The Highlanders First XV competition is still without a major sponsor, but committee chairman Don McFarlane says progress has been made in the hunt for a new one.
The search for a new sponsor has been on for about a month, after Fulton Hogan opted against supporting the competition for a fourth season next year.
Without a major sponsor, the cost for schools to enter the competition - about $3500 each last season - would almost certainly increase.
However, competition organisers submitted proposals to prospective sponsors late last month and have had a positive response, McFarlane said.
''We have got a couple of irons in the fire, so to speak. I'm not at liberty to say anything else at this stage, but it's looking reasonably positive.''
Fulton Hogan was the major sponsor over the past three years and came to the rescue in 2012 when the competition was in doubt after the Otago Rugby Football Union ran into financial issues.
The company contributed to travel expenses, which are far and away the biggest cost faced by teams in a competition that costs about $90,000 to run annually.
When the hunt for a major sponsor started last month, McFarlane told the Otago Daily Times ''nothing is probably going to be signed until the new year''.
While the revamped competition is not set to start until Anzac Day, a new sponsor would ideally be signed by the end of next month, McFarlane said.
The competition is expanding from 14 to 16 teams next season, and will include Taieri College, Kavanagh College and one school yet to be confirmed.
- Robert van Royen
