Rebuilding after trauma: Invictus Games flag passes through Manitoba

The black and yellow flag for the Invictus Games passed through Manitoba this week on its way across Canada before opening ceremonies next month.

The Games are an international sports competition for sick and injured soldiers and veterans, founded in 2014 by Prince Harry and inspired by the U.S.-based Warrior Games. This year, they're being held in Toronto.

"The whole ethos of the Invictus Games is to try and harness the power of sport to try and help wounded veterans on their road to recovery," said Sarah Dentry-Travis, one of the flagbearers for this year's Games from Manitoba.

Dentry-Travis served as an intelligence operator in the Canadian Armed Forces for a decade, including a nine-month posting to Bosnia, and earned a silver medal for archery in last year's Games in Orlando, Fla.

"You've taken a soldier or an armed force personnel who's used to [being] the person that everyone turns to in times of crisis or emergencies or in need," she said.

"Sometimes they have these injuries where they need help from other people, and it's hard for them to try and reconstruct their identity after they've had this trauma."

Opening ceremonies for the Games begin in Toronto on Sept. 23, bringing 550 veterans and serving soldiers from 15 nations together to compete in 12 events.

Dentry-Travis wrote her PhD thesis on the way soldiers build their identity in society after combat. She said sport helps wounded soldiers and veterans by giving them tangible goals and getting them out of the house to train. Once that starts, they see themselves becoming stronger and get opportunities to build up social networks.

"These things all tumble together to start helping them on the road to recovery," she said.

The Games also help families by shining a positive light on military experience, she said. Families are involved in and invited to the Games every year.

• 'A life after injury': Military vet heading to Invictus games in Toronto

"It's nice for the families, especially the children, because they're used to seeing their parents go off and deployments and such, and sometimes those parents don't come back or they come back changed," she said.

"A lot of times they see the military as something that can almost be negative, but the Invictus allows them to actually see it as a positive experience."

This year, Dentry-Travis said she's most excited to see how Team Canada and its Manitoba members work together.

"Just seeing how the team transforms," she said. "Seeing how they can stand there with the pride they once had from serving their country before, and see how they've meshed together as a team — and also for it to be in Canada."