WASHINGTON — It’s a competition amongst heroes. The Warrior Games will kick off at Quantico with opening ceremonies Friday, June 19, at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The games are free and are open to the public. DefenseTV will live-stream all of the events.
The 2015 Warrior Games are an adaptive sports competition for wounded warriors. Marine Corps Capt. James Ferguson, director of media relations for the games, says 270 athletes will participate.
This is a first for our area; previous Warrior Games were held in Colorado and run by the United States Olympic Committee. This year, the Department of Defense is taking it over.
Ferguson says the games are modeled after the Paralympics. Eight athletic competitions include track and field events, swimming competitions, seated volleyball and cycling (hand-cycling and traditional), wheelchair basketball, archery and shooting.
There’s also a wheelchair rugby exhibition, which doesn’t count in the official results, but Ferguson says, “I’ve heard it can be extremely exciting. It’s kind of like demolition derby. So, I’m looking for that one.”
This will be the first time he’ll get to see his buddy Marine Cpl. Anthony McDaniel compete in person in the basketball wheelchair competition. Ferguson watched McDaniel being evacuated from the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2010 as a triple amputee and wondering whether he would make it.
“Now seeing him compete in person will be pretty special for me,” Ferguson says.
The Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command and British Armed Forces are each fielding 45-member teams in team and individual competitions. All the medals athletes earn won go toward their teams’ medal counts, and at the June 28 closing ceremony, the team with the most medals gets the the Chairman’s Cup Award.
Ferguson says the games are focused on recovery through sport with the idea that wounded warriors still have the fighting spirit.
“We want to give them an opportunity to re-engage that fighting spirit and get back out there on the field of competition – compete to challenge themselves, to work together in that team-based environment that they’re used to. Demonstrating the true nature of courage and the ability to overcome tremendous obstacles. While life has presented them some significant challenges, they’ve used it as an opportunity, as a stepping stone to new levels of achievement,”
The plan is for the Army to take the reins for the next year’s competition.
