One of the country's largest sporting events for school pupils has been cancelled for the first time in 17 years due to Covid-19.
The AIMS Games sees more than 11,000 students compete in a variety of sporting codes and is held in Tauranga every year.
Tournament organisers says this year's event would have to be postponed until next year, as the coronavirus pandemic made hosting the competition in September untenable.
The news is also a huge blow for the Bay of Plenty economy, as a report showed last year's games injected $6.5 million dollars into the regional coffers.
Vicki Semple is the Tournament Director for the AIMS Games.
