In its first two years, the festival was organised in two age-groups, but in 1983 the set-up was changed to produce three boys' groups - Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 - a format which became the established pattern for the rest of the '80s, apart from a minor amendment in 1988 when the oldest group changed from Under-19 to Under-18..

The groupings have changed a couple of times in the '90s, but these changes have been more of a technical nature as AIFF fell into line with its counterparts elsewhere. The 1993 festival also saw the introduction of a girls' section, and in the following year, the oldest boys' section was dropped.