DLA Piper manager representing Team UK at Invictus Games 2022

DLA Piper has announced that a Learning and Development Manager within its HR team, Stephen Rice, has been selected to represent Team UK at the Invictus Games 2022 in The Hague. Stephen will be competing against international athletes in swimming, rowing and sitting volleyball.

The Team UK announcement was made on Tuesday, 29 October 2019 in the presence of Invictus Games Patron, the Duke of Sussex, at the Honourable Artillery Company in central London. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games have been postponed twice and, therefore, Stephen will join 65 UK serving and ex-military personnel in The Hague, Netherlands, from 16 to 22 April 2022. The Invictus Games use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation, and generate a wider understanding and respect for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.

In 2010, whilst serving as an infantry officer in the British Army in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Stephen was leading a foot patrol in the town of Sangin when his team was caught in the blast of an improvised explosive device (IED). The explosion took the legs of one of his soldiers and also inflicted significant injuries on Stephen’s legs, being only 2 metres from the blast, changing his life immeasurably from that moment.

In 2014, Stephen was discharged from the Army on medical grounds as his knee injury had worsened beyond repair, despite several operations. Further to the physical pain of chronic osteoarthritis in his legs, a knee replacement and continuous back pain, Stephen struggles psychologically with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury.

Stephen said: “I turned to Help for Heroes’ sports recovery programme as a first step on my road to recovery. The physical, psychological and social benefits of sport have definitely helped me to develop my confidence and remain focused.

“The Invictus Games has given me a goal through which to prove to my family and myself that I won’t be beaten, and that I am capable of something bigger. For me, the Invictus Games, and sports recovery generally, is about having a goal that takes me beyond that point of injury and saying that I’m bigger than this. My limitations are only as great as the ones I impose on myself. It’s not about medals, it’s a stepping stone and about setting in place a lifestyle that ultimately makes me a better human being for my family”

Liza Strong, International HR Director for DLA Piper, said: “Being chosen to represent Team UK at the Invictus games is not only an honour, but demonstrates a great strength of will and determination. Stephen’s achievements should be an inspiration to us all and embody many of the values that drive our firm.”

Hannah Lawton, of Help for Heroes and Chef de Mission for Team UK, said: "The 65 men and women selected to represent Team UK will not only gain a personal recovery benefit from taking part in the Games, but will hopefully also inspire others suffering with life-changing injuries or illnesses and demonstrate to them that anything is possible."