"Military City USA" has been awarded the official designation as the home to the 2020 United States Department of Defense Warrior Games, which will be led by the Marine Corps. The announcement comes after months of work advocating and promoting San Antonio as the perfect location for the games, which was one of the Chamber's SA to DC Military priorities during our visit this past February. Lori Stinson, Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development, attended Thursday's press conference, along with Russ Bookbinder (SA Sports) and his staff, as well as other leaders from within Joint Base San Antonio and the neighboring communities.
Remarks were provided by the City of San Antonio's Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Juan Ayala, the City's Director for the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs. Leading the remarks was Marine Cpl. Mathew Maddux, a service member with the Wounded Warrior Detachment- San Antonio, who serves as this year's co-captain for the Marine Corps team and will serve as an ambassador for the 2020 event. Since 2017, Maddux has undergone more than 20 surgeries for injuries he suffered in an exercise when a cooling fan in his tank exploded, severely injuring his face and head.
"Being a part of team sports along with other wounded service men and women has been a key in my recovery. The value of the Warrior Games goes beyond competing in a sport and winning a competition. It is an opportunity for us to be back in action with our services and see ourselves as a part of the mission again," Maddux said.
The U.S. Department of Defense created the DoD Warrior Games to introduce sick and wounded service members to the motivational challenges of team sports and Olympic-style competition. The next Warrior Games will start on Friday, June 21, 2019 and commence on Saturday, June 30, 2019. The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will host the 2019 Department of Defense Warrior Games June in Tampa, Fla. San Antonio's designation of the 2020 Games will be unveiled during the closing ceremonies.
The Warrior Games competitions themselves are known as “adaptive sports”, which include track and field, powerlifting, cycling, wheelchair basketball, and sitting volleyball, and many more.
The San Antonio locations for each competition is still in the works. The City looks forward to hosting the Warrior Games in the fall of 2020 and the Chamber looks forward to providing support to the events, as well as supporting our Military Service Men and Women who will participate.
