Otago's men's and women's sevens teams will know if they have qualified for next year's national tournament by the end of the day.
Both teams are playing in the Southern region qualifying tournament in Timaru today, and should book their tickets to Rotorua in January.
Coached by Luke Herden, the men are in a pool with South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury.
However, in an odd draw, they will not play either of those sides in the group stage.
They will instead play Southland, Canterbury and Tasman from the other pool.
The top team from each pool will play the second-placed team from the other pool in the semifinals, while the other two teams will playoff for fifth and sixth.
The top five teams will qualify for the nationals.
Herden has named an inexperienced team in terms of sevens rugby, but said he was ''very excited'' by the potential in the 12-strong group.
Three schoolboys - Taylor Haugh, Matt Whaanga and Hemaua Samasoni - have been included in the team, which includes only four players from last year's team.
Taieri's Ben Miller, Gavin Stark, captain Kori Rupene and Josh Ioane are the surviving members from last year, with players such as Matt Faddes, Michael Collins and Tony Ensor unavailable.
''We've got some big boys,'' Herden said.
''As opposed to last year, when we were quite a quick team. This year we are going to be more physical and probably look at punching a few more holes and running off the big boys.''
Herden singled out Samasoni as a ''big rig'' whom the team will look to get into open space, while he is also expecting big things from one of Otago's best ITM Cup players, Mika Mafi, and Josh Clarke.
Haugh, who has just finished year 13 at King's High School, is a member of the New Zealand Touch Blacks squad and started playing sevens only recently.
He played either first five-eighth or fullback for his school's first XV, and impressed Herden during trials.
''Taylor has probably been one of the most exciting ones at training,'' he said.
''With his touch background, he has got a great pass, he's got a great eye, and he's not afraid to back himself.
''Our main issue with what we were looking for was to see how he coped on defence. I don't think he missed a tackle when we played our mini tournament, so he ticked that box. He's ready to go.''
Otago, Southland and South Canterbury played an invitational tournament in Dunedin a fortnight ago to prepare for today.
If Otago qualifies for the nationals, Herden believes having a bigger team will help in Rotorua.
The Otago women's team, which beat Canterbury in the final a year ago, has plenty of faces back from last year's winning side.
Captain Greer Muir will lead from the front with her ability to bust the line open, while Otago Spirit captain Angie Sisifa is another player to look out for.
Samara Hollows, Mikayla Latta, Olivia Waldron, Renaye Flockton and Julia Gorinski are also back.
Kilistina Moata'ane is a late scratching due to concussion and has been replaced by Nicky Crawford.
Otago has lost key players Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali and Rebecca Todd, who have both left Dunedin, but coach Mike Moeahu believes his team is capable of defending its title.
''We're going out there with a positive attitude and will give it our best shot,'' he said.
''We don't know what Tasman are like, we don't know what Canterbury are like. They are likely to be a new team, possibly. But our first aim is to get to the final.''
Southland is not sending a team this year, meaning just one of the four teams - Otago, Canterbury, Tasman or South Canterbury - will miss out on qualifying for the nationals.
The qualifiers will be televised live on Sky Sport from 11.30am today.
Otago sevens
Teams
Men: Kori Rupene (captain), Josh Clarke, Shae Tucker, Mika Mafi, Hemaua Samasoni, Matt Whaanga, Taylor Haugh, Kurt Hammer, Thomas Johnson, Josh Ioane, Ben Miller, Gavin Stark
Coach: Luke Herden
Women: Greer Muir (captain), Angie Sisifa, Julia Gorinski, Mikayla Latta, Leyhana van Vugt , Latoya Grant, Michaela Baker, Olivia Waldron, Samara Hollows, Renaye Flockton, Zoey Flockton, Nicky Crawford.
Coach: Mike Moeahu
