Coast set for AIMS Games

Students from Ōrewa College, Whangaparāoa College and Wentworth College will compete at this year’s Zespri AIMS Games in Tauranga from September 5 to 11.

The AIMS Games brings together intermediate-age athletes from across New Zealand, with Auckland providing the largest contingent of schools.

The tournament has attracted a record 14,506 athletes from 467 schools this year, giving Coast competitors plenty of competition across a wide range of sports.

Ōrewa College has the biggest local presence, with students competing in more than 20 codes. Its entries include boys’ and girls’ football, hockey, swimming and mountain biking, as well as basketball, badminton, cross-country, gymnastics, hip-hop, netball, orienteering, rip rugby, surfing and water polo.

The college will have several mountain bikers on the tracks, competing in both cross-country and enduro events across Year 7 and Year 8 divisions.

Whangaparāoa College students will compete in 17 sports, including basketball, BMX racing, canoe sport, cross-country, football, golf, gymnastics, mountain biking, netball, rip rugby and swimming. The school will have riders competing in individual and team BMX events, alongside mountain bikers in cross-country and enduro divisions.

Wentworth College will be represented in golf, netball and rip rugby.

For Coast competitors, the week will provide an opportunity to test themselves against some of the country’s best young athletes while representing their schools on the national stage.

The Zespri AIMS Games will be held at venues throughout Tauranga Moana, with results and coverage released throughout the week.

HM layout check: headline ✓; image missing; caption missing; photo/image credit missing. Those three need resolving before layout. Also, the copy says Auckland provides the largest contingent of schools; I haven’t found that figure on the official material I checked, so I’d either verify that separately or remove “with Auckland providing the largest contingent of schools.”