The Invictus Games, the international sporting event founded by Duke of Sussex Prince Harry for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, is exploring esports.
This year’s Invictus Games The Hague 2020 presented by Jaguar Land Rover, will feature an esports activation as a side event within the free-to-access fan zone. This will be delivered by Amsterdam esports initiative the H20 Esports Campus.
There will be an Invictus Games esports tent within the Zuiderpark, with participants able to take part in League of Legends, Rocket League, Mario Kart and sim racing.
Prizes awarded to winners will be courtesy of HyperX, HP, Nintendo and Omen. Microsoft is also supporting the esports program with the Xbox Adaptive Controller which is designed to meet the needs of gamers with limited mobility.
The esports competitions will feature a two-hour livestream each day, from April 18th to 22nd 2022, on H20 Esports Campus’ official Twitch channel and will be re-streamed on Invictus Games Foundation’s channels. Organisers hope the offering will help support sick service personnel and veterans’ recovery and rehabilitation from injury or illness.
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.
The esports announcement was made on the Invictus Games website and the Invictus Games esports schedule can be found here.
The news follows Invictus Games’ partnership with the Global Esports Federation in 2020.
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.”
“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.”
Matthijs Vink, H20 Esports Campus
Matthijs Vink, CEO of H20 Esports Campus, added: “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.”
The Invictus Games Foundation currently offers digital opportunities and ‘active esports’ (aka virtual sports) via its online platform We Are Invictus. Opportunities include regular Sunday Zwift cycle rides, indoor rowing and more.
After a two year delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 will be held this year from April 16th to 22nd. It will feature 500 competitors from up to 20 nationsa cross 10 sports, like archery, cycling, sitting volleyball and more. Tickets are available to buy at invictusgames2020.org.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
