Team UK athletes take to the slopes in final training camp before Invictus Games
Athletes representing Team UK at this year's Invictus Games have taken to the slopes for their final UK-based training camp before travelling to Vancouver and Whistler in Canada.
The camp, which was hosted by the Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence, took place at Snowdome in Tamworth.
More than 500 athletes from 25 nations will compete at this year's Invictus Games, which is set to host winter sports events for the first time in the games' history.
Invictus Games athlete Steve Hooper will head out to Vancouver as the captain of Team UK.
He told BFBS Forces News the inclusion of winter sports in the games will have a "huge impact" on athletes and their journeys to recovery and rehabilitation.
"Winter sports is going to bring a huge dynamic change to the Invictus Games where we are going to get to experience snow sports which has a huge impact on mental health, it has a huge impact on rehabilitation and recovery as a whole," he said.
"This is an absolutely fantastic opportunity for us to go out and represent Team UK whilst on our recovery journeys."
On being selected to lead Team UK as captain, he added: "There are no words for it.
"I'm just so, so pleased that I've got an amazing team behind me, some great vice captains, but the honour, the privilege and for my own recovery, it has been absolutely incredible.
"So, there are no words for it, it’s just insane."
The countdown to @InvictusGames25 is on! ⛷️
— BFBS Forces News (@ForcesNews) January 17, 2025
We are with the Team UK winter sport competitors at @SnowDomeTam, as they prepare for the slopes in Canada 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/CFBbXysTI9
The inclusion of winter sports has opened up opportunities for athletes to try out sports such as alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing, biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
Team UK athlete Neil Fellingham's career as a Senior Aircraftsman Technician in the Royal Air Force was cut short after he suffered a serious leg injury in 2018.
During a long journey to recovery, it was discovered that Neil had a neuroma growing inside his leg, which has left him living with complex regional pain syndrome.
But attending training camps for the Invictus Games has played a pivotal role in his recovery, and he has been selected to represent Team UK in sit-down skiing.
He said: "That moment that I knew that I was representing Team UK was this overwhelming sense of excitement, nerves and pure joy of being able to get back out with people that I've come to know so well and just know that we are going to be doing this incredible experience together.
"It's just this wonderful feeling that I get and then to now have my family coming with me as well because of the Royal British Legion, it makes such a huge difference to me on my recovery pathway."
The opening ceremony of the Invictus Games will take place on 8 February which will commence eight days of sporting action running until 16 February.
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