In six years time, the same teenagers battling it out on the courts at Lyneham could be standing atop the podium, singing the Australian national anthem having won gold in a new Olympic sport.
That's the vision that new Netball ACT chief executive Katrina Roff wants to help make a reality at the Brisbane 2032 Games as part of a global campaign pushing for its Summer Olympics inclusion.
"There's huge public backing for netball to be at the Olympics. The campaign that Netball Australia has run to 'Back the Bid' has gotten enormous public support," Roff told The Canberra Times.
"The numbers support that there's massive growth and evolution in the sport around the world.
"We absolutely have some potential future Olympians here in Canberra."
Lyneham Netball Centre hosted some of those prospects at the ACT Junior Championships on Saturday and Sunday, with representative teams from every corner of Canberra vying for victory in the 14- and 15-year-old age groups.
On the line was more than silverware, with academy spots up for grabs, giving girls exposure to an in-demand high performance program offering specialist training, sports and conditioning, psychology, and nutrition education and support.
In the 14-year-old division one competition, Canberra Netball Association's Maroon team triumphed 42-25 in the final over the Tuggeranong Netball Association, and the CNA Skye squad won in division two.
Meanwhile, in the 15-year-old division one final TNA won the decider in a nailbiter 27-25 against South Canberra Netball Association's Blue team. TNA also claimed the division two title.
This crop of young talent is among those set to benefit most from Netball ACT's goals to boost its already booming participation rates and improve the high performance pathways available in Canberra, with the broader vision looking to Brisbane 2032.
Timing is everything, and netball officials want to strike while the iron is hot, with upcoming global netball events set to bring all eyes on the game in Australia.
"We're at the beginning of a major growth period and there's huge opportunity here. The next 12 to 18 months is a bit of a line in the sand for netball," Roff said.
"There's the World Cup in Sydney next year and imminently we'll find out whether netball has made the cut for the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
"So the significant opportunity is there for the ACT to benefit from the halo effect of those events.
"There is some real potential coming through the playing ranks in Canberra. I know there's quite a lot of excitement in some of our 15s at the moment.
"We are a hugely passionate community. We have this incredible group of volunteers who live and breathe netball and there is a love for the game out there that is second to none.
"If we can galvanize all of that from our community, I think we can raise the bar here."
Among these lofty goals for netball's sporting body in the ACT is to also get high profile games back.
The last time a Super Netball game was played in Canberra was 2019 when the Giants faced the Queensland Firebirds, and while the Australian Diamonds had practice matches at Radford College as part of a camp in January this year, the national team hasn't had an official international clash in the capital since 2017.
Roff said it's an obvious "missing piece" that she wants to be addressed, and she is hopeful that recent talks with the AIS Arena could lead to a long-awaited breakthrough.
"The challenge has been having fit for purpose facilities that haven't been available to netball for a while, but we know that this community is desperate for those games to be back here," Roff said.
"Whether it's the Diamonds or a Super Netball game, or even if it's a preseason opportunity, we know that the community would jump all over it, and we could fill out the AIS Arena. We just need to be given the opportunity.
"We want our young athletes to be able to see that on their home turf here, to aspire to that elite level.
"The AIS Arena has actually proactively approached us recently, which is great, so there's potential for this conversation to be quite productive over the next couple of years.
"But a few things need to align - we need the facility, we need government support, we need Netball Australia to be at the table, and this is the time to do it."
