In May-October 2023, the CBA Initiatives Center, with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, in partnership with the NGO Games Invictus Ukraine, implemented the Sports Ambassadors project. Not only it has become a tool for raising veteran leaders in communities who will promote adaptive sports. At the end of the project, the organization's analysts conducted a survey among 17 participants to determine how the project affected their lives and plans for the future, and what obstacles they see ahead.

The development of sports as an instrument of rehabilitation, in particular its adaptive forms, is one of the most important areas of support for veterans and active military personnel. Adaptive sports are quite widespread in the world. For example, there are competitions for veterans abroad: Invictus Games, Warrior Games, Air Force Trials, etc. Since 2017, Ukraine's national teams have been participating in the Invictus Games, since 2021 - in the Warrior Games, and next year the national team will compete in the Air Force Trials for the first time.

Adaptive sport gives more opportunities for everyone, which is its main advantage. After all, you can choose the appropriate type of sport for any injury. For example, archery can be practiced with the teeth if a veteran has limitations in the use of their upper limbs. Wheelchair basketball can be played even with the loss of lower limbs or their limited functionality.

The idea of introducing adaptive sports as a rehabilitation instrument for veterans is not new in Ukraine. At the same time, there is a lack of information and specialists in this area, as well as opportunities for its scaling up and greater involvement of the veterans.

Sports Ambassadors is one of the projects aimed at popularizing sports and adaptive sports among veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war. During the implementation of the project 20 motivated veterans who have had or had had injuries, wounds, illnesses, and their own experience of rehabilitation through sports, which made it possible to implement the principle of “peer-to-peer”, were chosen. Each participant, a sports ambassador, was a representative of a particular region. Thus, he had the opportunity to promote adaptive sports among veterans locally, which is potentially a more effective mechanism than doing it through the centralized channels. People from different regions and types of communities join the Ukrainian Defense Forces, so it is important for them to have access to sport facilities and opportunities for going into sports in their community upon return or during rehabilitation.

The goal of the project was not only to select motivated veterans and provide them with an effective instrument for promoting adaptive sports in their regions, but also to support, advise, get them acquainted with each other, and help sports ambassadors. The theoretical basis expands the horizon of understanding how and what can be done to popularize adaptive sports among veterans in their own community; while the opportunity to practically apply their knowledge by visiting rehabilitation centers and communicating with the wounded is a demonstration and testing of their own abilities.

To evaluate the impact of the project on the participants and the changes that took place in their lives, The CBA Initiatives Center conducted a complete sociological study, interviewing 17 sports ambassadors: 16 men and one woman, everyone, who had completed the full project course (both its theoretical and practical parts).

Please note: in the following, the text uses only the designation “Sports Ambassador” to prevent personal data leakage. There are no feminine titles because there is only one woman among the respondents, and designating her as such would actually violate confidentiality. The conclusions of the study are mostly relevant only to the Sports Ambassadors project or are purely hypothetical and require further verification.

After completing the project, each sports ambassador noted that participation in it did not leave them indifferent. The main emotions were:

• satisfaction with taking part in it;
• motivation for new achievements;
• sadness that the project is over.

Additionally noted that for some participants, visiting rehabilitation centers and competitions for wounded/rehabilitating veterans was the most memorable aspect.

“The emotions are positive, because thanks to the visits to rehabilitation centers in Lviv and Vynnyky, 5 brothers-in-armes from the Superhumans Center, took interest in the adaptive sports and competed in the Warrior Cup sports competition in Syanky; most importantly, they gained positive emotions from communicating with their brothers-in-arms and demonstrated good results in sports,” - Sports Ambassador 16

The Sports Ambassadors project evoked different emotions in each of the participants, but they were mostly positive. Participants noted that the project inspired many of them to continue working in the adaptive sports field and popularizing it among veterans. They also noted that the trainings and visits to rehabilitation centers were enlightening and important for forming a comprehensive understanding of how to conduct their professional activities.

Sports Ambassadors during a sitting volleyball lesson. This sport is suitable for people with both lower limb amputations and the loss of one arm. 

The Sports Ambassadors project aims not only to provide knowledge and support participants in their activities within their region, if they plan to do so, but also to influence the ambassador's life’s in general. Taking part in such projects helps to learn more about adaptive sports, psychological support, leadership, and allows  joining a community of similarly motivated people with different life stories but a similar vision of how to implement their potential and support as many veterans as possible.

