Reflections on the Invictus Games 2025 sitting volleyball tournament

“The Invictus Games 2025 were hosted over nine spectacular days of competition in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, and, as I sit here now, at home and settled back into the humdrum rhythm of day-to-day life, I am taking a time-out to look back at another incredible week. 

“Across the Games, around 550 wounded, injured and sick serving or former Armed Forces personnel represented 24 nations, demonstrating once again the ability of the human spirit to triumph over adversity by demonstrating that, while they may be broken,they are not beaten. 
  
“Our arrival in Vancouver in the small hours of Thursday morning was met with a chorus of music, singing and clapping from the volunteers who, as always, provided the heartbeat to the Games.  

“The sitting volleyball competition was not due to take place until the penultimate day of competition, which proved to be a blessing as I was operating on about four hours sleep for the first few days due to jet lag.  

“That said, there was no time to rest, as coaches operated a ‘buddy’ system where they supported another coach in the preparations for competition, and I was fortunate enough to be the buddy to the Wheelchair Curling coach. 

“The competition for that event took place on Sunday, where the team won a silver medal having narrowly missed out on gold to South Korea. On Tuesday, a trip to Whistler followed, where I was able to take in spectacular panoramic views of snow topped mountains. 

“Before long, Wednesday had arrived and the sitting volleyball team’s first opportunity to train.  I had met up with my friend, Goga, who coached the Georgian sitting volleyball team, and we agreed to share the court for a joint training session. 

“We played a friendly match which Georgia won.We did the same again on Friday where the spoils were shared as each team took one set each. It was valuable practice for my novice team as it headed into competition the following day. 
  
“The challenges faced by Team UK’s sitting volleyball team were well documented going into the tournament.  We had only nine days to train, with players who were extremely inexperienced.   

“Some training sessions were attended by some players while other session were attended by others, a corollary of multi-sport camps where participants had to attend several sports over the weekend. It meant that very few players understood even the fundamentals let alone the tactical or psychological side of the game. I think it is fair to say we were realistic about our prospects. 

“Our first match was against an unconquered team – a team that comprised players from different nations who for whatever reason did not play for their own country, be that because the country did not enter the sitting volleyball competition or did not select the player for their team, or even because they were approached at the last minute by the organisers to make up numbers!  

“On the face of it, this had the hallmarks of an easy victory, after all, the unconquered team had not played with each other until the training session the day before; however, it transpired there were some decent players in the opposing team including an Italian international! 
  
“Team UK had a mixture of nerves and excitement as it entered the field of play and soon enough the whistle blew to signal first serve and we were off. Team UK took the first set 21-10 and appeared to be in its stride early doors, but Team Unconquered came back strong in the second set taking it 21-18. 

“It made for a tense deciding set which Team UK won 15-6. Wow! Our first game, and a win. The relief and joy was palpable as the players embraced one another while their friends and families cheered riotously from the bleachers.  However, we knew we had to reset for our second game which was against the host nation, Canada. 
  
“The sitting volleyball competition had proved to be very popular this time around, with 20 nations having entered.  As the competition was taking place over just one ,it made for a constrained programme and so four pools were created with five teams in each.  

“Nations would play tweo matches only in the pool stage with only the top team from each pool progressing to the semi-final.  In order to progress, therefore, teams really needed to win 2-0 and with a good points difference otherwise they were holding themselves hostage to fortune.  A 2-1 win against Team Unconquered was critical, but would it be enough to see us through? 
  
“Our second match was played in front of a partisan crowd, but who could blame them?  Added to that, but unknown to my team at the time, Prince Harry had also entered courtside to watch the drama unfold. 

“Buoyed by their first win, Team UK made an early impact taking the first set by a 21-8 margin.  A 2-0 victory might just be enough to get us to the next stage of competition and mercifully it arrived with a second set win 21-12.  Amazing! 

“Team UK progressed to the semi-final, but it had been closer than we thought because Team Australia had also won both of its matches by same number of sets as the UK, and it was only the points difference that separated us. 
  
“This set up a semi-final encounter with Nigeria, an incredible team constantly singing, endlessly happy and pretty decent on the court too.  The match was played on the centre court and gave my team an opportunity to perform on the big stage. 

“The organisers certainly knew how to whip up an audience, with large monitors displaying spectacular feats and performances, music banging out in synch with a tremendous light display.  Sadly, despite a valiant effort, Team UK could not match Nigeria and lost in straight sets (7-21, 8-21) which meant it would be competing for a bronze medal against Team Ukraine who had lost to Brazil.  

“Another gutsy performance by Team UK was not enough to overcome a resilient Team Ukraine, however, we matched them for heart and courage and really made them work for their medal, the final score being 7-21, 17-21 in Ukraine’s favour. Still, despite all those challenges, Team UK finished a very creditable fourth out of 20 teams. 
  
“A medal would have been the icing on the cake, but the real reward was in the recovery benefit my team received from being part of this monumental event, and I could not have been more proud of them. It is not the most flattering comparison, and I mean no disrespect by it, but I see the Invictus Games as a sports equivalent of the Repair Shop. 

“This is a show where people bring along a keepsake, a trinket or heirloom that has deep, personal meaning to them and a team of experts do their best to restore it to its former glory. The owner knows it will never look exactly like it did before, and sometimes they don't want it to because they have become fond of a scratch or blemish that has since become an integral part of the item. 

“In a similar way, the families of these brave service men and women, who have put their lives on the line to defend their country and in the process become ‘damaged’ in some way are entrusted to the Invictus Games process in the hope that it can in some way help them restore them to the person they were before they became wounded, injured or sick. 

“While that isn’t possible, through patience, care, trust and time we can help them come to terms with their mental or physical impairment, giving them tools to help them cope and deal with setbacks, strength to find determination and the will not to give up, an ability to forge new friendships with others who are going through similar trials as their own - the list goes on. 

“It works, because I have seen it first hand several times over. I am delighted to see my players gaining new friends and skills while also rediscovering part of themselves that had been lost or hidden. 

“It has been the perfect end as I bring down the curtain on my time with Team UK and I hope that whoever takes over the role of lead coach for the UK’s sitting volleyball team gains as much inspiration and affirmation that life is for living as I have.” 

All images by RBL Media team.

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