Invictus Games Trivia

1. Which television mogul, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, was the founder of the Goodwill Games?

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Ted Turner

On June 1, 1980 Ted Turner launched the first 24 hour news network, CNN which grew into a worldwide television network. He also created several other stations. WTBS (Turner Broadcasting System) was the first cable superstation which in the early days of cable enabled viewers all over the country to see the Atlanta TV station that carried the Atlanta Braves baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. TBS was also the network that carried the first two Goodwill Games in the US. A little known fact about TBS is that the call letters WTBS were owned by the MIT college radio station (my alma mater) when Turner wanted to use them for his station. He bought the rights to the call letters making both sides happy as the MIT radio station was able to get funding for the next several years. MIT started using the call letters WMBR which stood for Walker Memorial Basement Radio as their station was located in the basement of the Walker Memorial building.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: Wounded and sick soldiers and veterans

The Warrior Games is a competition that is organised by the US Department of Defense and used to be exclusively for American soldiers. However, the Invictus Games came to be as a platform for a more worldwide array of countries, and keeps expanding every year. During these games, soldiers and veterans participate in a variety of sports, from archery to athletics to swimming to team sports, in a friendly competition. The games allow for wounded soldiers in mind and body a way of healing by showing them that their competitive spirit is unconquered, even though they are faced with challenges in their day-to-day lives.

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Prince Harry

There is a very touching story about how Prince Harry came to the decision to begin the Invictus Games. It was 2008, and the Prince was returning home from Afghanistan after a news report had leaked his presence with the British army there. Also riding on the plane that took him home were three wounded British soldiers with missing limbs that had been placed in induced comas and one deceased Danish soldier. Until that day, the Prince had only heard about war injuries - on that day they became a reality to him; it was the first time he had seen men with such injuries. He became a patron of an organization called Walking With the Wounded, and participated in several events, such as a trek to the North Pole in 2011. The seed had been planted in his mind - but it would take another deployment to Afghanistan, and an invitation to speak at a similar venue before the Invictus Games would be born.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: The prior two Summer Olympics had each been boycotted by multiple countries

Over 60 countries boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Although the boycott was ostensibly led by the United States, several countries not allied with the US such as Iran (which at the time was holding 52 US hostages in Tehran) joined the boycott as well. In 1984 when the Olympics were in Los Angeles the Soviet Union and 13 of its allies boycotted those games with Romania being the only Eastern Bloc nation to attend. In response to these events, Ted Turner decided to create the Goodwill Games in an attempt restore athletic relations around the world.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

The Invictus Games were started by Prince Harry (UK royal), Duke of Sussex, in 2014. The concept behind the games was to honour soldiers who had been injured and veterans who were living with a disability. They would join together in an uplifting show of spirit and camaraderie while competing in organized sports. The idea was dear to his heart due to his own military service. Prince Harry entered military service in 2005 and was quickly commissioned as an officer. He was slated to serve in Iraq, but instead was deployed to Afghanistan, twice. He performed active duty in hostile territory and also qualified as an Apache pilot.

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Unconquered

According to the "Online Etymology Dictionary", "invictus" is a Latin adjective meaning, ""unconquered, unsubdued, invincible". The ancient Romans, as early as the 3rd century BC, used it as an epithet to symbolize the invincibility of certain deities, such as Jupiter. The term was used for the Invictus Games, according to the Invictus Games Foundation, because "It embodies the fighting spirit of wounded, injured and sick Service personnel and personifies what these tenacious men and women can achieve post injury". The stated goal of the Games is "to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect".

