2027 Warrior Games coming to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando
Warrior Games return to Orlando in 2027
The Warrior Games, a series of adaptive competitions for military members and veterans, is coming to Orlando in August 2027. The games include things like wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and more.
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Department of Defense Warrior Games, an adaptive sports competition for wounded, ill, and injured military members and veterans, is returning to Walt Disney World in August 2027.
The Games are free for anyone to attend. The Fisher House Foundation, a military charity, is helping cover room and board for the families.
The Warrior Games, a series of adaptive competitions for military members and veterans, is coming to Orlando in August 2027.
What are the Warrior Games?
The Warrior Games feature 12 adaptive sports, including sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, blindfolded archery, indoor rowing, powerlifting, swimming, and track.
Participants of Warrior Games
The games showcase active-duty service members and military veterans living with visible physical injuries, non-visible conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or illnesses such as cancer.
Participantes are divided into five teams: Army, Marine Corps, Navy/Coast Guard, Air Force/Space Force, and Special Operations Command.
What sets the Warrior Games apart is that the participants aren’t just those with visible physical injuries.
Some of the athletes have mental impacts, like PTSD, or illnesses like cancer.
"They've been a part in the recovery journey for months, for years. And they deserve to be there to celebrate their competitor's successes," said David Coker, the President of the Fisher House Foundation.
Adam Ball, the Vice President of the Wide World of Sports, said the athletes will get plenty of Disney experiences while they’re here too.
"To be a part of this, change lives, see what it does and to get to see it firsthand, it is absolutely incredible," he said.
The Warrior Games, a series of adaptive competitions for military members and veterans, is coming to Orlando in August 2027. (Source: Warrior Games)
What they're saying:
Some, like Rachel Lopez, have TBIs.
"It enabled me to have an identity as an athlete instead of a person with a traumatic brain injury," said Lopez. "I have a purpose, I have reason, I have a goal to work through."
Lopez is aiming to play adaptive pickleball for the Special Operations Command team in the 2027 Warrior Games in Orlando. That’s the newest addition to the games.
The Warrior Games, a series of adaptive competitions for military members and veterans, is coming to Orlando in August 2027.
When, Where are the Warrior Games?
Warrior Games is coming to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World from August 7 to 14.
Entry to view the games is free for the public.
What's next:
A schedule of sporting events will be posted closer to the event, the organization said.
What you can do:
Warrior Games is in need of volunteers. Those who are 18+ and are interested in volunteering can learn more on Warrior Games' website.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from FOX 35's Marie Edinger.