Visually impaired players spinning their wheelchairs on the basketball court, amputees spiking the ball in sitting volleyball, PTSD warriors sweeping the ice in wheelchair curling. Honour. Fierce resilience. Ferocious courage. These are the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, presented by ATCO and Boeing.
From February 8-16, 2025, more than 530 wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans from 23 nations will compete in this international sporting event. It features the core Invictus sports of indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair basketball and, with this being the first winter games, it welcomes the addition of the new winter sports of alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing and biathlon, skeleton, and wheelchair curling.
Unlike the Paralympics, Invictus competitors may not be athletic in the disciplines they’re competing in and it’s likely the first time they’ve been exposed to them, particularly skeleton! In fact, the Invictus Games is the only sporting event that does not keep a medal count, because it’s less about the result and more about helping the individuals on their journey of recovery. While in some cases the injury and aids are perceptible — prosthetics or wheelchairs — the disability in other competitors is not visible, such as PTSD or a brain injury.
“The biggest thing at the games is seeing that person bust through the limitations they put on themselves or that society puts on them,” says Alaina Mundy, vice-captain Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023. “We look for our own personal bests. Sometimes an athlete’s challenge is met simply ‘by being.’”
A proud sponsor of Team Canada from The Hague 2022 through to 2029, ATCO’s wholehearted commitment to the military started when its co-founder S.D. Southern used his mustering out credits as a firefighter in the Royal Canadian Air Force to found ATCO, with his son Ron, in 1947. Its projects and programs over the years are numerous and include supporting airfield services in Afghanistan, Canada’s Department of National Defence, NATO, the North Warning System, and ATCO Military Family Day at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.
“There is an ongoing social problem in that veterans can’t find a way back into society after they leave active duty,” says Nancy Southern, chair and CEO of ATCO. Two of the many initiatives that ATCO created to assist in rejoining mainstream life are housing solutions for veterans (Homes for Heroes Foundation) and ATCO’s Veteran Employee Resource Group, which helps recruit, connect and transition veterans into the Calgary-based global company, recognizing their formidable leadership skill set. There are currently 77 veterans and 62 reservists at ATCO.
“I’m dismayed that we don’t recognize, herald and cheer on our Armed Forces in Canada because they serve our country with courage,” says Southern, who received the Patriot Award in 2024 from Canada’s True Patriot Love Foundation for her support of the Canadian military. “We see the military under-resourced today, under-recognized and unappreciated, and I really believe that a strong Canada requires a strong sense of security and that’s what our Armed Forces can deliver to us.”
The inspiration for the Invictus Games came when Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, opened the US Department of Defense’s Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2013, during which time he was serving as a captain and helicopter pilot in the British Army. What he observed was how the power of sport helps to rebuild strength, confidence and purpose and provide community in the service personnel’s physical, psychological and social recovery.
Prince Harry became patron of the Invictus Games Foundation and founder of the Invictus Games, first held in London 2014, then Orlando 2016, Toronto 2017, Sydney 2018, The Hague 2022, and Düsseldorf 2023. The word “invictus” is Latin for unconquered and truly embodies the resilient spirit of the wounded service members in overcoming adversity.
ATCO is the presenting sponsor of Team Canada, comprising 56 individuals from every branch of the Canadian Armed Forces, each with the most incredible history of service. There’s an air weapons tech who was deployed in Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan; an infantryman deployed in Haiti in 2009; a marine engineer and clearance diver formerly deployed in Iraq; a nurse deployed in Sri Lanka in 2004 to help the tsunami survivors; a combat engineer who was mine monitoring for demining teams in Bosnia… They will each compete in at least three events.
Thanks to ATCO’s robust Family and Friends Program, Team Canada competitors are able to bring their support system, two friends/family members, to the Games.
“Invictus does so much for the family members too because they’re the hidden part of the support system for the military,” says James Armstrong, who served for more than 25 years as an intelligence officer and is ATCO’s senior vice president of technology & global security. “They’re the ones who hold down the fort when we go overseas, and they’ve struggled through many of these challenges too. It’s really powerful for them to be a part of the Games and see where their loved ones are on their journey.”
Team Canada members express how integral the Invictus Games are in their recovery in giving them the opportunity to reclaim their sense of purpose, to be part of a team and mission again, and to demonstrate that their diagnosis and injuries do not define them.
