Otago Hockey is poised to get its name on the world stage tonight.
The association is gearing up for its attempt to stage the world's biggest exhibition match and, if interest is anything to go by, it may blow the record out of the water.
The record is held by English school Kingston Grammar, which attracted 134 players to a match in October, 2013.
As of yesterday, Otago Hockey had registered 263 players for the match at the McMillan Hockey Centre in Dunedin from 4pm.
Otago Hockey board member Adam Walker said the game was being staged to raise money towards two $7000 digital scoreboards, which it needed in order to host the national under-21 championships next month.
It was expected to be finished by midnight.
The interest in the event showed the Otago hockey community's determination to get its name on the world stage, Walker said.
People from as young as 7-years-old to those in their late-70s would take part in the match, and some had travelled from as far away as Taranaki to support it, he said.
"While there are a lot of hockey players involved, and that's important, we have a lot of people who haven't touched a hockey stick for years, which is quite special.''
Players would rotate throughout the night and each one had to play at least 10 minutes and touch the ball at least once in order to be counted.
Younger players would be on first and there were some big names due to take part later on, such as former Black Sticks Jenny McDonald and James Nation.
Official witnesses would record the event and details would be sent to Guinness World Records for verification.
