Düsseldorf matchday on Sunday under the sign of the Invictus Games
The Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 project team will present the major sporting event at the match against Adler Mannheim on 5 March 2023.
Invictus On Ice – At the Düsseldorf EC game against Adler Mannheim, athletes from Team Germany Invictus Games will present the pennant gifts to the team captains of both teams. Afterwards, the competitors and support staff from Team Germany, representatives of the DEG, the captains of both teams and representatives of the project team for the organisation of the Invictus Games 2023 will come onto the ice for a group photo in front of the players’ bench. In the second period break, Staff Sergeant Stefan Huss, Ambassador for the Invictus Games 2023, will talk in an interview about his own rehabilitation journey and what the Invictus Games mean to him.
It has become a tradition that the Düsseldorf EC also uses its match days to place important social issues. With the Invictus Games, a world-renowned sporting event is coming to Düsseldorf in September, with topics that are more topical than ever. For the competitors at the Invictus Games, it is also about what they have sacrificed for society. This is why DEG also supports the idea of the Invictus Games, which has become even more topical due to the events in Eastern Europe: “Last year left us speechless. Many of our fans responded to the call to attend games of the Ukrainian handball club Motor Zaporizhzhia. As an individual, it is sometimes difficult to bring in your support. Attending the Invictus Games is an important sign here to show recognition and appreciation. Our soldiers in the German Armed Forces stand up for our freedom and peace in this world and accept injury, wounding and illness to do so. It is therefore a matter of course for us to promote attendance at this unique sporting event,” emphasises Frieder Feldmann, Press Officer, DEG.
For Brigadier General Alfred Marstaller, Project Manager of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023, today is a special opportunity: “The DEG family is known for its open-heartedness and social sensitivity. For our freedom, we need people who are willing to stand up for it or defend it – inside and outside the armed forces. The Invictus Games represent a vision of open and fair interaction, breaking down barriers in everyday life and providing forums for the citizenry – in and out of uniform – to exchange ideas. I am therefore delighted that we have been given the opportunity to present the idea of the Invictus Games directly to DEG fans and to invite the fan community directly.”
Staff Sergeant Stefan Huss, who himself suffers from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) due to his deployment in Afghanistan, is an ambassador for the Invictus Games 2023: “The opportunity to present the Invictus Games in front of the DEG fan community is a great honour for me and at the same time an indication of how far I have already come on my personal journey in dealing with my illness. I have been working my way back into everyday life for ten years. Before I started my therapy, I could never have imagined that I would ever be able to visit a packed stadium again because of my own illness. But thanks to the support I also received from the German Armed Forces, I was able to take part in the Invictus Games in Toronto and Sydney myself. And also to stand here today in the PSD BANK DOME. In September, the DEG family has the unique chance to become a part of the personal rehabilitation story of the competitors. “
As a sporting event for servicemen and women who are wounded, injured or ill in action or on duty, the Invictus Games want to offer competitors a stage to shift their own physical and mental barriers. The Invictus Games want to be an inspiration, not only for wounded soldiers, but also offer a place where we as a society can give ourselves a vision for living together. The stories of suffering of the competitors and those of their families and closest friends have the potential to inspire people in and out of uniform to push the boundaries of their own trauma and physical disabilities with professional support and perhaps sport.
About the INVICTUS GAMES DÜSSELDORF 2023:
Initiated in 2014 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the INVICTUS GAMES will be held in Germany for the first time in 2023. The project, supported by the German Armed Forces together with the City of Düsseldorf, is intended to be a unique celebration of optimism and inspiration. One of the essential goals of this international sports competition is to give soldiers who are wounded, injured and ill in mind and body a greater perception and recognition in society and to support their path in rehabilitation. The event will take place under the motto “A HOME FOR RESPECT.” in Düsseldorf. The venues are the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA, the adjacent Arena-Sportpark and the Rheinbad. The Invictus Games will take place in Düsseldorf from 9-16 September 2023.