The 2017 Invictus Games was a parasport event for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans, which was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The third Invictus Games, an event created in 2014 by Prince Harry, included eleven sports. It was the second Games to be held in North America, following the Invictus Games Orlando 2016.

Invictus Games – Toronto 2017
Host cityToronto, Canada
Nations17
Debuting countries2
Opening23 September 2017 (2017-09-23)
Closing30 September 2017 (2017-09-30)
Opened byPrince Harry
Torch lighterNatacha Dupuis, Simon Mailloux, David Johnston
Main venueAir Canada Centre
Websitewww.invictusgames2017.com

Development and preparation

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The CEO of the 2017 Invictus Games was Michael Burns.[1]

Torch relay

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Lighting of the torch to open the 2017 Invictus Games

The relay took place between 19 August and 26 September, visiting all 32 Canadian Forces bases and neighbouring communities, being carried by over 1000 torchbearers. The route was charted as being 7000 kilometres long.

Venues

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The Games used some of the facilities from Pan American and Parapan American Games in 2015, held in Toronto.[2][3]

Venue Events/Sports
Air Canada Centre Opening and closing ceremonies
York Lions Stadium Athletics
Fort York National Historic Site Archery
Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre Swimming, Sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball
Nathan Phillips Square Wheelchair tennis
Mattamy Athletic Centre Indoor rowing, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby
St. George's Golf and Country Club Golf
High Park Cycling
Distillery District Driving challenge

There was no athlete's village for these games, but the downtown Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel became an unofficial village for participants living there.[4]

Funding

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The Royal Canadian Legion was asked by organizers to be a sponsor; the 30 members of the Legion council who met voted unanimously in support. Their $500,000 donation drew criticism from Canadian Veterans Advocacy, who suggested that drawing on the Poppy Campaign donations as opposed to other revenue sources was inappropriate. The Legion and columnists defended the use of funds as supporting the mission, noting other veteran welfare projects like purchasing a specialized MRI for a mental health clinic.[5][6]

Marketing

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The Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces at Air Canada Centre for the opening ceremony of the games.

A dog named Vimy was announced as the Games' mascot in April 2015.[1] It was named for the Battle of Vimy Ridge, considered by many as a defining moment in Canadian history.[7][8][9] A few days later, Prince Harry attended an exhibition sledge hockey game at Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Toronto Mayor John Tory, as part of a series of launch events at the Royal York Hotel,[10] and with Elizabeth Dowdeswell in the office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queen's Park.

The Games

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Participating nations

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All 15 countries from the 2016 Games were invited again,[11] while Romania and Ukraine made their debut.[12]

Sports

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  • Archery
  • Athletics
  • Golf
  • Indoor rowing
  • Powerlifting
  • Road cycling
  • Sitting volleyball
  • Sledge hockey
  • Swimming
  • Wheelchair basketball
  • Wheelchair rugby

Calendar

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Source:[13]

 OC  Opening ceremony  ●   Event competitions  1  Event finals  CC  Closing ceremony
September 23rd
Sat
24th
Sun
25th
Mon
26th
Tues
27th
Wed
28th
Thurs
29th
Fri
30th
Sat
Total
Ceremonies OC CC
  Archery 8 8
  Athletics 29 32 61
  Cycling 11 11 22
Driving Challenge 1 1
  Golf 2 2
  Indoor rowing 18 18
  Powerlifting 4 2 6
  Sitting volleyball 1 1
  Swimming 29 29
  Wheelchair basketball 1 1
  Wheelchair rugby 1 1
  Wheelchair tennis 1 1
Total gold medals 1 29 37 33 12 1 37 1 151
September 23rd
Sat
24th
Sun
25th
Mon
26th
Tues
27th
Wed
28th
Thurs
29th
Fri
30th
Sat
Total

Medal table

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  *   Host nation (Canada)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States413855134
2  United Kingdom26352788
3  Canada*18171348
4  Australia16231352
5  Netherlands142824
6  France11141136
7  Ukraine83314
8  Iraq4004
9  New Zealand34411
10  Denmark3025
11  Estonia2248
12  Italy1539
13  Jordan1315
14  Germany1214
15  Romania1124
16  Georgia1001
17  Afghanistan0112
Totals (17 entries)151150148449

Broadcasters

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Bell Media was announced as the exclusive broadcast partner of the Games, in a deal covering both the Orlando 2016 and Toronto 2017 events. Events were shown on TSN.[14] The station helped run the Toronto launch ceremony in May 2016.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sachgau, Oliver (29 April 2016). "Meet Vimy, the 2017 Invictus Games mascot". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. ^ Kilkenny, Carmel (16 March 2016). "Invictus Games coming to Toronto in 2017". Radio Canada International. Montreal. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Venues". Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Sheraton Centre Hotel lobby becomes 'borderless village' during Invictus Games". CBC News.
  5. ^ Coyle, Jim (28 April 2016). "Royal Canadian Legion's donation to Invictus Games draws objections". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Invictus Games money well spent". Ottawa Sun. Ottawa. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  7. ^ Anthony Wilson-Smith. "Vimy Ridge and the Birth of a Nation". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  8. ^ "Battle of Vimy Ridge marked Canada's birth as a nation: Governor General David Johnston". National Post. 9 April 2012.
  9. ^ "The Battle of Vimy Ridge April 9-12, 1917 - The First World War". Warmuseum.ca.
  10. ^ "Prince Harry, Justin Trudeau launch 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto". CBC News. Toronto ON. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Nations | Invictus Games Toronto 2017". Invictusgames2017.com. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. ^ "Nations | Invictus Games Toronto 2017". Invictusgames2017.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Results | Invictus Games Toronto 2017". Archived from the original on 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  14. ^ a b "Bell Media exclusive media partner of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017". Tsn.ca.