Covid 19 coronavirus: AIMS Games cancellation 'devastating but understandable'

Mokoia Intermediate's Matenga O'Brian in action during last year's AIMS Games. Photo / File

Sitting in the middle of the AIMS Games website is a giant timer which ticks away second by second, counting down to the next event.

It is a fitting example of how thousands of Kiwi kids feel about the annual games, spending all year counting down to when they can compete.

Unfortunately, that timer now reads 461 days,after this year's edition was postponed as the Covid-19 pandemic made hosting the tournament untenable.

AIMS Games tournament director Vicki Semple said, since announcing the decision on Tuesday night, the feedback she received had been largely positive.

"I've been absolutely blown away by how supportive everyone has been. You're always going to get some knockers with this sort of thing but I think probably 90 per cent of people have understood we really needed to make this decision."

Semple said she understood people were upset and disappointed at the opportunity lost but was looking forward to seeing community sport getting back under way because getting kids active was the top priority.

"It was honestly the toughest decision the trustees and I have ever made, in our 17 years running the Anchor AIMS Games, it was such a tough decision. Last year, we had 371 schools attend the AIMS Games, this year we only have 60 [signed up].

Aims Games tournament director Vicki Semple. Photo / George Novak

"It shows people are really getting hit hard in the community out there. I think parents were also worried about sending their children away for a week, living in accommodation with lots of people, there were just so many factors we had to take into consideration."

Te Puke Intermediate principal Jill Weldon said she was devastated for the children who would miss out this year but understood the postponement was a decision which had to be made.

"Obviously it's devastating for not only our kids but heaps of kids across the country. It's such an amazing event and kids have been training towards it, even during lockdown we had kids who were training for the AIMS Games.

"It is a big deal on our sporting calendar, for a lot of schools in New Zealand. I guess for Bay of Plenty, because it's right here, it's a significant part of our calendar.

"The reality is, weighing up everything, it just wasn't prudent to go ahead. I totally get that. When you have limited funding and reduced registrations, you can't run the Games safely."

Weldon said attending the AIMS Games taught children valuable life skills, such as teamwork, leadership and how to prepare, as well as sporting skills.

The focus for teachers and parents now was to continue encouraging children to get active as they ease back into community sport.

"When they get to secondary school they have heaps still to look forward to, the different tournament weeks. For some kids AIMS is sort of the pinnacle, so it's making sure those kids continue to be active."

Te Puke Intermediate's Ripene Smith leaves Ngatea School defenders in her wake during the girls' rugby sevens at last year's AIMS Games. Photo / File

Rotorua Intermediate principal Garry de Thierry said the cancellation of the AIMS Games was "devastating".

"Because the AIMS Games have been around a number of years, the profile of the Games, the opportunity of competing at a national level really, all students look forward to that. It's one of the sporting highlights of coming to an intermediate.

"We celebrate our teams that go across there, Year 7s come in and they strive to get into those teams. For a lot of them it will be the biggest sporting occasion they will experience in their lives - not all of our kids are going to go to the Olympic Games or Commonwealth games so it's such a major experience."

While upsetting, de Thierry said he understood the decision and felt for those who had to make it.

"I can appreciate that. We had a Zoom call with the organising committee and with the risk of Covid-19 you can appreciate where they're coming from. If there was a breakout you know there would be a lot of finger-pointing so I didn't envy them trying to get that decision right.

"Within our intermediates schools here we're looking at what we can do to fill that void in regard to setting up some activities and competition across our schools when we can to at least give those children something to celebrate and engage in at a sporting level."

Schools from all over New Zealand send hundreds of children to the AIMS Games each year. One of those is Auckland's Bucklands Beach Intermediate which placed third overall last year with 41 medals - eight gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze.

In the 10 years the school has been competing at the AIMS Games, it has not finished lower than third overall. Its most recent overall win was in 2017.

Bucklands Beach Intermediate director of sport Stacey Knowles said the school understood these were "unprecedented times".

"A lot of people have had to make sacrifices, sport included. School and community sport have taken a huge hit this year. We are sure the decision was not made lightly, that all barriers were explored before they had to cancel.

"For many school communities, families will face financial difficulties this year, so it may have been difficult for families to commit.

"The BBI community understands the decision but are understandably disappointed. From a planning perspective, our AIMS planning starts in Term 1. Because of the lockdown, we were now behind in our organisation because we haven't had the students at school.

"We appreciate the continued updates and communication from Vicki Semple and the AIMS organisation. They have stopped us guessing and kept us informed throughout the last few months which has put schools at ease. BBI will be back at the 2021 games with some very eager and determined young athletes."

Bucklands Beach Intermediate's Mulan Chan See broke two New Zealand records at the 2019 AIMS Games. Photo / File

Mokoia Intermediate principal Rawiri Wihapi said his pupils had only started making the trip to the AIMS Games from Rotorua in the past few years but it had quickly become a highlight.

"It is tough on the kids to have it cancelled but I understand why the decision has been made. Health and safety is first and foremost but also with the current situation they probably couldn't afford to run it anyway.

"We've been the last two years and since we've been involved it's been pretty exciting for the kids. It's a competitive competition to enter into, finding the best of the best in the country for each sport.

"For the school, it shows how good we are in different sports but obviously the attributes the children gain from participating in those different sports comes with all the positive things they learn as individuals."

AIMS Games opening ceremony. Photo / File

Mount Maunganui Intermediate principal Lisa Morresey, who is also an AIMS Games trustee, said it was hard to see the children so disappointed but the decision to cancel had to be made.

"Obviously we're disappointed for the children but we had to follow health and safety advice from the Ministry of Health and that was that it was not the right thing to proceed. From a health and safety perspective, there was no alternative.

"From the school's point of view, the AIMS Games is a real highlight on our calendar but what we're going to do is, we had a Zoom meeting with intermediate principals from Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Poverty Bay, and in our own regions we're going to try to set up sporting experiences for our children within the health and safety restraints."

She said sport was a crucial component in the development of young people and the pupils at her school were loving the easing of alert level restrictions and being able to get active.