The Canberra Capitals entered the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) in 1986, having won the Australian Women’s Basketball Conference the previous year. The Capitals teams origin extends back to participating in the Australian Capital Territory local basketball competitions in the early eighties and then as the ACT’s representative team in the then Australian Women’s Basketball Championships.
The Capitals first thirteen years in the WNBL bared minimal success, making the playoffs just once, between the 1986 and 1998/99 seasons. Since then the Capitals have won back-to-back WNBL championships on four separate occasions and after winning their first WNBL championship in the 1999/2000. Notably, this was the first year that Carrie Graf Head Coached the team and Lauren Jackson first played with the Capitals along with a number of young players from the AIS program who went on to become Australian Opals.
From that season onwards, the Capitals embarked on a path that saw them become the most successful WNBL team in history. The team has achieved iconic status within both the sporting and general communities in Canberra, acclaimed Australia wide as a leading women’s sporting organisation and nine-time WNBL Champions, one of the most successful sporting clubs throughout Australia, and Canberra’s most successful sporting team.
The Canberra Capitals have been awarded the Keys to the City of Canberra on 3 separate occasions, in 2000, 2002 and 2007 and will forever be etched into the foundations of the Canberra Community having their legacy immortalised with an official plaque on the ACT Walk of Honour in 2012.
The Capitals claimed their first WNBL title in 1999/2000, defeating Adelaide 67-50 before finishing runners-up in 2000/2001. The club won their second title in 2001/2002 before becoming back-to-back champions the following year under the guidance of former Australian Opals Head Coach Tom Maher.
Graf returned in the 2003/2004 season and took the Capitals to the WNBL semi finals where the team unfortunately went down to Adelaide. The following season saw the Capitals enter a mini rebuild, following the departure of Graf to the WNBA in addition to the loss of Lauren Jackson for the season with an ankle injury. The club finished the regular season in 5th position and missed out on the post season.
The 2005/2006 season was a memorable one for the Capitals. Graf returned from a stint in the WNBA and bolstered the teams front court with the signing of Tracey Beatty. All WNBA player Alana Beard also lit up the league in just eight games for the Capitals before departing when Lauren Jackson returned from injury. After a thrilling overtime win against Adelaide in the semi-finals the Capitals knocked off minor premiers Dandenong in the grand final to win the championship and reinstate the dynasty in Canberra.
The Capitals were expected to slide down the WNBL table as they entered the 2006/2007 season. Lauren Jackson departed the club, and Jenny Whittle went back into retirement. However, despite the adversity the Capitals once again rose above the rest of their WNBL peers. Claiming their fifth championship off the back of a brilliant post season, in which they avenged their semi final loss to the Sydney Uni Flames with a conclusive 73-59 win in the grand final. The masterful season of coaching by Carrie Graf saw her awarded with coach of the year.
The Capitals missed out on a three peat after losing in the 2007/2008 playoffs. The team bounced back hard in 2008/2009, claiming a 19-3 record to win the minor premiership. The reemergence of the Capitals dominance coincided with the rise of the Buleen Boomers who were beginning to build a championship calibre team. The clubs played against each other in the grand final in front of a sell out crowd at the AIS. In a nail biting affair, the Capitals triumphed 61-58 to claim their 6th banner.
The following year the Boomers embarked on a dominant season by claiming the minor premiership with an incredible 21-1 record. However, in the grand final, the Capitals spoiled the party by defeating the Boomers 75-70 in Melbourne off the back of a blistering performance by Canberra local Natalie Hurst, as well as Lauren Jackson, who claimed grand final MVP. Unfortunately, for the Capitals, the team once again narrowly missed out on the three peat when Buleen won the championship in the following season.
The Capitals had to endure seven straight seasons without playoffs with Graf transferring the coaching role to Paul Goriss in 2016. This coincided with the University of Canberra becoming the owner of the Canberra Capitals, making the team the University of Canberra (UC) Capitals. In 2018, Carrie Graf returned to the University of Canberra as the Director of Sport meaning that she continues to have vital input while maintaining an unfinished legacy with the club.
In 2019, the UC Capitals won their ninth championship under coach Paul Goriss, strengthening the club’s status as the WNBL’s most successful team and Canberra’s most successful national sporting team. Kelsey Griffin, in her first season with the UC Capitals, won the league’s MVP title. In the 2019/20 season Caps would go back to back for the fourth time, after defeating the Southside Flyers in the grand final series.
