Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Nearly 4000 youngsters have taken centre stage in the Western Bay of Plenty this week. The occasion is the seventh AIMS Games which have Year 7 and Year 8 young athletes taking part in 14 sports.

The AIMS Games were first put together seven years ago, by the four principals of Tauranga, Otumoetai, Mount Maunganui and Te Puke Intermediate schools. They were created to challenge the physical skills and talents of Intermediate School age athletes.

Just 21 mainly Bay of Plenty schools entered the first AIMS Games in 2004. From just four sports of cross-country, football, netball and hockey, the festival of sport has exploded to where 107 schools are taking place this year.

For the first few years the games weren't taken seriously by many in the community. Today the AIMS Games is considered in sporting circles as a real pathway to senior sport and top level competition.

The Rugby Sevens, which have made their AIMS Games debut this year, has attracted some 300 youngsters. A game that was once just considered a light hearted romp has become serious competition.

While Sevens Rugby has become a specialist game in recent years - its roots go back over a century. Ned Haig a butcher from Melrose, Scotland initially conceived the shortened version of the game in 1883.

Bay of Plenty has a special affinity with rugby sevens. In April 1992 a Bay of Plenty team played in the Melrose Sevens in Scotland. The tournament was then considered the pinnacle world event of the shortened version of the game.

Coached by current New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens, the Bay side emerged triumphant, defeating Kelso 17-12 in the tournament final.

With the Bay of Plenty region being the spiritual home of Rugby Sevens, the sports debut this years is long overdue. Two of the biggest Sevens tournaments each year outside the Nationals, are played at Blake Park.

The Bay of Plenty Provincial Sevens, hosted by the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union in early January, has become the defacto North Island Sevens championships. This year was extra special when the Bay side led by Ruki Tipuna, took out the tournament title.

The longest running club sevens is hosted on the last Sunday in January by the Mount Rugby Club. Dating back over two decades the popular Mount tournament attracts teams from throughout the North Island

This year one of the most well known clubs in New Zealand annexed the title for the first time. Playing tournament hosts Mount Maunganui, Auckland side Ponsonby made no race of the final kicking away to win 38-5.

With the Commonwealth Games on horizon, Rugby Sevens will again take centre stage, as New Zealand endeavours to defend their Commonwealth crown.

Synonymous with New Zealand Rugby Sevens is Gordon Tietjens, the Western Bay Sevens guru, who has been the New Zealand coach since 1994, winning three Commonwealth Games gold medals, and eight IRB Sevens World series titles.

Gordon's greatest strength is his uncanny ability to unearth undiscovered talent, and turn them into Rugby Sevens stars. One of the latest is Tauranga Sports and Bay of Plenty player Toby Arnold, who has been selected to represent New Zealand at this years Commonwealth Games.

Seeya at the Steamers Game on Thursday.