“To put these numbers into perspective, our first tournament after Covid-19 had just over 10,000 entries, so to add another 4000 registrations in just three years shows how carefully we’ve thought about how we grow, and really catering for schools of all sizes and abilities,” tournament director Kelly Schischka said.
No new sporting codes will be introduced to this year’s tournament, but the popularity of some sports means extra divisions and new venues have been added.
An individual aerobics division has been added to gymnastics, a team relay option is available for cross-country mountain bikers, and netball now features two divisions.
Orienteering, introduced in 2024, will have two new venues this year, while table tennis moves to a new venue at Tauranga Racecourse.
These changes are reflected in athlete numbers. There will be 1896 netballers this year from 157 teams, while mountain biking entries have also jumped to 493 riders.
Football and futsal combined have more than 2000 entries, with 116 football teams and 78 futsal teams. Basketball has 172 teams across traditional and 3x3 formats.
The Aims Games’ growth has also had substantial benefits for the hosting city – an economic impact study last year showed that visiting athletes, supporters, and officials helped inject more than $8.78 million into Tauranga’s economy.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale is thrilled the city gets to welcome the largest contingent of participants ever.
“It’s a real privilege for Tauranga to host the biggest Zespri Aims Games yet,” he said.
“We know the games bring huge economic benefits to our city, and our community always gets behind it. We’re proud to showcase Tauranga as a vibrant, welcoming city that lives and breathes manaakitanga. We hope every athlete, supporter, and visitor has an incredible experience.”
The mayor, as a former Olympic champion rower, has a personal insight into how exciting this sort of event is for competitors.
“Some of my best memories as an athlete come from the people I met and the places sport took me. I’m excited for our Aims Games rangatahi to share in that same sense of connection right here in Tauranga.”
Zespri recently committed to a further three years as naming rights partner, and its head of global public affairs, Michael Fox, said the company was proud to be involved during a 40% increase in athlete numbers.
“We’re thrilled to be involved with an event that not only promotes healthy habits and personal connections but also provides so many amazing memories for these young athletes.
“All that positivity and energy in one place creates an incredible experience, which the parents, family, volunteers, officials and supporters all get to share in.” – The Aims Gamer
