New esports offering to support the recovery pathways for international wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
The Invictus Games Foundation develops new esports offering to support the recovery pathways for international wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
The Hague, Thursday April 14th: With a proven model of sports recovery to support international wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, the Invictus Games Foundation is now exploring whether the offering can be expanded to include active esports and gaming to support recovery and rehabilitation from injury or illness.
In a special addition to this year’s Invictus Games The Hague 2020 presented by Jaguar Land Rover, as a side event within the free-to-access fan zone, the Invictus Games Foundation will feature an esports activation. The activation event will be delivered by Amsterdam esports initiative H20 Esports Campus.
Competitors, friends and family, and supporters are invited to visit the Invictus Games esports tent within the Zuiderpark and participate throughout the week across a variety of esports titles, including: League of Legends, Rocket League, Mario Kart and sim racing. The esports competitions will feature a two hour live stream each day, from April 18th to the 22nd, on H20 Esports Campus’s official Twitch channel and will be re-streamed on Invictus Games Foundation’s channels. The wider program is available here.
Prizes awarded to winners will be courtesy of HyperX, HP, Nintendo and OMEN and the games will be available for all to play across a range of consoles, OMEN PCs and racing chairs. Microsoft is also supporting the Esports program with the Xbox Adaptive Controller. The controller is a unified hub for devices that make games more accessible, specifically designed to meet the needs of gamers with limited mobility.
Dominic Reid, CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, said “We know that the Invictus community of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans are already gaming regularly, and actively participating within esports competitions. What we are now interested in is understanding how this could be tailored as part of a recovery pathway from injury or illness, to explore the benefits that participation in esports could bring to the community, and unlock innovative ways of facilitating digital connections between the international community.”
Matthijs Vink, CEO of H20 Esports Campus commented: “Gaming and esports are inclusive to everyone across the range of physical abilities. H20 Esports Campus and the Invictus Games Foundation share values in seeing competition as ways to inspire, motivate, and respect one another. H20 Esports Campus is proud to be helping the Invictus Games Foundation to bring esports and active sports together in a pathway to recovery for the international community of wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women. We at H20 look forward to future events both offline and online where we will help grow an online Invictus community where there is a place for fun and competition.”
The Invictus Games Foundation currently offers digital opportunities and active esports via its online platform We Are Invictus. Opportunities include regular Sunday Zwift cycle rides, open to all, or online ‘Powered by Invictus’ sports leagues such as Indoor Rowing. The Foundation will soon be launching a closed Discord community platform to faciliate regular gaming, access to opportunities to recover through esports, and the development of an international community. In 2020, the Invictus Games Foundation launched a partnership with the Global Esports Federation to explore esports as a catalyst for social benefit and change, and will continue to work with them in developing these offerings.
After a two year delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 will be held this year 16-22 April. Most of the sporting events will be held in and around the Invictus Games Park (Zuiderpark), with tickets available to buy at invictusgames2020.org. Entry to the park itself is free, including access to the fan zone where the Invictus Games esports activation tent is located.
The Invictus Games The Hague 2020 will feature 500 competitors, from up to 20 nations, competing in 10 sports – Archery, Athletics, Cycling, Indoor Rowing, Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball, Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, and Wheelchair Rugby. Germany will be the next host for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023, and the host city for 2025 will be announced during the last day of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020.
