A contingent of Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans are in Edmonton preparing for an international sporting event aimed at changing their lives.
Thirty-seven members of the CAF’s “Soldier On” program are participating in a five-day training camp for the Warrior Games.
Members of the program will compete in eleven events ranging from sitting volleyball to rowing.
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“It’s a big world stage. It’s not just single. You talk to everyone about the Warrior Games. So just being a participant, soaking it in, talking to other people, seeing where they are in their journey of healing,” Soldier On member Sabrina Mulford said.
The games and the Solider On program are about more than current and retired military members competing in sport. The primary goal is to help participants recover from injury and illness.
“It affords an opportunity for these brave women and men who’ve been injured during their careers to put the maple leaf on their shoulders again, to serve Canada and be part of that team that might have been lost after their injury or illness,” Soldier On senior manager Joe Kiraly said.
“Warrior Games has given me that light at the end of the tunnel because the last year has been really really difficult,” Mulford said.
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Mulford had to adjust to life outside of the Canadian Armed Forces. She was a military member for 24 years before retiring last year.
“For me, the military is a little different. We’re a different society, and we try to mingle back in, and that’s hard when you spent 24 years in the military coming back into civilian life again,” she said.
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“To come to a program like Soldier On and experience shared bonds among folks who have been down similar roads in their lives, see how they’ve coped and share strategies, it’s a really powerful experience, and it can have life-changing results,” Kiraly said.
Mulford has already experienced the benefits of the program. She will be competing in rowing and power-lifting at the Warrior Games.
The games will take place at the ESPN Wild World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, August 19 to 28.
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