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Young athletes participating in the Zespri AIMS Games are taking a brief respite from their intense sporting endeavours today to rally together for a display of environmental stewardship.
Tauranga City Council invited games participants to also be involved with the “Zespri AIMS Games Gives Back’, a beach clean-up at Mount Maunganui, as part of the city’s commitment to kaitiakitanga.
Trading in their sports gear for rubbish bags, competitors from across the country are out today demonstrating a deep commitment to preserving the beauty of their host city and safeguarding the marine life that calls its shores home.
Meeting on the beach side of Hopukiore/ Mount Drury Reserve at 10am or 12.30pm, hundreds of athletes were planning to give up to two hours each, either during the morning or afternoon, to pick up rubbish around Pilot Bay and the Mount Main Beach areas.
The Saint Kentigern boys’ hockey team on Mount Main Beach.
Heading to Pilot Bay with a bucket and bag, the hockey team made some unusual finds, including nine starfish and bones from a sheep which they left on the beach.
Marejke Longstaff, 11, from Blockhouse Bay Intemediate.
Marejke Longstaff, 11, from Blockhouse Bay Intemediate experienced her personal best times competing in swimming at the games.
This year 130 athletes across 15 schools signed up for Zespri AIMS Games Gives Back.
Nelita is expecting to see the Zespri AIMS Games Gives Back continue to grow in numbers of athletes involved each year, while they take a break from showcasing their athletic prowess with all the sporting action for a few hours and help clean up the Bay of Plenty coastline, showcasing as well their environmental consciousness and profound sense of responsibility towards their natural world.
Credit: sunlive.co.nz
