Te Awamutu Intermediate outstanding at 2023 AIMS Games

The Te Awamutu Intermediate AIMS squad won the Paper Plus Te Awamutu Netball Centre B1 grade final, and also competed at the AIMS Games. Photo / William Chisholm

The 2023 Zespri AIMS Games attracted a huge number of competitors with over 11,000 students attending, and Te Awamutu Intermediate athletes competing in 10 different sports.

The Penny twins - Luca and Sophie scooped gold, silver and bronze in the BMX events. Luca won gold in the time trial with her sister Sophie gaining silver.

In the Year 7 girls’ races both girls gained medals, this time a silver for Luca and a bronze for Sophie.

In the team events, Te Awamutu Intermediate’s netball team were standouts of the squad of over 70 students that competed at the 2023 AIMS Games International Sporting Championships, held in Tauranga recently.

The team, coached by Jodi Whitiora, came away with an outstanding 11th place out of the 144 teams competing.

After losing to Waikato school Fairfield by two goals in their first game Te Awamutu Intermediate then went unbeaten throughout pool play, winning all its games.

The team showed character, winning three games in a row by just one goal.

After making the top 16 they went down to Saint Kentigern College. They then picked themselves up to beat Maeroa.

Lachie Van Boven achieved ninth out of 64 competitors in the Year 8 mountain biking cross-country event.

He then backed this up with an 11th out of more than 200 competitors in the Enduro event.

Cooper Neill was a standout in the indoor bowls, placing in the top 16 out of 200 bowlers, unfortunately losing the eventual winner in a tiebreaker end.

Aliesha Greenaway, running in the Year 7 girl’s cross country placed a credible 8th out of 114 runners.

The mixed hockey team came runner up in the B grade competition, only just missing out on making the A grade by a countback of goals

The other sporting codes that represented Te Awamutu Intermediate and had their fair share of victories included the boy’s rugby sevens, table tennis., squash and rock climbing.