Players from the Carlton Football Club took time out of their high performance training camp in Abu Dhabi today to hold an Auskick training session for more than 200 local children.

Staged at the iconic ovals of the Emirates Palace, the public was invited to watch the players train, before the children were divided into small groups for a series of practical and interactive skills sessions.

Unlike Auskick clinics run in Australia, Carlton veteran Heath Scotland said that many of the participants had very little exposure to Australian football.

"It is a pretty special thing to be able to share the skills of our sport with kids who have never actually seen a football game live before,” he said.

“Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, so hopefully we've made a few more fans here today and of course helped develop and promote the AFL in Abu Dhabi.”

After nearly two weeks spent training in searing temperatures and sleeping in a purpose built altitude facility in Qatar, the team will utilise the seven star Emirates Palace Hotel as their training base while in Abu Dhabi.

“This is our first trip as a Club to Abu Dhabi and our schedule for the next six days is divided between morning pre-season training commitments and various cultural activities in the afternoon,” Scotland said.

“Training in the heat at a high intensity like we are doing is absolutely a challenge, but they boys are all up and about and everyone is really excited to be over here and working hard on getting ourselves in the best shape possible for 2012."

The players high intensity training schedule begins each day at 6am and includes a mix of football skills sessions, aerobic interval running, speed and agility training, and strength training.

To view photos from today's Auskick and Open Training Session, click here.