Winter woolies welcome at chilly AIMS Games

Thursday, 8 September 2022

Bucklands Beach Intermediate School team members show their hand-knitted colours as they support the school's netball team at the Zespri AIMS Games in Tauranga.

Athletes from an Auckland school have been toastier than most at the Zespri AIMS Games this week.

Bucklands Beach Intermediate (BBI) competitors are wrapped in golden scarves, hand-sewn by their classmates back home in the coastal city suburb.

In the two weeks leading up to the national intermediate-age sports tournament, the school’s design and textiles students transformed their classroom into a busy production line, pumping out 177 scarves for the crew heading to Tauranga.

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It was a true team effort and the AIMS Games athletes received the scarves as a surprise gift just before they left.

With torrential rain on Monday and a cold wind whipping through on Tuesday, the scarves have been out in force at venues across the city, the BBI contingent always standing out in the crowd.

“The scarves have come in very handy,” director of sport Carrie Barnett said.“

All the students have been proud to wear their golden colours.

”BBI athletes are competing in everything from badminton to basketball, tennis to yachting, rock climbing, swimming, gymnastics, hip hop, netball, hockey, mountain biking, and more.

The school has been coming to the AIMS Games for 11 years.

Jacqui Carr, BBI design and textiles teacher, said the golden scarves project seemed like a positive way for the wider school community to show their support “and cheer the team on”.

“We are extremely proud of our athletes and staff.”

She said the students sewed the scarves themselves and were also in charge of quality control, packaging, and product distribution, making sure every single AIMS athlete received one.

Budding graphic designers also created encouraging tags to be attached to the finished scarves.

The end result is a colourful display of school spirit that is making a mark at the 17th AIMS Games, where more than 10,000 competitors from 320 schools around the country are taking part in 23 sports.