With Covid-19 restricting travel & competition, the 2020/21 competition was relocated to a hub in far north Queensland. In a compressed, five-week format the UC Capitals won nine of their 13 season games, going down in the semi-final to the Melbourne Boomers. In a nod to the team’s commitment to the sport in recent years, the Capitals took out the Team of the Year award at the CBR Sports Awards – an accolade they shared with fellow University of Canberra tenants the ACT Brumbies.
The 2021/2022 season was one like no other for the WNBL with the impacts of Covid-19 still being felt across the country and the globe. Despite losing a number of key players, the UC Capitals were bolstered with the signing of import Brittney Sykes, while rising star Jade Melbourne continued to go from strength to strength. Despite a strong season of results and a real shot at a 10th Championship, the UC Capitals were forced to withdraw from their semi-final game against Perth Lynx with eight players testing positive to Covid-19, and too little turnaround between games.
Season 22/23 saw former UC Capitals and Opals’ player Kristen Veal take the reigns as Head Coach, with Paul Goriss taking a coaching role with Atlanta Dream in the WNBA. With a substantial change in their roster, this became a building season for the UC Capitals, allowing younger players to step up and emerge as future stars. The Capitals enjoyed record membership numbers and a higher than average crowd attendance, with a strong level of sponsorship.
In Veal’s second year as head coach, the Caps continued their growth into season 2023/24 with the help of an exciting, revamped roster. The team’s mix of passion, confidence, and tenacity is what filled the stands each week and saw memberships almost double to reach even greater records. Co-captains Jade Melbourne and Alex Sharp both put up some career high performances which resulted in being awarded the Fan MVP and Breakout Player of the Year WNBL Awards respectively.
The 24/25 season saw the Caps put together a youthful, energetic roster that brought the club agonisingly close to the WNBL post season. The club signed a host of young talent including 2021 WNBA #1 draft pick Charli Collier, as well as forward Nyadiew Puoch from Southside. Fresh off a bronze medal at the Paris Games, Jade Melbourne once again had a fantastic season, leading the WNBL in assists and putting up a career high 40 points in the final hit out of the season against Bendigo.
The season started slow for the Capitals, with the team sliding to a 2-10 record by the end of the year. However, 2025 saw the team surge in form, claiming six wins in their last nine games, including some classics matches in front of thunderous home crowds. It wasn’t quite enough to qualify for the finals. The Caps shared the same amount of wins as the Sydney Flames, but missed out due to losing the season series. The Canberra faithful emotionally said goodbye to Caps legend Abby Bishop in the last game of the season. Following the year head coach Paul Gorris and Jade Melbourne re-signed, meaning the fans have a lot to look forward to heading into 2025/26.
In the club’s 31 year WNBL existence, some of the Australian Opals best ever players have called Canberra home including Tully Bevilaqua, Jenny Cheesman, Sue Geh, Lucille Bailie (Hamilton), Fiona Robinson, Shelley Sandie, Jenny Whittle, Eleanor Sharp, Abby Bishop, Suzy Backtovic, and global superstar Lauren Jackson.
In her six years with the Capitals, Jackson dominated the league and developed into the best female basketballer on the planet. After leading the AIS to the 1998/99 Championship, Jackson joined the Capitals in 1999/2000 season where she was named league MVP for the first of three times (1999/00, 2002/03, 2003/04) and won the first of four WNBL titles with the club. She developed a huge fan group and brought much attention to female sport, in particular basketball, and has enjoyed a simply outstanding international career for the Opals and is a two-time WNBA MVP. Lauren returns to Canberra to commence the first of a 3 year commitment to the City of Canberra for the 2012-13 season, coming off a successful Olympic campaign.
She is three-time ACT Sport Star of the Year and four-time ACT Female Sports Star of the Year while Graf has taken out the ACT Coach of the Year award three times and the team has been ACT Team of the Year four times.
Emerging from the structure of local basketball with strong heritage based in Basketball ACT, the Capitals continue to maintain a strong and productive relationship with grass roots and community basketball in the Canberra region. Their representation and success on national and international levels has allowed them the opportunity to establish a national profile with a local focus.