The names of 30 Ukrainian veterans have been announced who will travel to the United States Air Force Trials to be held in Las Vegas in March 2024.
The Ukrainian team will compete and exchange experience with the U.S. Air Force and Marines. The main goal of the United States Air Force Trials 2024 is to engage veterans and the military in physical activities and promote rehabilitation through sports among veterans.
The team members from Ukraine were announced during a live broadcast.
“We ensured an objective and fair selection process. In addition to sports achievements, we took into account the psychological state and social adaptation of the candidates. Not only physical fitness is important, but also the ability to work in a team and show the spirit of a true warrior,” said Svitlana Kashenets, Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.
In December, Kyiv hosted the All-Ukrainian Adaptive Sports Competition, which resulted in the selection committee forming a team of 30 participants who will travel to the United States.
“This year, for the first time, we organized a training camp before the competition itself, so that as many veterans and military personnel as possible could try adaptive sports. About 60% of new participants joined the competition,” said Ihor Krytsak, coordinating manager of the US Air Force Competition.
The participants competed in the following sports: cycling, rowing, track and field, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, powerlifting, swimming and archery.
“Since 2019, Come Back Alive has been developing a methodology for selecting national teams to participate in international sports competitions for veterans. There are three selection criteria: sports (50%), psychological (25%) and social (25%),” said Ivan Naumenko, Head of the Strategic Initiatives Department at Come Back Alive.
The organization of the United States Air Force Trials 2024 is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation, the NGO Come Back Alive, the StratCom Ukraine Center for Strategic Communications, and the NGO Invictus Games Ukraine.
“Our task is to create conditions for veterans and the military to use sports as rehabilitation, regardless of whether they make it to the national team or not,” says Anna Belorusova, COO of Stratcom Ukraine, the Center for Strategic Communications.
The U.S. Air Force Challenge is an annual sporting event that promotes mental and physical recovery of wounded military personnel and veterans. This year, the organizers invited a Ukrainian team to compete in the United States.
“Sport is a powerful psychotherapeutic tool. The Ukrainian Veterans Foundation has funded 37 non-governmental organizations for more than UAH 8.7 million, including eight projects that specialize in physical activity rehabilitation,” said Oleksandra Lokhvytska, Head of the Program Department of the Ukrainian Veterans Foundation.
If you have any information that may discredit a team member or know of any legal violations on their part, please inform the organizing committee: Control@mva.gov.ua
