The Canberra Capitals are poised to join the mass exodus of sports teams from the city as smoke haze continues to plague the region.
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The Capitals are considering bringing forward their flights to Townsville to escape the thick Canberra smoke and prepare for their Friday night clash with the Fire.
Their training base at the University of Canberra has shut down operations until Wednesday due to the hazardous smoke haze.
The AIS temporarily closed its facilities on the weekend, prompting WNBL officials to cancel the Capitals match against the Perth Lynx which was scheduled to be played at the AIS Arena.
The Capitals were able to train at the AIS on Monday morning due to slightly improved conditions, but health authorities have warned the respite may only be temporary.
Easterly winds from the South Coast bushfires are forecast to return during the week, bringing more smoke.
The ACT Brumbies have moved their entire squad to Newcastle to escape the conditions while the Canberra Raiders have organised a 10-day training camp on the Sunshine Coast.
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The Capitals have flights booked to Townsville on Thursday but are looking at alternative options for an earlier arrival.
"It's a struggle trying to practice and train in any of these conditions," Capitals coach Paul Goriss said.
"We only had one practice last week and it's just going to be a day-by-day decision based on the air quality and how it is inside.
"It's frustrating from the point of view of not being able to get on the court and practice while we're leading into finals, but there's a bigger picture around the bushfires.
"It's not an ideal situation for us to be complaining about when there's other people fighting bushfires and don't have housing."
Capitals stars Kia Nurse and Kelsey Griffin, along with her wife Erin, have pledged to donate $5 from every point made to bushfire relief efforts to help those affected by the crisis.
Nurse, who is the leading point scorer of the league, initiated the challenge ahead of their loss to the Bendigo Spirit on Friday.
"It's a lot about awareness really. These fires have been burning for months now and people are finally starting to pay attention," Nurse said.
"I felt like with the platform I have, playing in both New York and Canada, [I'm] able to raise awareness and make sure people can see what's happening.
"I know it's harder to understand something if you're not in it, so I thought giving my perspective and making sure I can support people in ways that allows donated for the Rural Fire Service and the Salvation Army by giving links to people in both countries where I am.
"You do what people need help with, that's what my parents raised me to do."
The Capitals piled 90 points on Bendigo, but a second quarter blitz led to the Spirit's emphatic 94-90 victory over the reigning champions.
Goriss was left frustrated by the team's defensive effort, missed shots and inconsistent offence.
The Capitals will use this week and their upcoming match against the dungeon dwellers to refocus ahead of a tough run into the play-offs.
"We weren't aggressive defensively and really lacked any hand or ball pressure in either the full or half court," Goriss said.
"We gave away too many points. They shot the ball extremely well, and credit to them for doing that, but I thought we gave them some open shots and looks which allowed them to get some confidence.
"We struggled at times to get any consistency in how we wanted to play offensively and I think that was probably a byproduct of our lack of time together during that week and preparing.
"We'll have a group meeting around the lead up to play-offs and what we need to achieve in the next four weeks knowing we've got some tough games ahead of us with Melbourne, Southside and Adelaide.
"We'll want to use this week to refocus a little bit on our goals and where we're at from a group."
WNBL ROUND 13
Friday: Townsville Fire v Canberra Capitals at Townsville Stadium, 7.05pm.