Georgia Clayden still remembers piling on as many layers of pink as possible when she was a little girl cheering on the Canberra Darters.
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And now she finds herself wearing another pink dress, but this time with a golden pattern etched across her torso.
"It's exciting, bringing the pink back," she smiles.
Clayden, Keely Rodrigo and Leigh Kalsbeek will wear Canberra's iconic pink once more when the rebranded Capital Darters return to the Australian Netball League this year.
The netball trio played under the original Darters banner and are now three of six Canberra-based players in the ANL outfit, alongside Amber Brophy, Millicent Boehm and Nalani Mukunde.
Netball ACT joined forces with the Sunshine Coast Lightning late last year to introduce a joint-venture team into the national competition.
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The partnership ensures ACT-based athletes still have a pathway to Super Netball after the Giants Netball feeder-club, Canberra Giants, was scrapped from the competition.
"I certainly wasn't sure if the Darters were ever going to return. It's pretty exciting that it is, the Canberra community know the name so it's going to be really exciting for them as well," Clayden said.
"Joining the Sunshine Coast is something a little bit different as well, it's new and exciting.
"Canberra loves their netball. It's awesome to have that Canberra base back again and built a little more progression for girls in the netball community.
"I certainly remember when I was a little girl going to the Darters games and putting on as much pink as I could. It's exciting to see that back as well and create more opportunities for players coming through."
Inaugural Darters ANL coach Bronwyn Bock Johnson has returned to the helm alongside Jessica Whitfort, who is taking on assistant coach duties.
The Darters' squad is comprised of both Canberra and Sunshine Coast based athletes. They'll train in their respective locations during the week and also combine for camps dispersed throughout the season.
The joint-venture club came together for the first time in Canberra earlier this month and played a practice match against the Greater Western Sydney Fury.
"I think we're going to be a really solid team, we have a lot of depth from goal keeper to goal shooter," Kalsbeek said.
"There are a number of us who can play a few different positions across the board.
"We gelled quite quickly which is really good considering we only have two training camps together.
"The challenges are not training together as a full team and getting those connections, but in saying that, we've been playing netball for long enough and are there for the same reasons.
"We're all going to be working on the same things and getting our combinations within our home states really worked up, so we're ready to hit the court come game day."
Clayden, Kalsbeek and three other Darters players are also part of Canberra's inaugural NSW Premier League team, the Capital Spirit.
Netball ACT have cancelled all community netball competitions due to the coronavirus threat, but the ANL and Premier League teams will continue training as normal.
"It'll definitely be challenging but it'll come down to player management, player load and how many games we've played within that week. We've also got to consider who and where we're playing," Kalsbeek said.
"There'll be netball almost everyday of the week for us but although it's going to be a long season, it's really good for Canberra."
