Australia has continued to ride the women’s sporting wave that burgeoned with the FIFA Women’s World Cup – but supporting women in Sport is nothing new in the nation’s capital.
In a sporting landscape unlike any other in the country, the three main summer sporting codes – cricket, basketball and football – are represented in elite national competitions by women, without an equivalent men’s team.
For the rest of the summer, the ACT Meteors (cricket), Canberra United (football) and the University of Canberra Capitals (basketball) have the spotlight – and it shows as membership records continue to be broken.
Canberra United winger Sasha Grove said it was a special time to be part of women’s sport.
“Coming off the Women’s World Cup, there’s so many people from so many different diverse sporting backgrounds that were getting behind women’s football … and the same applies for women’s basketball and women’s cricket,” Grove said.
She said being in the national capital with three elite women’s teams was “a really unique experience that not every other state has”.
“It’s so lovely to be part of a community that really values women’s sport and has dedicated teams that young girls can look up to and just be inspired by,” Grove said.
“It really means a lot to have such like minded passionate people supporting us.”
Inspiring future generations
Canberra United was a W-League foundation club in 2008 with the side quickly drawing attention as the only team in the competition not affiliated with a mainstream A-League franchise.
It did not stop the side from attracting a wealth of talent – and supporters – which Grove said stuck out as a childhood memory.
“I would rock up to the Canberra United games, I’d be there with all my now-teammates, when we were all about eight years old,” Grove said.
“It was just the coolest thing ever on the weekend just to see your team play and then have them talk to you after games.
“So we really value that time that we get to spend with our fans, whether that be young people or veterans.”
Men’s teams come and go
The capital has not always exclusively had women representing different sporting codes at elite levels, with men’s teams coming in and out of Canberra’s sporting scene.
The Canberra Cannons were part of the National Basketball League and joined the competition in 1979 before folding in 2003.
Similarly, the Canberra Cosmos Football Club played in the National Soccer League for about six seasons but also disbanded.
And while Canberra United has been named as a men’s A-League expansion club that could join the competition by the 2025-26 season, financial backing is uncertain.
Meanwhile, representative men’s cricket side ACT Comets plays in the national second-tier competition.
All three women’s teams have stood the test of time.
Women supporting women
Recently, players from the three teams caught up with each other to try one another’s sports but said they quickly realised it would be difficult to code hop.
And while it may be tough to share skills, the Canberra Capitals and Canberra United are joining forces to help promote each other’s sport by sharing supporters.
The members of each club will be given free entry into two games of the other club throughout the season.
Capital’s star Jade Melbourne said she was looking forward to cheering on the other teams.
“We get so focused on our own sport but when you get that opportunity to meet [other athletes] and learn how they train and the detail they put into their sport, that’s when you appreciate it a bit more,” Melbourne said.
“I’m going to encourage my team to go out and support these girls.
“I think the more we can empower one another and lead the way in women’s sport, I think that’s really good for us.”
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