The Highlanders First XV competition is set to undergo change next year with the scrapping of regional-based pools and more games being played on Saturdays.
There is also a proposal being floated to have a top eight competition across the South Island, although it will not happen next year.
Entry forms have gone out for next year's competition, which is again set to have 14 teams.
A meeting on Wednesday night confirmed the 14-team format, although the northern and southern pools will be scrapped.
There will still be two pools of seven but they will be drawn at a later date, with an emphasis on having more even games and not as many mismatches.
The regional pools were set up last year to replace a round-robin, as schools were concerned players were spending too much time in buses and the cost of travel was too high.
Highlanders First XV competition executive committee chairman Don McFarlane said there were still concerns about travel but he hoped shorter trips may just be taken in cars, while vans could be used instead of buses.
Most schools wanted 14 teams included in the competition - it had increased from 12 last year with the introduction of Mt Aspiring College, from Wanaka, and another Southland school.
However, the competition dropped to 13 in the first couple of weeks, after Kavanagh College dropped out. This led to an unwanted bye in the northern section.
In an effort to prevent another such withdrawal, McFarlane said schools would need to pay a non-refundable deposit by February.
Kavanagh dropping out, coupled with the bye that already existed, had led to some schools having two weeks without games and next year's competition would have an emphasis on regular games.
Despite the two pools having seven teams each, the bye would be eliminated by having crossover games.
St Peter's College, from Gore, had won the promotion-relegation game against Taieri College at the end of last season and was keen to come up and play in the competition next year.
McFarlane acknowledged Taieri College was unhappy about not being able to compete next year but the rules had been explained.
With teams wanting to play every Saturday, traditional interschool games, which had also doubled as competition matches, may not count in the competition next year.
That may lead to some teams playing each other twice but McFarlane did not see that as an issue.
There had been concern about mismatches and big scores being racked up but sometimes there was no way round that.
There was a possibility of the three top teams from the Highlanders competition joining the top five teams from the Crusaders region to play in a South Island-wide competition and talks had begun with Canterbury administrators.
But a lot of work had to be done and it would not happen next year.
McFarlane was confident Fulton Hogan would come back as major sponsor and the finer details of the sponsorship were being worked out.
