???1;The largest junior sporting event in Australasia is getting underway in Tauranga

The Aims Games will see over 14-thousand teen athletes from 431 schools descend on the city.

Eighty-five percent of attendees are from outside the Bay of Plenty region.

Tauranga's mayor Mahé Drysdale says the region's economy gets a great boost from the 26-thousand visitors they welcome during the games.