“The friendliest in all the years” – national Invictus Games competitions concluded in Lviv
On April 28-30, Lviv hosted the national qualifying competitions for the Invictus Games national team. The war affected the organization of the qualifiers – for security reasons, we had to hold the competition in one round, without testing in the regions. We also imposed an information silence to avoid any harm. We are grateful to everyone who accepted these conditions and contributed to creating an atmosphere of mutual support and respect.
These competitions have become the friendliest and largest yet: 2 competition days, 4 locations, 9 sports and 202 participants, including 9 women. This year, 110 participants took part in the Invictus Games for the first time. We are pleased to develop the Invictus community and engage everyone who shares the values of the Games, because the most important achievement of the participants is not medals, but a unique friendly community that broadcasts the values of the Invictus Games in civilian life: courage, respect, and mutual support.
The organizers received 262 applications for participation in the competition. Despite the war, the community of the unconquered is actively involved in the competition. There were 248 registered participants, including 9 women. 2 applicants were denied registration because they did not meet the criteria for participation in the Invictus Games, and 12 participants withdrew their applications themselves.
Among those who competed were 79 veterans and 123 active military personnel. They represented the following agencies and power blocs: The Armed Forces of Ukraine – 84 participants, the National Guard of Ukraine – 13, the National Police of Ukraine – 9, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine – 14, the Security Service of Ukraine – 2, and volunteer formations – 1.
The participants represented 23 regions, with the largest teams from Kyiv, Dnipro and Lviv regions.
This year, for the first time, participants competed in table tennis. In total, the competition was held in 9 sports: in addition to table tennis, there were athletics (running, long jump and shot put), powerlifting, rowing, archery, cycling, swimming, wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball. You can find the competition protocols here.
Traditionally, despite the fact that winners were chosen in each category, all participants received medals at the qualifying competitions. In this way, the organizers wanted to note that absolutely everyone who joined the Invictus family is already a winner.
The selection of the 2023 national team is being carried out by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine together with the Come Back Alive Charitable Foundation, StratCom Ukraine Strategic Communications Center and Invictus Games Ukraine with the support of the intergovernmental working group. The organization of the sports competitions in Lviv was carried out by the Lviv City Council and Lviv Regional State Administration with the support of excellent partners.
The selection committee has begun its work, and we expect to announce the team that will represent Ukraine at the international competition in Dusseldorf this September.
We thank all the participants, relatives, and partners of the event for an incredibly friendly celebration of sport and the will to live!
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