In his bio, Fredericton’s Cory Harrison who served in the Royal Canadian Artillery for 22 years, writes: “The camaraderie and support offered by fellow competitors plays a significant role, providing a sense of belonging and solidarity with others who have faced similar struggles.” Harrison will compete in snowboarding, indoor rowing, wheelchair basketball, and skeleton.
Canada is the only country to twice host the Invictus Games, which will be held this year on the traditional territories of Lil̓wat7úl (Líl̓wat), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. One of the reasons Prince Harry awarded it to Vancouver Whistler is because of its commitment to addressing Truth and Reconciliations Calls to Action and ensuring the languages, traditions, protocols, and cultures of these four host nations are meaningfully respected and represented at the games. All of the ceremonies and pageantry feature the beautiful artwork and symbols created by artists of the four host nations.
With residual Olympic energy running through its veins, Vancouver and Whistler are perfectly poised to host this celebration. Performing at the Opening Ceremonies will be Katy Perry, Nelly Furtado, Noah Kahan and Roxane Bruneau, and at the Closing Ceremonies there will be performances by Jelly Roll, Barenaked Ladies, and The War and Treaty.
While there’s no denying his celebrity, Prince Harry will preside over the Invictus Games first and foremost as a veteran.
The feeling of personal empowerment is ubiquitous at the Invictus Games and it couldn’t be more serendipitous that embedded within the words Invictus Games is the spirit and motto of “I AM.” Ten bright yellow “I AM” signs stand on guard throughout Vancouver and Whistler. What is your I AM?
Watch the 2025 Invictus Games here: 2025 Event
• Live coverage of Opening (TSN and CTV) and Closing (TSN) Ceremonies broadcast Canada-wide
• TSN presents daily highlights throughout the event
Watch the Invictus Games Netflix Special: Netflix 2023 Heart of Invictus
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Meet the competitors on Team Canada for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025
Aquino, Assunta, North Vancouver, BC
Arsenault, Charles, Saint-Honoré, QC
Babin, Mike, Trenton, ON
Balayer, Christophe, Victoria, BC
Beale, Danyal, Colwood, BC
Beare, Mark, Edmonton, AB
Becker, Jeffrey, Port Moody, BC
Belanger, Cheryl, Borden, ON
Bergeron, Jean-Sébastien, Québec, QC
Boisvert-Boucher, Jerome, Petawawa, ON
Boudreau, Marty, Hampton, PEI
Brochu, Adria, Alberta
Chabassol, Colin, Pictou County, Nova Scotia
Colussi, Francesca, Toronto, ON
Corriveau, Jonathan, Bruno, SK
Crocker, Andre, Fall River, NS
De Vries, Freark, Calgary, AB
Drover, Mike, Ottawa, ON
Duguay, Janie, Longueuil, QC
Dumas, Melanie, Ottawa, ON
Durand, Guillaume, Winnipeg, MB
Gauthier, Steven, Québec, QC
Guerin, Jessica, Petawawa, ON
Hanna, Rufca, Oromocto, NB
Hardy, Kim, Sherbrooke, QC
Harrison, Cory, Fredericton, NB
Henderson, Melissa, Cumberland Beach, ON
Hendry, Brittney, Kingston, ON
Janssens, Jeremy, Meaford, ON
Jarratt, Lee, Petawawa, ON
Jones, Mark, Orillia, ON
Lebel, Bradley, Petawawa, ON
Leblanc, Mathieu, Oromocto, NB
Lentz, Christian, La Baie, QC
Lythgoe, Pauline, Petawawa, ON
MacDonald, Justin, Saint John, NB
McGowan, Chris, Victoria, B.C.
Mirea, Alin, Ottawa, ON
Mulford, Shan, Oromocto, NB
Nie, Wenshuang, Calgary, AB
Norris, Melissa, Halifax, NS
Pelletier, Marie-Ève, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC
Provias, Jeana, Cold Lake, AB
Pullen, Robert, Kelowna, BC
Robillard, Mona, Ottawa, ON
Samms, Clifford, Codroy, NL
Seaman, Terri, Halifax, NS
Shewfelt, Aislene, Halifax, NS
Shields, Kate, Winnipeg, MB
Slade, Alexander, Petawawa, ON
Smith, Louise, Ottawa, ON
Smith, Mark, Trenton, ON
Strul, Harold, Notre Dame de l’île Perrôt, Québec
Underwood, Keirnan, Winnipeg, MB
Weitemeyer, Theresa, Kingston, ON
Zadow, Erica, Halifax, NS
Feature Photo By: Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025
