Otago B, Otago Country and the Otago Colts will all take part in the competition, which will involve 10 teams, split into two pools.
The national provincial B competition was canned by the New Zealand Rugby Union last year due to budget cuts, leaving most provincial B sides to organise a shortened programme.
That, in turn, led to an uneven and meaningless set of fixtures for many teams.
But South Island unions had developed a competition which they hoped would give players something to play for, Otago player development manager Tim Colling said.
In the southern pool will be Otago B, Otago Country, the Otago Colts, Southland B and Southland Country.
In the northern pool will be Canterbury Metro, the Canterbury Colts, Canterbury Country, Nelson Bays and Marlborough.
The pools will be run on a round-robin basis, with games starting on August 14.
After pool play, the top two teams in each pool will play each other in the semifinals, with the final scheduled for October 16.
Colling said it was a good opportunity for the country sides to assess how they shaped up against some quality opponents.
The Otago B side will be coached by Mike Moeahu and Andy Hunter, while the Colts are coached by Barry Stevens and John Keenan.
Otago Country will be coached by Marty Hurring.
There will also be a South Island age grade competition.
That will involve Otago Under-19, Otago Country Under-20, Canterbury Country Under-20, Canterbury Metro Under-20 and Tasman Under-20.
That will also involve a round robin of games and then a straight final.
Colling said a series of meaningful games for all Otago representative sides would help the top Otago side as it would have match-hardened players at the next level down.
