GIVE BACK AND WIN FOR YOUR SCHOOL IN 2025

Tauranga City Council’s Give Back Games are back, offering fun, meaningful ways to support your host city. Take part in a coastal clean-up, plant trees, rescue surplus kai with Good Neighbour, and help reduce landfill waste by using Boomerang Mugs. Plus, catch the dedicated free buses and travel sustainably throughout the week. 

Get involved, give back, and your school could be in to win! 

How to earn points for your school

It’s easy! Whether you're a coach, parent, or part of the support crew, you can help your school earn points by scanning a QR code at Give Back Games activities using your phone. Look out for the Give Back Games posters!

  • Catching the loop bus or the Opening Ceremony bus? Scan the QR code before boarding or while on the bus – every scan counts towards your school’s points.

  • Bringing a reusable cup to a coffee van? Look out for the Give Back Games poster at the stall and scan the code.

  • Taking part in the Coastal Clean-Up or Tree Planting?

    • Step 1: Register your school in advance using the links below.

    • Step 2: Scan the QR code on the day to earn points.

  • Food Rescue? The designated drop-off points will have a Give Back Games poster ready for you to scan

COASTAL CLEAN-UP 

Protect our moana from rubbish and waste

The Coastal Clean-up is back! Join us at the beautiful Hopukiore (Mount Drury Reserve) in Mount Maunganui. We love seeing how passionate our athletes are about protecting Tauranga’s stunning beaches. Everything you’ll need on the day will be provided, just make sure you bring covered shoes.

There will also be spot prizes and a free BBQ!

You’re welcome to arrive any time during the event window and stay for as long as you like - every bit counts.

Tuesday, 2 September - 9.30am - 1.30pm
​​​​​​​Hopukiore (Mount Drury) Reserve, Mount Maunganui. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Registrations close Thursday, 28 August at 3pm

Scan the QR code to get 75 Give Back Games points for each athlete who attends!

TREE PLANTING

Be part of a major restoration project

Dig in and help plant trees at Kōpurererua Valley! This 300-hectare wetland, once home to the people of Ngāi Tamarāwaho, is a place of deep cultural and ecological significance undergoing restoration. The tree planting day is your chance to get your hands in the earth and be part of that legacy. Everything you’ll need on the day will be provided, just make sure you bring covered shoes.

There will be spot prizes!

You’re welcome to arrive any time during the event window and stay for as long as you like - every bit counts.

Wednesday, 3 September - 10am - 2pm
Kōpūrererua Valley, Marshall’s Ave entrance, Tauranga​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Registrations close Thursday, 28 August at 3pm

Scan the QR code to get 75 Give Back Games points for each athlete who attends!

FOOD RESCUE STATIONS

Give surplus kai a second chance

If your team doesn’t get through all the kai you brought for the week, Tauranga City Council and their friends at Good Neighbour will have food rescue stations set up at some of the venues for you to drop off.

Location and dates to come!

FREE BUSES

Park the car and ride sustainably

Tauranga will be buzzing with over 20,000 visitors! To help keep things moving, Tauranga City Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council are making it easy to travel sustainably with free buses throughout the week.

FREE ZESPRI AIMS GAMES LOOP BUSES

The Zespri AIMS Games loop buses are free for everyone in the community for the week of the Games (Monday, 1 September - Friday, 5 September).

Buses will run on a continuous 30-minute loop around these Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa bus stops:

  • Mount Hot Pools

  • Mount Mainstreet Shops

  • Blake Park

  • Baywave

  • Mercury Baypark – free parking area

  • Gordon Spratt Reserve – free parking area

FREE OPENING CEREMONY PARK AND RIDE BUSES

To help everyone get to the Zespri AIMS Games opening ceremonies, there will be dedicated park and ride buses running to and from Mercury Baypark. Park and ride locations for the Opening Ceremonies are at Gordon Spratt Reserve and Blake Park. 

Visit our bus page for all the info:

Scan the QR code to get 25 Give Back Games points each time you hop on the bus!

REUSABLE MUGS

Sip sustainably

Grabbing a coffee or hot drink from one of our vendors? Bring your own reusable mug – or, if you're at Blake Park, borrow one from the Zespri AIMS Games Boomerang Mug Station and simply return it when you're done. Simple, sustainable, and seriously good for the planet.

Scan the QR code to get 15 Give Back Games points when you get your coffee or hot drink.