INVICTUS GAMES
Kari Pries’ husband is among Canadian veterans harnessing the power of sport,
As Canada remembers its soldiers this Friday, the head of Toronto’s Invictus Games, set for September, is calling for the countrywide support and recognition to continue beyond Remembrance Day.
The annual international sporting event is open to veterans and serving military members who have become sick or injured through their work.
Next fall, Toronto’s edition of Invictus will see competitions in a dozen sports, with hundreds of athletes competing from almost 20 countries.
Michael Burns, chief executive officer of the Toronto games, said when his team pitched the bid to hold the event, it emphasized that all of Canada would take on the role of hosting, not just the city.
The games will come during a big year for the country, with 2017 marking its 150th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The first edition of the games was held two years ago in London and was launched by Prince Harry after he was inspired by a similar competition in the United States.
Burns wants Toronto to serve as a continuing push for Canadians to acknowledge the country’s soldiers, their service and their families — before and after the competition.
“What we are really delivering is therapy that we hope will help these men and women in other aspects of their lives long after the games have come and gone,” he said.
Kari Pries’ husband Simon Mailloux was deployed to Afghanistan almost a decade ago. He’s team captain for Canada at Invictus this year.
Pries said that while the soldiers are the ones who raise their hands to volunteer, their families are also very much involved in their service.
“(Families) also feel the impact. They didn’t enlist, but they are involved nonetheless,” she said, mentioning that it’s important to realize that not all military families are the same, and the they all have their own, unique lives, independent of service.
For Joe Guindon, last year’s Invictus Games in Florida managed to do that. Guindon served as a Canadian military police officer and soldier. While with the army, he suffered from herniated and degenerative disks and he has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injury.
He said those injuries left him uninspired and angry. He says while some people tend to turn to substances or booze as a coping mechanism, he just sat stuck, watching Netflix. He needed something to get him up and motivated again.
When he competed in archery at Invictus in 2016, the event was the kick-start he needed to get his life back on track.
“I’ve now gotten back to being the Joe I was — I’m not the complete Joe I was — but I’m getting back to it,” he said. He hopes to compete in the games again this year, and is happy they are happening here in Canada.
“The (games) are a tool to help people transition from military life to civilian life,” he said. “I discovered that I’m not destroyed. There is still more to me, to do in this life.”