What a great week the Tauriko Futsal Team had at the AIMS Games 2019.

The boys were rearing to go for our first game on Monday and took out a 5:2 win over Helensville School. It was very exciting and a fantastic start to the tournament.

Tuesday saw a win and a loss for the team. The first game was a tough start, against Northcross Intermediate. Although Tauriko didn’t come away with a win, they were the only team in the pool to score two goals against this team - something they can be proud of.

Wednesday saw a loss and Thursday morning's game was a draw 2:2 to Matamata Intermediate which saw us placed 3rd in our pool. We played another three games over Thursday and Friday that were tough and against other big intermediates. Our final game was against Tauranga Intermediate School to place 23rd or 24th overall and although we didn’t win, it was an awesome achievement for our Tauriko boys to place in the top 24 teams at AIMS just one place behind Tauranga Intermediate.

With only a small team of six players and two that have never played Futsal before, we are proud to have finished in the top 24 out of 47 teams. The boys played their hearts out and should all be very proud to have had the opportunity to be part of such an awesome tournament. A big thank you must go to our amazing coach Nika Rikiriki for his time, knowledge and positive coaching of the boys. We wouldn’t have been there without you. The boys had great attitudes on the court, played their best and have done Tauriko School proud. Lastly, thanks to the teachers and parents for your support to make the week run smoothly. We are looking forward to another awesome tournament next year.

Here's what they boys had to say about their week: 

Zurich - It was lots of fun to play and Mr Rikiriki was a great coach. I like being goalie. Ben - It was really good to work in a team and to have some great wins. Jamie - It was fun meeting other teams and seeing friends from other schoolsLuke - It was great fun and an awesome experience. It was epic to come only one place behind Tauranga IntermediateLucas - It was fun but some teams took it a bit too seriously. I enjoyed it.