During the project itself and while communicating with the participants, we identified several criteria for its impact on their lives. Below is a detailed description of each criterion.

All the Sports Ambassadors noted that their lives were influenced by the project. Most of the participants said that during the project, they were able to meet like-minded people, become a part of the community that share their values and understand them due to the similarities of experience and common points of intersection.

This feedback also demonstrates that sports and sports-related activities are not only an opportunity to achieve success, win awards, or fulfill oneself as a professional, but also an opportunity for socialization. Being part of a social group that feels like one's own has a potentially positive impact not only on the rehabilitation process, but also on the reintegration into civilian life.

Many participants also noted that the project motivated them to make coaching, implementing sports projects for the rehabilitation of female and male veterans, and building a career in adaptive sports a part of their lives.

For some of the veterans, the participation in the project became a kind of rehabilitation as well. They note that being part of the project has influenced their perception of themselves, their capabilities, and provided a vision of what to do in the future.

The Sports Ambassadors project not only accomplished the functions that were documented during planning, but also helped to solve life challenges to every participant.

“The project has definitely had an impact, and this impact is positive. We all have combat experience. Some of us have been fighting since 2014, and some of us have been fighting for a month. We have experienced injuries of varying severity. Though some of us have visible injuries, and some do not, we all like sports. We are ready to motivate others not to give up.” - Sports Ambassador 6

Life satisfaction is a subjective characteristic that requires self-assessment. It is influenced by various factors. In our research, we focused on whether the Sports Ambassadors project has become one of them. And if so, how exactly it influenced them.

According to our survey, not all respondents felt the impact of the project on their life satisfaction. At the same time, for some veterans participating in the project, this impact was noticeable and positive:

“Life has become more fulfilling through sports and achieving sports results. By taking small steps into sports, I realized my limits and areas of development.” - Sports Ambassador 17

Sports and sports-related activities also play a role in an integration into society, i.e. re-socialization into civilian life, especially for the veterans, as sports activities provide an opportunity to communicate more with like-minded people at competitions, sports camps, or while participating in joint projects.

While participating in the project, Sports Ambassadors were able to become part of a social group with similar interests and outstanding experience; for many, the feeling of belonging to a community was key to improving their well-being.

“I felt like I was in a community, that I wasn’t alone, and had the support of like-minded people.” - Sports Ambassador 12

Additionally, the participants noted that the project had many aspects that influenced their lives: the atmosphere, being among like-minded people, gaining new important knowledge.

“The realization of the mission I was entrusted with led me to start doing more sports. Namely, I run 3 km every morning along forest paths, encouraging my friends and fellow veterans to join me,” – Sports Ambassador 12

During the Sports Ambassadors project, participants were able to learn more about adaptive sports. Not only what it is and what types of adaptive sports there are, but also about its main goal. Although some of the ambassadors had already been acquainted with various adaptive sports.

According to most of the Ambassadors, adaptive sports are opportunities not only to stay fit or help with the physical rehabilitation of veterans, but also an opportunity to socialize, regain faith in yourself, and continue to play your favorite sport even if you have been injured, suffered from combat trauma or illness.

“If you have access to and the opportunity to play adaptive sports, it is a real opportunity to continue doing what you love. Or to discover a new sport, and with additional training and preparation, to achieve serious results in sport.” - sports ambassador 6

An important prerequisite for adaptive sports is not only informing veterans about such opportunities, but also the availability of appropriate infrastructure, which is necessary for adaptive sports to have a positive impact on human life and health.

Despite the knowledge and experience Sports Ambassadrs have gained and the existence of far-reaching plans, the participants of the project point out the obstacles that currently exist and may affect not only the implementation of their plans but also the popularization of adaptive sports among veterans.

According to the project participants, these obstacles are:

• the war and the need to supply, first and foremost, the Ukrainian Defense Forces;
• attitude towards veterans and their needs;
• unmotivated local authorities;
• lack of sufficient inventory and its production;
• infrastructure not adapted to the needs of wounded veterans;
• insufficient awareness about adaptive sports;
• complicated emotional state of veterans.

Taking into account the abovementioned, the promotion of adaptive sports locally requires not only improving the awareness, but also having the access to training grounds. The promotion must be done in cooperation with local authorities. More equipment for adaptive sports and a unified state policy also needed. These are the most needed components of the adaptive sports promotion. And, despite the fact that the war is still ongoing, Sports Ambassadors believe it is worth investing in adaptive sports now.

