Games called off

The biggest intermediate school sports tournament in the southern hemisphere has fallen victim to Covid-19, with the AIMS Games being cancelled for 2020. Organisers yesterday made the decision to pull the pin on the annual Tauranga-hosted event, slated for September 5-11, due to the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the first time since AIMS’ inception in 2004 that it has had to be cancelled. The 2019 tournament, whichwas livestreamed on Stuff, featured upwards of 11,500 competitors from more than 365 schools around New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific, across 23 different sports. However, health considerations had to be paramount, and despite the country’s progress towards Covid-19 level 1, and the tournament still more than three months away, organisers wanted to give as much certainty as possible.