Zizi Sparks: AIMS Games cancellation a chance to learn a life lesson

The boys rugby sevens final between Tauranga Intermediate and Te Puke Intermediate at the 2019 AIMS Games. Photo / File

COMMENT

When news of the postponement of the 2020 Anchor AIMS Games broke on Tuesday, thousands of tiny hearts also broke.

The annual Games have been running for 17 years and attract more than 11,000 athletes to Tauranga each year.

The intermediate-aged athletes come from far and wide. They travel from Rotorua, from Auckland, even from Tonga.

It's a highlight in the Tauranga events calendar but also on school sporting calendars. Postponing it was the hardest decision the organisers have had to make. But it had to be made.

The number of registrations was already down with just 60 schools signed up, compared to 190 at the same stage last year.

It goes to show that while we may be at alert level 2 - many of us back at work, travelling domestically and dining out - things are not back to normal and may not be for some time.

But the postponement could be a good life lesson for those who were anxious to participate and a chance to show them just how serious the Covid-19 pandemic is.

The disappointment the student athletes may be feeling is probably a smidgen of the disappointment international, elite athletes felt with the postponement of the Olympic Games.

Like those athletes, the kids are learning things won't always go their way or go to plan but that doesn't mean you should stop trying or training.

Now is the chance to knuckle down, train harder, persevere and come back stronger and more prepared, not just physically but mentally.

It also shows them how serious the Covid-19 pandemic is if they didn't know already.

It is a pandemic affecting every aspect of life and we are adapting to a "new normal".

But for the hopeful AIMS Games athletes it is a chance to learn a life lesson. A chance to pick up the broken pieces and come back stronger in September 2021.