Captain Jodi Brown said the team had been eagerly anticipating the chance to hit the court against some strong opposition.
"It's going to be a weekend jam-packed full of hard, intense pre-season games against the other nine franchises," she said.
"Our Steel team has been training super hard and pushing all the boundaries in the lead-up to this year's ANZ Championship. Now, we're ready to test our skills and get a really good gauge of where we are at leading into our competition opener on April 2."
Co-coach Natalie Avellino was also looking forward to the task ahead.
The former Australian international, who made Invercargill her home nearly 10 years ago, joins Otago's Janine Southby as co-coach of the Steel, and the tournament, which starts today at the TECT Arena, will give the duo a taste of what lies ahead.
"It's exciting and we're looking forward to getting the team together and getting under way," Avellino said.
It has been a disrupted build-up for the Steel, with experienced midcourter Wendy Frew withdrawing from the side after announcing her pregnancy and the late arrival of Donna Wilkins, who is returning to the Steel after giving birth to her third child in January.
Avellino had hoped to have all 12 players together for the first time at the pre-season tournament, with former Canterbury Tactix midcourter Phillipa Finch drafted into the side as a replacement for Frew.
However, midcourter Hayley Saunders and defender Sheryl Scanlan are nursing minor injuries, and will not travel.
Otago midcourter Gina Crampton will join the squad.
Avellino, who coached Southland to a national provincial title, admits to a mixture of excitement and nerves.
"As a player I think you feel a bit more in control of things especially when you're out on court but as a coach it's about preparing the players as much as you can and then, hopefully, they put it all out on court."
She was pleased to get the chance to see all 10 teams in action over three days of competition in Tauranga.
"It's a fantastic idea and that every team gets the opportunity to play against other teams at the same level," Avellino said.
The competition will be played over four sessions from today until Sunday. Teams have been divided into two pools, with those in each pool playing each other once. In the final session, teams from opposing pools will play off to determine the pre-season champion.
