The Asian giants are here, with China the Olympic silver medallists of 2008, and two-time Olympic silver medallists Korea, and don't forget the dark horse Americans, ranked seventh in the world.
And then of course there is the home town favourite Black Sticks.
Hosting the final of the world league here is not only great for hockey, but great for women's sport in New Zealand. Having such a collection of great teams, in such a major Olympic sport, is a very rare opportunity for our country.
The New Zealand girls will need all the home town advantage they can get, up against some much bigger and highly resourced nations. It is amazing how consistently the Black Sticks have performed over recent years, and they have the biggest challenge of all first up, against a great Dutch team.
Coming into this tournament, New Zealand had never beaten the Netherlands. They have come as close as it gets in recent years, with a controversial loss on penalties earlier this year, and again back in the 2012 Olympics with an agonising loss on penalties in the semifinals.
The Dutch have an unparalleled record in women's hockey - Olympic champions in 2008 and 2012, and narrowly beaten on penalties at Rio 2016 by a rising Great Britain.
England come here as No 2 in the world, and as a sporting nation their performances have benefited hugely from an increase in resourcing, in particular in their women's sport, with huge improvements in netball also.
It's been great to see the media rightly get in behind the tournament; the build-up has been fantastic, and what a way to kick off the tournament last night, with our Black Sticks taking on the Dutch.
With home town advantage who knows, the fifth ranked Kiwis may just take the next step, and surpass the performances at the last two Olympics, where they did very well, but ultimately finishing a painful fourth on both occasions.
Having such brilliant athletes, and global stars in our country, one can't underestimate the inspirational impact that can have, if the event gets the coverage it deserves.
So to see Sky Sport taking on the live coverage, and the other news networks, providing a professional package around a major women's sport event is great to see. A refreshing change to the monotony of some of the other sport we are continuously served up.
A great chance for young girls in our country to not only get to know our Black Sticks a bit better, but great stars from other countries, just as our young boys get so familiar and inspired by great rugby players, cricketers, or footballers from overseas.
So take the chance to get along and support the event, or watch on TV - we hear so many people calling out for variety in our sporting entertainment these days, with dwindling enthusiasm for the same old competitions and the same old commentators, well here is our chance to get in behind something fresh and exciting.
The top eight nations in the world, in a major Olympic sport, here on our turf. If we don't get in behind it now, don't complain about not getting your sporting variety in the future.
Here it is, girl power, and the world league final!
Marcus Agnew is the health and sport development manager at Hawke's Bay Community Fitness Centre Trust and is also a lecturer in sports science at EIT. All opinions are his and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.
