Invictus Games’ Team UK hit the ski slopes in last training session
The 2025 Invictus Games, set to begin in Vancouver, Canada, on February 8, will be the first to include winter sports.
British veterans and serving personnel who were injured during service have hit the ski slopes for their last training session ahead of the 2025 Invictus Games.
The seventh edition of the games, which begins in Vancouver, Canada on February 8, will bring together more than 500 competitors from 23 nations and is the first to include winter sports.
On Friday, Team UK’s challengers took to the ski slopes at the Snowdome in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
The 62 competitors – all veterans and serving personnel who sustained life-changing injuries and illnesses while serving the UK Armed Forces – previously trained at Loughborough University using adaptive equipment for wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and wheelchair rugby.
“It’s like a fire has been reignited inside me,” said Stacey Mitchell, an RAF veteran whose left leg had to be amputated after a training injury.
Ms Mitchell, aged 30, joined the RAF at 19 and found herself working on Chinook helicopters with dreams of travelling the world.
But six years later she had to undergo a leg amputation after a training injury developed into an irreversible nerve condition.
Ms Mitchell said: “I didn’t realise how much of my identity was taken away when I became injured until I got involved in a team again.”
Sergeant Joanne Lynch, 46, worked as an RAF operator in the Scottish Highlands when she was caught in an avalanche and injured in 2013.
Ms Lynch describes having to “run to stay alive”, and said she has experienced PTSD ever since.
She hopes going to the Invictus Games will help her confront her fear of snow.
Ms Lynch said: “I’m definitely going to be challenged being back in a snowy environment, but I’m more focussed on this last chapter of my military career being positive, and to keep growing.”
The Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence have been supporting the team through their training ahead of the Games, which will last from February 8 to February 16.
Louise Assioun, the manager for the Royal British Legion’s Team UK, said: “Our competitors all share something very unique – they’re all from the Armed Forces and they’ve all been through some pretty big life challenges, which can include having to deal with issues like trauma, amputations, complex PTSD and coping with the experiences of combat zones.
“There’s also something very special about the Invictus Games, which brings many nations together to compete, so it’s a great opportunity for them to be part of a team again and represent their country.
“The Games are an important part of their recovery – the pride they feel in taking part can literally transform lives – and the Royal British Legion, in partnership with the MOD, is incredibly proud to support Team UK at the Invictus Games.”
Established by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, in 2014, the Games aim to “inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who have served their country”, the Royal British Legion said.
The Games have been held in London in 2014, in Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017, Sydney in 2018, The Hague in 2022, and Düsseldorf in 2023.