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: 5

The Goodwill Games were held every four years from 1986 to 1998 and then after only three years in 2001. By that time, Ted Turner had sold most of his television related holdings including TBS and the Goodwill Games to Time Warner. They decided to hold the games in 2001 rather than 2002 but then cancelled them after low television ratings as well as a decline in the number of participating athletes and countries.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: Roman

The term 'Invictus' is Latin, and was first used by the Romans to honour their gods. The great Roman statesman Cicero considered it a proper commemoration of the god Jupiter to be described as Invictus. The British poet William Ernest Henley used the term as a title for one of his poems from which vivid imagery is drawn: "And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid." It was therefore fitting that Prince Harry used the term 'Invictus' as the title of the games he conceived. His intention was to uplift the spirits of wounded soldiers and to show them that they are invincible in the face of their challenges.

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Poem by William Ernest Henley

"Invictus" was written in 1775 by William Ernest Henley, an English poet. It is interesting to note that originally the poem had no title, and was subsequently published under a variety of titles, such as "Clear Grit" and "My Soul". The title "Invictus" was given to the poem by Arthur Quiller-Couch, who edited a collection, the "The Oxford Book of English Verse" in 1900, which included the poem. It was the last stanza of the poem that gave the Invictus Games their motto: "It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul". Was it a coincide that the writer of the poem, William Ernest Henley, was himself an amputee? It was in 1875 when, stricken with tuberculosis, one of Henley's legs had to be amputated. He wrote the poem while convalescing after surgery.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Moscow

Moscow which had been the site of the boycotted 1980 Olympics was chosen to host the inaugural Goodwill Games. After that, the next three games alternated between US and Russian cities with the 1990 games in Seattle, 1994 in St. Petersburg, and 1998 in New York City.

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Warrior Games

Originally hosted by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2010, the Warrior Games have been held every year since. The event fell under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense in 2015. It was the 2013 Warrior Games that inspired then Captain Harry Wales to begin the Invictus Games; he had been invited that year to participate in the opening of the games by being part of the torch relay. According to "The Royal Foundation" website, it was after participating in some events, such as the sitting volleyball match, that he said, "I don't see how it wouldn't be possible to fill a stadium with 80,000 people, not to watch Olympics, not to watch Paralympics but to watch wounded Servicemen fight it out amongst each other - not on a battlefield but in a stadium".

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Pole Vault

Sergey Bubka was a multi-time world champion pole vaulter who set the world record a total of 35 times between 1984 and 1994 when the indoor and outdoor record were considered separately (they were combined into one world record in 2000). He would do this be clinching the win for the meet and then making a further attempt that was only one or two centimeters above the current world record so if he made it, it would be a new world record. His last outdoor record of 6.14 meters wasn't broken for over 25 years until Armand Duplantis vaulted 6.15 meters in 2020. After his retirement from vaulting, Bubka was involved in the Olympic movement government as a vice president of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) and President of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Jackie Joyner-Kersee

The Heptathlon is a competition consisting of seven track and field events contested over a two day period. Athletes are awarded points in each event based on their performance according to predetermined tables with the sum of their points across all seven events determining the winner. In the 1986 Goodwill Games, Joyner became the first athlete to score over 7000 points across the seven events. In addition to winning the event at the first four Goodwill Games, Jackie Joyner-Kersee won two gold medals and one silver in the Heptathlon in the Olympics between 1984 and 1992. She also won a gold medal and two bronzes in the Olympic Long Jump between 1988 and 1996. She won two gold medals in each of the events in the IAAF World Championships between 1987 and 1993.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: I am

The logo for the Invictus Games as well as the medals awarded at the games is "I am". This uses the name of the games graphically when arranged one on top of the other: invIctus -gAMes- This refers to the line from the poem by William Ernest Henley "I am the master of my fate," which is also engraved. These medals were designed by the Garrard jewellery house who have designed medals for many competitions around the world and over the years. The design was based on an idea by Harry Parker, a British soldier that had been wounded in his tour in Afghanistan.

