Nearly one hundred people competing for Team Canada at the 2017 Invictus Games gathered for a send-off in Ottawa Thursday.
The athletes, decked out in Team Canada gear, gathered at the downtown Ottawa Train Station Thursday for a final farewell from fans and family before boarding the train to Toronto.
"It's the feeling that you get when you get deployed to a mission somewhere," said Peter Dennis, a competitor from Nova Scotia. "That's the feeling I have right now so I'm trying to soak it all up and I'm really looking forward to competing."
The team travelled together to Toronto where the Invictus games is set to begin on Saturday. This is the third time the event is being held and the first time the competition is coming to Canada.
"It's going to be a once in a lifetime experience for me," said Elizabeth Steeves, an Air Force veteran. "It came at the right time for me and in some ways the Invictus Games saved my life and I'll be forever grateful for that."
Steeves was part of the Canadian Forces for nearly a decade. She made the difficult decision to get out last year after struggling for years with injuries obtained in the line of duty.
Like most competitors, training to compete at a high level has helped her recover.
"I've never completed anything since I retired," she said. "I'm so close to that finish line and the fact that I'm going to hopefully finish will help me finish other tasks in the future."
Canada is one of 17 nations taking part in the third Invictus Games that will see roughly 550 athletes participate in 12 different adaptive sports from sitting volleyball, to wheelchair tennis, cycling, archery and adaptive cycling. The competition was launched in 2014 by Prince Harry as a way to honour the sacrifice and service of military members around the world and to help in their recovery off the battlefield.
The games start September 23rd in Toronto.
