Fourteen Tamworth sides will compete at the championships which are split into two tournaments - under 12s-17s in Coffs Harbour on February 11-14 and under 9s-11s in Sydney on February 25-28.

Tamworth Junior Oztag's Katrina Davis said this was an increase on past years and put it down to a number of reasons.

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"It's probably because the kids come back and talk about how they've had a great time or done quite well," she said.

"Word of mouth spreads and kids that have been playing [locally] decide to try for rep and go to the next level.

"There's also a good group of parents that want to coach and also senior rep players want to share their skills as well. Geoff Sharpe and Abby Schmiedel are two well known names in sport and oztag who are coaching junior sides."

Davis said as well as training, the teams had been getting in some important bonding sessions in the lead up to the championships.

"They [coaches] try and make it more than just the game on the weekend. It's a community and it's about building friendships," she said.

"It's pretty serious on game day and they want to play well but at the end of the day it's about being active and having fun playing with your mates."

The Tamworth junior competition is close to starting as well. Registrations close on Sunday with the competition to begin on the following Wednesday.

Head to tamworthjuniors.oztag.com.au for more info.