Some sports appear to be a fair way down the path of dropping junior representative teams, while others have not made the first step.

Rugby has dropped representative teams from under-14 and below, its first representative sides QRE picked from the under-16 age group. It offers coaching clinics for promising young players in Dunedin and through the Otago country area which no longer have representative teams.

The clinics had gone down well and the national body has been in touch to see how Otago runs them so it could be used right across the country.

Netball no longer has representative teams in years 7 and 8 and below but has development clinics which finish with tournaments made up from players in the clinics.

It fields under-14 and under-15 representative teams and then under-17. Changes are being made to the national age group structure, with an under-18 and open tournaments replacing under-17 and under-19 tournaments.

In cricket, the South Island Primary School (SIPS) tournament — which has been running for more than 50 years — has made some changes, mandated by NZ Cricket.

Instead of playing five games over five days on a rotational draw basis, teams now play six twenty20 games over the first three days.

This leads to two 40-over games — a semifinal and a final — to determine final placings. It is taking place in Westport next month.

Teams have been reduced to nine players each and batsmen have to retire after 30 balls (T20) and 60 balls (40 overs) but can return if all other players are dismissed.

Year 5-6 representative teams are a thing of the past. In term four, year 7-8 sides play each other to be picked for the South Island tournament for both boys and girls. In term one, zonal days take place across the region which focus on coaching and development.

In football, age grade tournaments no longer feature representative sides drawn from different clubs. Dedicated club teams can attend these tournaments.

Southern United has academies running throughout the season and five teams attended the federation talent centre national tournament in Wellington last week. These ranged in age from 14 to 16.

Hockey still has the Collier Trophy and Hatch Cup tournaments for intermediate pupils and the Collier Trophy is set to be played in Dunedin next year. It also has under-15 and under-18 tournaments, although change is on the way.

Touch has representative teams from under-12, while basketball has representative teams from under-13.