“The society lacks the understanding of veterans' problems, analysis of their needs and conditions. Through ambassadors we can influence this on the ground, where people live with their problems, lack of normal work, etc.” – Sports Ambassador 8

Each of the ambassadors goes into sports to a greater or lesser extent, so they can promote it in their communities not only theoretically but also by example. For some people, sport is a hobby, for others it is a mechanism for improving their health, and some consider it a meaning of life or a part of lifestyle.

Many ambassadors choose the organization of sports events and adaptive sports competitions in their communities as one of the possible future professional activities.

“I will start with creating an adaptive sports team in my region and engaging them in competitions.” - Sports Ambassador 1

Some participants are planning to or already operating through the rehabilitation centers. Otherwise, they are working on establishing rehabilitation units in their communities.

“I am working on organizing a rehabilitation department in my community.” – Sports Ambassador 2

It is worth noting that some ambassadors have institutionalized their activities and created NGOs that promote adaptive sports among veterans in the community.

“I created an NGO. I plan to hold a competition between veterans next year.” – Sports Ambassador 7

The Ambassadors mention the cooperation with the local authorities as one of the mechanisms for carrying out their activities in communities as the authorities can facilitate the organization of competitions, allocate funds, premises, etc.

Given the responses of sports ambassadors, we can conclude that they are motivated to talk about adoptive sports as much as possible and popularize it among their fellows and peers, showing through their own experience that everything is possible and that life does not end with injury or trauma.

The success of a project depends on many factors. One of the most important is personal motivation. After all, without the desire to move towards the goal, even the best-thought-out project will not succeed. That's why we asked the Sports Ambassadors where they see themselves in the future after the project is over. Most of them see themselves being involved in sports activities and their popularization among veterans, helping them. Some want to be involved in coaching and helping with popularization of adaptive sports in their communities.

Some of the participants continue to see their role as sports ambassadors as important and relevant, so they plan to carry on staying in this role:

“As a Sports Ambassador, I plan to represent the interests of veterans in different parts of the country, to train my own team of veterans.” – Sports Ambassador 5

Some participants noted that they plan to become rehabilitation therapists:

“I want to become a specialist in medical, physical, and psychological rehabilitation.” - Sports Ambassador 2

Of course, not all participants plan to dedicate their lives to sports and haven’t yet decided what role they will play. Still, given that a significant number of Sports Ambassadors see their future in sports mentoring, this also emphasizes the project's positive impact.

Sports Ambassadors are not only the champions of adaptive sports in their communities, but also people who prove by their own example that everything is possible. They strive to help and support veterans who may be needing it the most at some exact moment.

“People do care. Sometimes you just need to grab the outstretched helping hand.” – Sports Ambassador 17

The Sports Ambassadors project was created to select 20 female and male veterans from different regions and engage them in promoting adaptive sports among those who have been or are injured, suffered or are suffering from combat trauma, or are undergoing rehabilitation. The training program was designed so that each Ambassador could not only tell or show what adaptive sports is, but also support veterans, who may be in a difficult psychological and emotional state. Each Sports Ambassador not only can explain, show, and support, but also knows how not to harm, which is also very important during the rehabilitation phase. The educational part of the project provided an opportunity to form a broader vision of understanding how to help veterans not only hypothetically but also specifically during the rehabilitation phase.

Each project participant has their own story of injury/combat trauma/illness and rehabilitation, so their participation wasn’t only an opportunity to learn and understand how to implement their desire to help others, but also to benefit themselves. The participants noted that within the project, they felt involved in a community of people who understand them, share similar values with them, and want to help others just like they do. Therefore, the Sports Ambassadors project is not only an opportunity to engage veterans as opinion leaders in the promotion of adaptive sports in different regions and communities, but also an example of how a veteran's presence in a community of people with similar life experiences affects their well-being, motivation, and life in general.

“Remember that a warrior is a state of mind, not a uniform.” – Sports Ambassador 14

Returning to civilian life, undergoing rehabilitation, or simply feeling that your body will never be the same again is always a challenge for veterans. They need to master a new identity that is different from the one they had during their military service. These changes are occurring while the war in the country is ongoing, which make the process much more difficult. At this stage, it’s important to have around someone who can understand, support, and advise if needed. This is exactly what Sports Ambassadors are for, as they have a better understanding of what to say and do and due to peer-to-peer approach can introduce as many veterans as possible to adaptive sports, make them feel better, or at least understand a little bit clearer how to proceed next.