Well when it comes to the Central West AFL, junior gala days such as that which was staged at George Park last Sunday are vital in producing the next generation of Bathurst Giants, Bathurst Bushrangers and Orange Tigers.

Hosted by the Giants and attended by those two other clubs, juniors were split into two categories for the day and were given the chance to work on their Australian rules skills in a fun, non-competitive environment.

"Even though there were only three clubs there we had really big numbers, this year the big push was putting the kids into two distinct categories," organiser Ashley Boylan from the Giants said.

"We had about 45 younger or less experienced Auskickers from three centres. We split them up into four groups so they got to meet people from other centres.

"The other group were the under 10s and more experienced Auskickers. We had two Giants teams, one Bushrangers team and one Tigers team."

The younger Auskickers took part in four drills before ending their day with a game.

Host club the Giants ran two of those skills stations, with the Bushrangers and Tigers coordinating the others. That added to the all-inclusive atmosphere.

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"What each centre did was pick their favourite activity for the station and that was great. The kids obviously had fun, the coordinators knew what they were doing and I think the centres got to see what the others were up to," Boylan said.

"They just loved participating and it was kind of funny because by the end they were just so tired. They would have all slept in the car on the way home."

When it came to the four under 10s teams, given the participants were more advanced with their basic skills they played games.

It was part of a move designed to keep more juniors involved with the sport before they are old enough to join the ranks of the competitive under 12 teams.

At the moment there are six under 12s teams playing in the CWAFL - two from Bathurst Giants, and one each from the Bushrangers, Tigers, Cowra Blues and Dubbo Demons.

Having a solid base of under 10s will help to sustain - and even grow - that competition into the future.

"This is the first time that AFL Central West is really trying to push under 10s," Boylan said.

"It is giving them a pathway. Auskick is a great program, but at the moment after they've been in it for a couple of years there can often be a gap before they get to under 12s, because that is the first age group.

"This under 10s gives them an opportunity to play. It's still non-competitive, but all of the rules are structured around the Paul Kelly Cup which they play at school.

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"It was great for all the clubs to get an opportunity to showcase their under 10s teams and if these gala days prove successful, essentially the kids are going to get 16 games over four rounds and feel it's more of a legitimate competition.

"Hopefully it convinces AFL Central West that in the future, maybe an under 11s can come in and we can remain competitive with the other sporting options these kids have."

Boylan said the day was a success and ran smoothly, with not only the number of juniors but the parents and senior players who were involved a big positive.

He hopes that trend continues as other centres host a gala day.

"We got really good feedback from the Tigers and Bushrangers in terms of all the kids were happy, all the kids were active and that is what we want," he said.

"The purpose is that we want them to be doing AFL skills, whether it's in drills or in a game sense, we want them to feel like they are part of it, we want them all moving."