The Department of Defense Warrior Games, an annual event that celebrates the resilience, determination and triumph of wounded, ill and injured military personnel and veterans, returns to Colorado Springs July 18-26. And the free event brings the best of inspirational competition.
Almost 200 athletes from 37 states will compete on the Colorado College campus as part of five teams representing every service branch: Army, Marine Corps, Navy/Coast Guard, Air Force/Space Force, and the Special Operations Command.
The athletes will compete in 11 different adaptive sports including archery, cycling, field, indoor rowing, powerlifting, precision air sports, sitting volleyball, swimming, track, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby.
The Warrior Games have a long history in Colorado Springs. The first five years of the event (2010-14), athletes competed at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, and in 2018 the U.S. Air Force Academy hosted the competition. The games return this year to the original host city for the 15th anniversary, with the theme of “limitless.”
Rodney Williams is a Team Army wheelchair basketball coach and former Paralympian who competed in the same discipline in 1976 and 1988.
“I have a shirt that says, ‘I’m only in it for the parking.’” Williams says. “Yeah, it’s funny, but there’s a deeper truth here. I didn’t choose to have a disability, but I did choose how to respond to it.”
“Life hands us all something, you can fight it or you can lean in and work with it,” Williams adds. “The Warrior Games is an opportunity to inspire and grow, and I am proud to be a small part of the healing that the games represent. Yeah, life isn’t fair, but competition, friendships renewed or new, and a focus on the future are the best medicine.”
Family and friends are critical on the healing journey for Warrior Games athletes. Since the 2012 games, Fisher House Foundation has brought along those closest to the participants too. The foundation flies them out, puts them up in a local hotel and makes sure they can eat, celebrate, and be with their loved ones — all for free.
Colorado College Hosts the Warrior Games
This year most events will take place on the Colorado College campus, making it the first educational institution that is not a service academy to host the games. Vice President and Athletic Director Lesley Irvine says it will be one of the biggest events ever hosted at the college. Along with staff and volunteer opportunities, four paid student interns will work the games, part of the educational moments that come with hosting such an event.
“It’s impacted all aspects of campus: facilities, campus events, college communications,” Irvine says. “We really had to plan as a whole campus entity.”
For Irvine, hosting an event like the Warrior Games is also part of the vision for Ed Robson Arena — the multipurpose venue that is home to the CC Tigers hockey team — coming to life.
“Of course, the arena would support our hockey program and championship culture, but we knew it would also provide opportunities to host other events,” she says. “It’s another way for us to directly connect to the city and help illustrate the value of sports tourism as an economic driver.”
Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, with its long history of producing large-scale events in the region, is a critical partner to Colorado College for the games, Irvine says, particularly for off-campus events such as the cycling competition. The spirit of collaboration between those two and other entities like the City of Colorado Springs has helped to illustrate the excitement and support for hosting the Warrior Games. “It’s such a community effort,” she adds.
“The military is such a strong part of our community. The games will be a moment for celebration, commitment and joy for military members who have gone through some really hard times,” Irvine says. “And it will also showcase the value and meaning of sport, that it’s not just about winning but can also be about mental health, well-being, building community and more. It’s a reminder that everybody can participate.”
The Bigger Spirit Beyond the Warrior Games
After experiencing the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs in 2013, England’s Prince Harry was inspired to launch the Invictus Games, a similar international event hosted every other year.
Jiesyl Rama competed with Team Navy in the 2023 and 2024 Warrior Games and served as team captain (and only female player) for U.S. Wheelchair Basketball at the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada. She’ll be in town for this year’s games to support her team but won’t be competing.
“Warrior Games and Invictus Games saved my life in more ways than one. It’s the physical embodiment of the best parts of the human spirit,” Rama says. “In the few days of competition, somehow, every single person is touched by the special sauce that is Warrior Games. It’s showed me that I wasn’t just my limitations or my past — I’m more, so much more.”
Though Irvine has never been to a Warrior Games, that “special sauce” is one of the things she’s looking forward to the most.
“My sense is there’s not going to be a dry eye in the house,” Irvine says. “Inspiration, resilience, determination — I personally can’t wait to see it and bring my family.”
How to Watch the Warrior Games
In Person
Events are free and open to the public. You can view the full schedule of events and locations here. Different venues and events, such as swimming, may fill quicker than others.
Warrior Games Plaza
This on-campus hub at Colorado College will host award ceremonies, booths and a live stream of events on a big screen for attendees to watch.
Online and TV
You can watch a livestream at com, and ESPN+ will also host coverage as well. Watch for the ESPN+ schedule to post on July 14.
Find all the details and info about the Warrior Games at dodwarriorgames.com.
