Invictus Games The Hague postponed again

The Invictus Games The Hague 2020 has been postponed for a second time.

FILE PHOTO: The 2020 Australian Invictus Games team at the team announcement, Victoria Barracks, NSW – putting plans on hold yet again. Photo by Leading Seaman Jayson Tufrey.

Rescheduled to take place this year from 29 May to 5 June, after being postponed from from 9 to 16 May 2020, the decision to postpone again was announced this evening.

Invictus Games Foundation and the organising committee, after consultation with the teams, partners and stakeholders, say they intend to move the event to the Spring of 2022, with no specific dates confirmed as yet.

“This move is to avoid current social distancing measures that would otherwise negatively impact the recovery journey of its competitors,” a spokesperson said in an official media statement.

“Options to deliver a games this year, including digitally or later in 2021, were not taken forward by the respective boards of the organising committee or the Invictus Games Foundation on the basis of identifying the best opportunity to deliver a physical Games in The Hague which would bring the Invictus community together [was preferred].

“The competitor recovery journey and the wish to provide them with as much certainty as possible lay at the heart of the decision-making.”

Captain of the Dutch Invictus Games team Wouter Bakker said that given the current Corona situation, the news came as no surprise.

“A digital variant or organising the event without an audience would not feel like an Invictus Games to me and does not do justice to the spirit of the games,” he said.

“I, as well as my teammates, think that moving the event to the Spring of 2022 is the best decision.

“This will end the uncertainty that all participants are in and we can properly prepare and focus on next year.”

The Invictus Games Foundation and the organising committee in The Hague say they  would work in close collaboration with the international teams to ensure there were continued sport-recovery opportunities throughout this year.

“We also intend to mark the period of 29 May to 5 June 2021 with a series of activities to keep the Invictus Community together and demonstrate its continued resilience.

“More will be announced in due course.

“This decision to postpone the games has been taken in close consultation with the teams of the participating countries and in collaboration with local and national authorities, partners and sponsors.”

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