Aims Games: Children battling it out for semis and finals

Tauranga Intermediate hockey players celebrate after winning yesterday's semifinal against Taradale Intermediate on penalty strokes. Photo / Jamie Throughton

The agony and the ecstasy of playoffs time hit the NZCT AIMS Games yesterday, with a flurry of semifinals and finals in Tauranga.

Tauranga Intermediate's boys' hockey team had a thrilling 2-1 penalty shoot-out win over Taradale in their semifinal, with Tauranga goalie Callum Owen making the vital final save. After finishing only 17th last year, Tauranga will play Kamo Intermediate in today's final after the Northland side also won on strokes, 3-2, over Auckland's Pinehurst School when they were locked 2-2 at full-time.

Otumoetai will try to dethrone defending champions St Cuthbert's in the girls' final, after beating Havelock North 2-1, although St Cuthbert's 4-0 semifinal win over Palmerston North looked ominous for the Tauranga team. Katikati College squash player Glenn Templeton won the boys' division with a 15-9 15-9 15-7 win over Leo Fatialofa (Liston College), adding to a list of wins this year which includes the North and South Island under-13 championships. The C1-grader was also fourth in the Oceania titles.

Even Templeton's efforts weren't as dominant as Fairfield Intermediate's Anika Jackson in the girls' division, however. Still only 12 but with an extraordinary B1 grade, Jackson was the runner-up in the Oceania championships and had no problems disposing of Annaleise Faint (Palmerston North) 15-2 15-2 15-10 in the final.

She also paired with Hayley Carson to win the teams' division, while Kobe Fleming and Campbell Webster won the boys' teams for Hutt International.

"It's great to come and play with people my own age because I'm always playing against older people these days," Jackson said. St Peter's College were crowned rugby sevens champions, overpowering a plucky Hawera Intermediate side 17-7 in an absorbing final.

Wesley Intermediate overcame defending champions Royal Oak in the final of the girls' sevens.

Auckland Normal Intermediate and Northcross Intermediate will square off in today's football final after big semifinal wins. Auckland Normal, after scoring in the first 15 seconds of the match, eased to a 5-2 win over St Kentigern College in one semifinal, while Northcross were even more dominant, slamming five unanswered goals past Hutt International in the other semi.

The netball ranks have thrown up some semifinal surprise packages for today, with Glen Eden, fifth last year, playing former Silver Fern Tania Dalton's Carmel College team.

Hastings Intermediate have also reached the top-four for the first time, having finished 11th last year, and they will line up against Murray's Bay Intermediate.