2018 Invictus Games
The 2018 Invictus Games was an adaptive mulit-sport event for wounded, injured and ill veteran and active defence personnel, held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The fourth Invictus Games, an event founded in 2014 by the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, included 13 sports (11 medal sports). It was the first Invictus Games held in the southern hemisphere.[1]
Host city | Sydney, Australia |
---|---|
Motto | Game On Down Under |
Nations participating | 18 |
Debuting countries | 1 |
Athletes participating | ~500 |
Opening ceremony | 20 October 2018 |
Closing ceremony | 27 October 2018 |
Officially opened by | Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex |
Main venue | Sydney Olympic Park |
Website | invictusgames2018 |
Development and preparation
Venues
The events were staged on and around Sydney Harbour and at Sydney Olympic Park, in venues used for the 2000 Summer Olympics.[2][3]
- Cockatoo Island - Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge
- Genea Netball Centre - Sitting Volleyball pool matches, Powerlifting heats and finals
- Quaycentre - Sitting Volleyball semi-finals and finals, Wheelchair Rugby pool matches, semi-finals and finals, Wheelchair Basketball pool matches, semi-finals and finals
- Qudos Bank Arena - Closing Ceremony
- Farm Cove / Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney - Sailing heats and finals, Road Cycling
- Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre - Swimming heats and finals
- Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre - Athletics
- Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre - Archery
- NSW Tennis Centre - Wheelchair Tennis
- Sydney Opera House - Opening Ceremony
Funding
Jaguar Land Rover was the Presenting Partner for 2018 Sydney Invictus Games, as it had been for the Invictus Games since its inception in London in 2014. Premier Partners were Fisher House Foundation, Medibank, Sage Group, UNSW Canberra and Westpac. Aon, Boeing, Defence Housing Australia, Fidelity, Hyatt Regency Sydney, icare, ISPS Handa, Leidos, Lockheed Martin, Minter Ellison, Raytheon, Royal Australian Mint, SAAB Australia, Ticketek, Unisys and Workwear Group were Official Supporters. The event Official Suppliers were Amazon, Accor, CSM Live, George P. Johnson, Gold Medal Systems, Goodman, Great Big Events, Harvey Norman, Isentia, Norwest, Ottobock, Pages and Technical Direction Company. The Packer Family Foundation was a Philanthropic Supporter.[4] Founding Partners were the Australian Defence Force, Deloitte, Legacy NSW, Clubs NSW and RSL NSW. The Australian government donated $10,000 to the Games to mark the occasion of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.[5]
The Games
Participating nations
All 17 countries from the 2017 Games were invited to attend, with Poland joining for the first time, for a total of 18 countries.[6][7]
Another team titled "Unconquered" also participated in certain events consisting of competitors from multiple nations.[8]
Source: "Competitors". 2018 Sydney Invictus Games. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
Sports
There were 12 adaptive sports contested at the Games as well as the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge.[9]
Archery (9) Athletics (61) Golf (1) Indoor rowing (21) Powerlifting (6) Road cycling (23) Sailing (2) Sitting volleyball (1) Swimming (26) Wheelchair basketball (1) Wheelchair rugby (1) Wheelchair tennis (1) - Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge
Wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby was held at the Quaycentre over a two-day period from 24 to 25 October. [10] Men and women competed in mixed teams. Competitors from 6 nations competed in wheelchair rugby at the 2018 Invictus Games.
Australia (11) France (12) Great Britain (8) New Zealand (11) - Unconquered (13)
United States (11)
Sitting volleyball
Sitting volleyball was held at the Quaycentre over a two-day period from 22 to 23 October.[11] One event took place, which was jointly staged at the Genea Netball Centre and Quaycentre. Teams from 12 nations competed in this event.
Afghanistan (4) Australia (13) Estonia France Great Britain Georgia Germany Jordan Netherlands Poland Romania United States
Medal table
There is no competitive medal tally at the Invictus Games. Medals are awarded, but Invictus Games does not endorse or maintain an official scoreboard of gold, silver and bronze medals.
Competitors, not athletes, participate in the event that supports rehabilitation and recovery for wounded, injured and ill defence personnel and veterans.
Media and broadcast
ABC was the broadcast partner for the fourth Invictus Games with extensive broadcasting relating to the Invictus Games broadcast across the network on free-to-air, video on demand (iVIEW), YouTube live streaming, radio, podcasts and online.[12] APN Outdoor was the official outdoor media partner, and Facebook the social media partner.[4]
References
- Everett, Seth. "2018 Invictus Games Feature Competition From Wounded Warriors".
- "Invictus Games: Everything you need to know ahead of this year's Sydney Games". ABC News. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- "Venues". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Archived from the original on 27 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- "Corporate Partners - Invictus Games". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- "Invictus Games Sydney 2018 receives Australian Government contribution". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- "Nations". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- Masige, Sharon (26 October 2018). "Unconquered: 5 things CEOs can learn from the Invictus Games".
- "Unconquered". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- "Sports". Invictus Games Sydney 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- https://www.invictusgames2018.org/games-hq/schedule/ Archived 24 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine 24 October 2018
- "Invictus Games 2018 Schedule". Invictus Games 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- "ABC to broadcast the action from Invictus Games Sydney 2018". Mediaweek. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.