The 2020 AIMs Games in Tauranga have been cancelled, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers have made the decision to scrap this year's edition of the annual competition, regarded as the southern hemisphere's biggest intermediate school sports tournament.
The competition was originally scheduled to run from September 5-11, but will be called off for the first time since 2004.
The 2019 tournament featured competitors from more than 370 schools nationwide competing in almost 30 different sports.
Registrations for this year's tournament were down significantly, which almost forced the organisers' hands.
"We've spent the past two months going through every possible scenario and agonising over what this decision means to our athletes, our schools, our supporters, our sponsors, local businesses and our contractors," says tournament director Vicki Semple.
"The stark reality is that we just couldn't confidently host more than 11,000 athletes in September, while upholding the high standards of wellbeing we've set in previous years.
"This pandemic is so much bigger than sport. Not only have we had to weigh up things like training and preparation lead-ins for athletes, but we've considered the likely economic impact on families and how prepared they are to send their kids away for a week with uncertainty hanging over them."
