The union has confirmed it has carried out an internal review to consider the best structure for player development that continues to involve as many young players as possible.
The issue came to light over the weekend when the North Harbour union announced it would not have any representative teams from under-14 or below.
New Zealand Rugby has also written to many stakeholders over its approach to player development and said it saw little benefit in junior representative teams.
Otago Rugby Football Union general manager Richard Kinley said the union needed to look at ''what drives young people to participate and what would work best to provide a positive experience and keep them in the game''.
The sport is worried about plunging player numbers in its junior base at primary and secondary school level.
Otago will look at what formats and delivery methods will suit the province and its young players.
A meeting of all South Island unions will look at the issue and also the future of the South Island primary school weight-grade tournament.
This tournament was already under review. Only four teams - Otago, Southland, Canterbury and Canterbury Country - entered in the under-65kg grade last year.
A letter from NZR head of participation and development Steve Lancaster said there was an increasing amount of evidence, both factual and anecdotal, that the selection of age-grade representative teams could be counterproductive to achieving growth in participation numbers.
Lancaster wrote that rugby was a late specialisation sport and players needed a mix of physical, playing and personal qualities to be elite.
''Potentially elite players benefit from multiple sporting experiences in terms of developing spatial awareness, broad skill development, game sense and creativity,'' he said.
The widest possible pool of talent should be available as young players move through to being potentially elite.
Representative teams in Otago start at under-11 and there are also weight-grade teams at under-38kg, under-48kg and under-65kg. There are also under-12 and under-13 teams along with an under-14 team for players in their first years of high school.
But all these teams may be wiped out if unions follow the North Harbour lead, which appears likely.
''We do not see any value in representative programmes at under-14 and below in both identifying those players likely to go up to the elite level and encourage the largest pool of players who may have the ability to play at the elite level to stay in the game,'' Lancaster wrote.
Lancaster added specialisation should start at the under-17 grade, so under-16 teams may survive, as they will display players who may move into the next age-group.
Lancaster said there should be a focus on quality coaching and maximising the quality of the rugby experience.
Kinley said the union hoped to have a final decision in the next few weeks.
''Any decision or change will take time as we want to ensure we have the right model and the players best interests at the forefront of our thinking.''
