The CBA Initiatives Center and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine have opened registration for HART, a major sports event for the Defence Forces community. It will be the largest veterans’ sports event in Ukraine in 2025, taking place in Kyiv from November 30 to December 7.

HART marks the beginning of a national qualifying cycle to select Ukrainian athletes for participation in the Air Force Trials, Marine Corps Trials USA, and other international competitions.

Eligible participants include veterans who sustained injuries, wounds, or illnesses while defending Ukraine since 2014. Over the course of a week, they will compete in nine sports disciplines:

• Team sports: wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball;
• Individual sports: archery, indoor rowing, laser-run, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming.

Each participant may choose up to three disciplines. The organizing team encourages everyone to try team sports — even if it’s their first time.

To ensure fairness and equality, athletes will be divided into categories determined by medical specialists in accordance with Warrior Games international standards. Within each category, veterans will compete against others with similar types of injuries or health conditions.

Participation in HART is free of charge. Organizers will provide accommodation, meals, and logistics for all participants who register and submit the required documents on time. The competition is also open to State Emergency Service personnel and foreigners who took part in Ukraine’s defense.

“When we stop moving, we start to sink into depression. Our bodies don’t produce enough of the hormones that make us feel alive — and any physical activity helps fix that.

HART is a safe space where you can challenge yourself under the supervision of coaches, doctors, and your brothers- and sisters-in-arms. It’s a place that can truly shift you from survival mode into living mode.

I urge everyone not to face the wounds of war alone. Social capital is the most valuable thing we have. On a bad day, it’s your environment — friends, comrades, family — that keeps you going. HART is one of the tools that makes this possible,” — says Taras Kovalyk, Head of the Veterans Department at the Come Back Alive Center for Initiatives.

To join, fill out the Google Form. Registration is open from September 20 to October 20, 2025, and applicants will receive feedback by November 10, 2025.

Throughout the week, a festival zone will be active at the competition venue — a place to connect, enjoy good food, and take part in additional activities. HART will serve as a space of support, community, and inspiration — bringing together those who want to expand adaptive sports in Ukraine and strengthen veteran communities.

HART is the next step in the evolution of Ukraine’s national adaptive sports movement. It continues the series of nationwide adaptive sports competitions previously organized by the Come Back Alive Center for Initiatives together with the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, which included wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and sitting volleyball.

Below are images from previous events, which brought together nearly 1,000 spectators and around 300 participants.

Today, adaptive sports are becoming increasingly visible and accessible — and that’s exactly what the CBA Initiatives Center team strives for.