Over the next few days, thousands of intermediate aged students will start descending on the Western Bay of Plenty for this year's AIMS Games.
That includes hundreds from Rotorua and Reporoa, many of whom have been building up to this tournament all year. For some making an AIMS team will be the pinnacle of their sporting careers to date, with competition fierce for places in teams.
It's an elite tournament, a chance for kids that excel at sport to pit themselves against the very best of their peers from around the country. Because while participation in sport is important, instilling in young athletes a desire to be the best of the best, is too.
What a fantastic event, one I wish had been around when I was a sports-mad and fiercely competitive 12-year-old. Sadly, the tournament didn't start until 2004 and since then it has grown into a huge undertaking. This year 9300 athletes from 265 schools will take part. That's a lot of pre-teens.
What a great experience for them. Playing other schools from your city is one thing, but going away for a tournament, staying together, eating together, training together and stepping up to take on a school from Auckland or Wellington or the South Island - that teaches kids all sorts of skills, quite apart from the sporting aspect.
