UC Capitals forward Alicia Froling frustrated by WNBL inequality amid venue debacle

It makes for interesting dinner conversations at the Froling family gatherings, especially amid the Capitals' recent venue headaches.

"We usually end up in some arguments. Obviously my brothers really want to see us do well, but there are some things that they just don't understand because they never have to worry about it," Froling said.

"I could talk about this for hours. It is a massive difference. We've come so far, but then you look at get things that they get, and see we have so far to go."

Like many Canberra basketball fans, Froling is brewing with frustration after the Capitals learned they have likely played their last home game of the season due to a logistical disaster.

The Capitals are facing the prospect of being forced to move finals fixtures out of the ACT because their current home court at the National Convention Centre is booked out during the WNBL finals period between mid March and early April.

Any available dates for WNBL finals that could be held at the National Convention Centre would see attendance figures capped at 1,700. That's a far cry from the 5,000 that Capitals general manager Lucille Bailie said they'd expect at such games in the post-season, negatively impacting the team's revenue potential.

"It's really sad," Froling said.

"Especially for the Capitals - we have such a great history, but we're struggling to find a court.

"I know there's a lot of stuff that's going on and it's not all in our control. But yeah, we would definitely love to have a home final because of the support that we get."

The Capitals' previous home at AIS Arena has been closed for the last two years and is currently acting as a COVID-19 vaccination hub.

An ongoing back-and-forth between the ACT and federal governments has left no concrete time-frame on when necessary funding for upgrades will allow it to return to a fully functioning, publicly-accessible sports venue.

"At the end of the day, we've got a job to do, but it's more just disappointing for our fans," Froling said.

"We can play on any court, anywhere, but it's our fans, and it's the environment that makes the Caps so great."

Froling said the men are "not our enemies", however she has grown weary of the constant "fight" women's basketball contends with for necessities that the men simply don't have to endure.

"Our energies are split between working, some doing a second job, some of us have families, then we're playing basketball, and we're also fighting for a better future for female basketball," she said.

"There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, and in the NBL, it's just such a difference.

"Their energies are all going into how can they be the best they can be on the court."

Pay and funding inequality is top of Froling's concerns, with the flow-on effect meaning many WNBL support staff are volunteering their time, including assistant coaches.

"Our support staff are awesome, but the professionalism in our league as a whole... it relies so much on people giving up their time," Froling said.

"A lot of our support staff are there on a volunteer basis, some that are really highly qualified people.

"Whereas the NBL, you have three or four assistant coaches that are paid. People in the game can only go so far when you rely on people to volunteer their time."

Despite the debacle unfolding off the court, the fourth-on-the-ladder team are doing their best to focus on their next game on the road against the Southside Flyers on Saturday.

"At the end of the day we're still going out there with the goal to win," Froling said.

"It does help when you sleep in your own bed the night before, but if it's impossible to do going forward, we're pretty good at travelling and adjusting to adversity."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: