San Diego had visitors this week, scoping out the city as a possible host of the 2029 Invictus Games — the international adaptive sports competition featuring veterans and service members with disabilities.
San Diego is one of three finalists Invictus Games Foundation representatives are evaluating. The others are Aalborg, Denmark and Daejeon, South Korea.
Great Britain's Prince Harry, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, launched the Invictus Games in 2014. The competition was the subject of the 2023 Netflix documentary "Heart of Invictus."
On Wednesday, the representatives toured the Rady Shell, the San Diego Convention Center and the USS Midway Museum. They also took a San Diego Bay cruise and went to the Padres-Mariners game at Petco Park.
On Thursday, they toured the Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center, the Navy SEAL Museum and attended an adaptive surfing clinic in Del Mar.
Adaptive surfing is one event unique to San Diego — and one Invictus Games Foundation CEO Rob Owen is excited about.
"I think the innovation with … the adaptive surfing will be fantastic," he told KPBS in an interview Wednesday.
A group of local veterans alongside the British-American Business Association has been working to bring the 2029 Invictus Games to San Diego for more than a year.
San Diego is the third and final stop for the selection committee, said Andy Soler, who is on the board of the association and co-chairs the San Diego Bid Committee.
"They've already been to Denmark," he said. "They've already been to South Korea. So now it's our turn for San Diego to put its best foot forward."
Adaptive sports are unique, Owen said, because the competitions aren't always about winning.
"We're not trying to select, you know, the world's best athletes," he said. "It's a journey — real success is just being here."
Even though injured veterans and service members are the stars of the games, Owen said the spotlight on adaptive sports that come along with the Invictus Games elevates everyone living with disabilities.
"For us, it's also about how we help people change their attitudes toward all disabilities," Owen said.
He said San Diego is a strong contender.
"You know the military is such a big part of … the culture of the city," Owen said. "I mean, you're looking here (and) you've got aircraft carriers here, you've got bases — it's all so integrated."
Soler and the San Diego bid committee will fly to London in June to make their final presentation.
The Invictus Games Foundation will announce the 2029 host city in July.
