Future Nostalgia: Caps throw it back for retro round
When the University of Canberra Capitals take the court on Saturday at the AIS Arena, they won’t be wearing their regular black home jerseys. They will be wearing something different, but at the same time, familiar to the Caps faithful – a throwback and a nod to the late 90s and early 2000s championship winning teams.
This year’s Caps won’t be wearing the body suits from that era, but the bright yellow jersey and dark blue shorts take inspiration from those classic sets, as the team looks to win their third straight game.
UC Capitals General Manager Lucille Bailie said that the retro round jerseys honours the rich heritage of the winningest franchise in the WNBL.
“As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, it was only right to bring back something that strongly represents our winning tradition, and honours the history that we have built in Canberra,” she said.
“The bold colour palette of these uniforms is unmistakably ‘Capitals’, and for our fans, it will no doubt bring back so many memories of the greats who have played for the franchise and brought joy to so many Canberrans.”
The bright yellow and dark blue body suits were famously worn by the Capitals in the 1999/2000 WNBL season, which culminated in the club winning its first ever championship by defeating the Adelaide Lightning in the grand finals.
Carrie Graf, who coached the championship winning squad, is excited to see the jersey make its return to the AIS.
“These jerseys represent winning and excellence. Lauren Jackson, Shelley Gorman, Kristen Veal and other club legends wore these jerseys with pride and I couldn’t be more excited to see Jade Melbourne and this current batch of Capitals wear something that is so special to the history of the Capitals program,” she said.
While the stakes aren’t as high, the Caps are hoping that the retro jerseys bring the same magic on Saturday as it did for the 1999/00 team. The club is looking to win its third straight game as it makes an improbable push towards the fourth and final playoff spot.
“The design looks great and it’s cool to be able to pay homage to the people that paved the way in a Caps uniform for the past 40 years. I’m excited, the team’s excited, and we hope we can do it proud by getting a win,” said team captain Jade Melbourne.
While Jade’s excited to wear the retro colours on court this weekend, she’s also glad she’ll be able to do it in the modern jerseys and shorts, rather than the body suits from years past.
“Given that my tailbone is a bit worse than normal, I might not have played this round if we were in the bodysuits – I’m definitely looking forward to wearing the shorts and singlet in the retro uniform this weekend,” she said with a chuckle.
The UC Capitals face the Adelaide Lightning at the AIS Arena on Saturday 11 January. Tipoff is at 3:30pm. Get your tickets here. Kids tickets are 50% off at all January home games using the code KIDS50.