Once again, the Eastern Bay has enjoyed resounding success at the annual AIMS Games in Tauranga.

Whakatāne Intermediate School was the region’s biggest representative at the event last week with 197 students competing across 21 sporting codes against some of the best intermediate-aged competitors from throughout New Zealand and the Pacific.

They returned home with 14 medals following an outstanding week of competition.

Other Eastern Bay schools taking part with smaller numbers of students included Awakeri School, Edgecumbe Primary, Te Kura o Te Teko, Te Kura o Te Paroa, St Joseph’s Catholic School Whakatāne, Taneātua School, Otakiri School, Matatā School, Ōpōtiki Primary and St Joseph’s Ōpōtiki.

A shining light for Awakeri was the performances of swimmer Harper Brogden, who claimed two gold medals and two silver medals, while Corrine Woolsey picked up a silver medal in the year 7 yachting.

Taneātua’s golf team picked up the gold medal for their efforts throughout the week.

Among the early stars for Whakatāne Intermediate were swimmers Imogen Oats and John Stansloski, who both enjoyed outstanding success in the adaptive swimming events.

The pair collected medals across a range of strokes, with John finishing his campaign with four gold medals, while Imogen returned home with three medals.

Imogen backed up her performances in the pool with another impressive result on the cross-country course. Tackling a challenging 800 metre race, she produced a determined performance to claim silver, narrowly missing out on gold.

More medals followed in canoe sprint, where Freya Simms, Angus Bain, Kieran Scott and Wyatt Mottram enjoyed success across the individual and relay events.

Angus and Kieran also produced an impressive one-two combination in their individual sprint event, claiming silver and bronze respectively.

The year 8 boys' mountain biking team of Korbin Cranswick, Robin Goodburn and Koby Perry added another silver medal to the school’s tally in the cross-country relay.

Their result capped off a demanding day, with the trio having already competed in the individual cross-country event.

One of the highlights of the week came on the final day, when the Whakatāne Intermediate girls’ hockey team claimed silver in a highly competitive tournament.

After battling through a series of tough matches during the week, the girls earned their place in the final against Murrays Bay Intermediate. They produced another spirited performance before eventually finishing runners-up.

Strong results were also recorded across several other codes.

The boys’ and girls’ football teams achieved some of their best results in recent years, while Azrah Mathis and Kayla Heiberg reached the quarter-finals of the Division 1 girls’ badminton doubles competition, eventually finishing seventh overall.

Whakatāne Intermediate AIMS Games co-ordinator Will Doney said the week was about much more than results.

“All of our students have had an amazing experience over the course of the week, coming up against some tough competition from across New Zealand and the Pacific.

“Our rugby boys and badminton teams were even fortunate enough to compete against teams from Fiji and the Cook Islands.

“We are incredibly proud not only of what our students achieved in competition, but also of the way they conducted themselves throughout the week.

“They represented Whakatāne Intermediate with pride, determination and mana, and created memories that will stay with them for many years to come.”