said. “I’m very happy that I get to do something that I love, and I get to get things like this to help me go further, so I can keep having fun and racing.”

Her upcoming meets include the Ken Demchuk meet in Laval, Que., Canadian Swimming Trials in British Columbia and the Canadian Swimming Open in Edmonton. She said she needs to attend those competitions to maintain her carding status and hopes to compete internationally, too.

Competing away from home means missing school, but MacLellan works with teachers to keep up with her classes. She also trains with local coaches, attends para-swimming camps and has opportunities to work with Team Canada coaches at larger meets.

While at home, she participates in sessions with a local group of para swimmers, where she demonstrates skills and shares her experiences.

“I like to share experiences with people and push them to achieve their goals, or set bigger goals.”

A record-setting trip to Chile

Chad McCormack travelled to Santiago, Chile, for a World Archery Para Series event without putting much pressure on himself. He returned with a silver medal and a record.

McCormack and doubles partner Kyle Tremblay scored 155 in a team elimination match, setting a new Canadian open record.

“Nothing was really in my sights,” McCormack said. “I had no real expectations in this trip. It was just kind of to dip my toes in the water and see what it was like.”

“It was pretty surreal to be able to put the Team Canada jersey on with my name on it and be shooting in Chile at the base of the Andes Mountains,” he added.

McCormack began taking archery more seriously after a spinal cord injury. He described the sport as “a happy distraction” from nerve pain and the challenges of living with a disability.

He credited his coach and the P.E.I. Archery Association with helping him progress from local competitions to the international stage.

His next goals are to become a carded member of Team Canada and work toward qualifying for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

For now, he plans to stick with the training routine that has brought him this far – one to two hours a day, five or six days a week.

A long-awaited championship

For Kristen Cameron, originally from Charlottetown, the next milestone is a chance to compete for Canada at the inaugural Women’s Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in France.

Cameron, who now trains in Toronto, is one of 12 players selected for the Canadian team. Six nations will take part in the event.

She was introduced to wheelchair rugby during rehabilitation after being paralyzed from the chest down in a collision with a drunk driver 16 years ago.

She had played hockey, but said she was not ready to take up rugby right away. Someone she had coached later encouraged her to attend a practice.

“Once I got out to the first practice, it was like … I wanted to keep going,” she said.

Cameron has played wheelchair rugby for years and was previously on the national team. But she said this championship marks an important step for women in a sport where men and women often compete together.

The team will be competing in Paris in early December. It’s a close group that has grown even stronger through the players’ shared experiences, Cameron said.

“We’re able to be vulnerable with each other,” she said. “Our group is really special because we’re really good at that.”

Cameron said this will be her first major international event representing Canada at this level. She gets “goosebumps” thinking about taking the court in a Canadian jersey.

“Usually I don’t get too emotional with the sports,” she said. “But it’s kind of been a long time coming.”