There will be plenty of bats swinging and balls flying at Ellis Park over the next few days.
The under-17 girls national softball tournament begins today and runs through to Sunday.
Otago, which hosts the tournament for the first time, is joined by 10 other teams from North Harbour to Southland.
That should make for a high level of play and the tournament will act as great exposure for the sport.
''It's just getting people down there to see what softball's all about,'' tournament co-ordinator Stacey Wardell said.
''This is a really full-on tournament, a national tournament.
''There's going to be some really exceptional softball being played, so it's worth coming to watch.''
Three diamonds will be used, with games starting at 9am every day and beginning every two hours, with the last round scheduled for 5pm.
Sunday is the only exception with the final set for 1pm.
The teams are split into two pools, of five and six respectively.
Pool play runs for two days, before teams are split into a top six and bottom five for the weekend.
Preparations had been going well and the grounds were looking good, Wardell said.
A team of about 25 came together on Monday night to put on the finishing touches, while new groundsman Dave Reedy and his team had done a ''fantastic'' job with the fields.
It made for an exciting time in the softball community.
''The atmosphere is pretty cool,'' Wardell said.
''Everyone's really excited. It's the first time we've had it. It's a national tournament, so it's really exciting.
''Everyone's just banding together, the softball community's been awesome.''
Otago begins its tournament at 9am, against Auckland B, with games also at 11am and 5pm today.
Tomorrow it is in action at 11am and 5pm.
The team finished third at the South Island tournament in December, being edged 10-8 by Southland in the seventh inning in a thrilling semifinal.
Among its players were several who had represented New Zealand at the International Softball Academy.
Those included pitchers Kaitlyn Hastie and Annelies MacDuff, short stop Zillah Conder and second base Olivia Guilford.