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Adaptive Sport

Adaptive sport, also called parasport, is modified to better meet the needs of all participants. In fact, the athletes are grouped according to their disabilities when forming competitive teams; typically there are three broad groups - those with physical disabilities, those with cognitive or developmental delays, and those with both, so that the participants compete with individuals who share the same skill level. Many times wounded Servicemen and women go through a rehabilitation program that includes adaptive sport because it helps build a sense of belonging and self-esteem, creates an outlet for energy, encourages camaraderie, and improves their quality of life. (Invictus Games Toronto 2017) Many of the adaptive sporting events for the Invictus Games held in Sydney have been in place since the inception of the games. These events include paralympic athletics (track and field), sitting volleyball, and wheelchair rugby, among others.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Lake Placid

Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1980 and was the site of the famous Miracle on Ice where the underdog US Hockey team defeated the heavily favorite Soviet Union. It also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932. There were eleven winter sports featured in the Winter Goodwill games including both alpine, cross country and freestyle skiing, bobsleigh, and luge. Figure skating, which was included in the Lake Placid games, had also been a feature of the Summer Goodwill Games in every edition except the 1986 games.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: It cannot - no official tally is kept

The Invictus Games are about individual achievement and building camaraderie between soldiers. The goal is to break down barriers. While countries send teams of competitors to win at their events, the goal is not to have one country triumph over another. No official medal tally is kept. If you do a search online, news articles can be found with which country won which medals, however, these are for national pride alone. From the website: "The Invictus Games is an event to inspire opportunity and honour achievement. Whilst medals are awarded to competition winners and runners-up, Invictus Games will not be creating a competitive nation by nation medal table. All competition results and the biographies of the medal winners can be found on the Invictus Games website."

From Quiz Tales of the Invictus Games

Answer: Sailing

The Sydney 2018 website says that "A brand new addition to the Invictus Games, the objective of sailing is to complete a set course in the fastest time". Since its inception, new events have been added to the Invictus Games depending on which types of venues are available in host cities. The 2014 Games hosted just ten events, which have served as the mainstays of the Invictus Games. In the 2016 Orlando Games, the Paratriathlon and Wheelchair Tennis were on the list, and in 2017, Wheelchair Tennis remained as an event, while the Paratriathlon was replaced by Golf. In 2018 there are eleven events, the ten mainstay events with Sailing being added.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Brisbane

2001 was the only time the Goodwill Games were held outside of either the USSR/Russia or the United States. There were about 1300 athletes who participated in 14 sports, down from around 3000 athletes in 18 sports at the inaugural games in 1986. A new non-Olympic sport, surf lifesaving, which combines surfing with lifesaving techniques, was included in this edition.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: Driving challenge

When the Invictus Games were still just an idea, Jaguar Land Rover committed a million pounds to the Foundation to help them get off the ground. A driving challenge sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover and using vehicles supplied by them was started and has continued for the games. The challenge consists of driving with both speed and precision, occasionally with a variety of terrains (water, sand, etc.) and also with several skill tests. The cars and trucks provided for the challenge can be and have been retrofitted to meet the competitors' variety of disabilities. The challenge shows that there is no difference in the driving abilities of competitors that have disabilities and an able-bodied driver.

From Quiz The Goodwill Games

Answer: Al-Qaeda attack on New York and Washington

It was two days after the final edition of the Goodwill Games closed that the September 11 attacks occurred killing almost 3000 people. While I haven't been able to find any evidence that the cancellation of future games was related to this, it does feel ironic that this event happened so close to the end of games that were setup to help bring the world together. Unfortunately, while Ted Turner was willing to fund games which cost him millions of dollars in order to help promote world unity, once Time Warner became involved, it was no longer possible to run games based on ideals rather than profit.

From Quiz Unconquered!

Answer: The Hague, Netherlands

The 2020 Invictus Games were supposed to have been held in The Hague, Netherlands, in May of 2020. However, due to the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic, it was determined that the games should be pushed back a year to 2021. When the virus continued to be devastating in 2021, the games were pushed back yet again to the Spring of 2022. The 2022 games were to have been held in Düsseldorf, Germany, but these were also pushed back by a year to 2023. Despite these setbacks, the spirit of the games remains undaunted, just like its athletes.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:50 AM

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