AIMS Games

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Annual Australasian Youth Sports Event

title: "AIMS Games" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sports-competitions-in-new-zealand", "sport-in-tauranga"] description: "Annual Australasian Youth Sports Event" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIMS_Games" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Annual Australasian Youth Sports Event ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox sporting event organization"]

Field	Value
name	Zespri AIMS Games
image	AIMS Games Logo.png
motto	"Be brave, be strong but always be humble in the world of sports"
formation	2004
17 schools, approximately 760 competitors
purpose	Youth sports competition promoting skill development, sportsmanship and community
headquarters	Tauranga, New Zealand
leader_title	Chairperson
leader_name	Henk Popping
website	Zespri Aims Games
::

The AIMS Games (Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools) (Te Reo Māori: Ngā Taumāhekeheke AIMS), currently branded as Zespri AIMS Games, is an annual multi-sport event held in Tauranga, New Zealand. The tournament attracted 166 schools in 2012, with 2025 attracting more competitors than the 2024 Paris Olympics, with 14,022 competitors, 431 schools and 27 sporting codes, making it the biggest sporting event for children aged 11 to 13 years old in New Zealand and Australasia.

History

The event began in 2004, with the founding schools being Mount Maunganui Intermediate, Otumoetai Intermediate, Tauranga Intermediate and Te Puke Intermediate. The first game only included 4 sports—netball, football, cross country and hockey—with 17 schools and around 760 intermediate students participating.

Since then, indoor bowls were added in 2011, followed by rugby league in 2012. As of 2025, there are 27 sports for participants to compete in, with rugby league being replaced by rippa rugby.

In 2025, The Games was awarded the Best Non-Profit or Community Event at the New Zealand Event Awards.

Economics

In 2016, the event generated $3 million for the local economy. In 2019, the event returned $6.5 million. In 2024, the event made $8.78 million. This rate is expected to rise in the future.

Main sponsors

AIMS Games has been supported by many organisations throughout the years. In 2025, some of the sponsors include:

Sports

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/AIMS_Games_Badminton_Photo.jpg" caption="Players competing in Badminton at the 2025 AIMS Games."] ::

The event currently has 27 sports, which are:

Notable alumni

Nathan Harris, played football
Adam Milne, played football

References

[https://sunlive.co.nz/news/31313-starting-gun-fires-on-aims-games.html Starting gun fires on AIMS games]
"Zespri AIMS Games".
[https://news.nzaimsgames.co.nz/indez.php/2016/02/17/bmx-added-to-nzct-aims-games/ BMX added to NZCT AIMS games]{{Dead link. (September 2019)
"How have the AIMS Games evolved?". Kiwi Kids News.
(3 September 2025). "Aims Games wins top award at NZ Event Awards". [[Rotorua Daily Post]].
[https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm/c_id=1503343&objectid=11806263 AIMS Games injects $3m into Tauranga but more beds needed]
Goile, Aaron. (22 May 2020). "AIMS Games school sports tournament hangs in the balance". Waikato Times.
"AIMS Games 2025 record breaking tournament to get under way in Tauranga". NZ Herald.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::