To celebrate 25 years of the NSW Swifts the players will don the club's first-ever heritage uniform in both Suncorp Super Netball Round 14 clashes which take place next week.
Incorporating the original yellow and blue colour scheme the club wore when it was founded as the Sydney Swifts in 1997, the heritage dress pays tribute to the players, coaches and staff who were so important in the team's formative years.
Under the captaincy of Liz Ellis and the coaching of Julie Fitzgerald, the Swifts won four Premierships in the famed yellow dress (2001, 2004, 2006, 2007) before rebranding as the NSW Swifts in 2008, when they secured another title to complete a yet to be matched three-peat.
In 2019, under Briony Akle - who won titles with the Swifts as a player in 2001 and 2004 - the club ended an 11-year wait for a sixth title. With the most Premierships of any club since the National Netball league was founded in 1997, the Swifts are also the only side to have won in each variation of the competition: Commonwealth Bank Trophy (1997-2007), ANZ Championship (2008-2016) and Suncorp Super Netball (2017-present).
Due to the condensed nature of the revised 2021 fixture - brought about by the relocation of the competition to Queensland due to COVID-19 outbreaks - the Swifts will not play in Round 13 but instead host two Round 14 games in the space of four days.
First up is a clash with the Adelaide Thunderbirds at Brisbane's Nissan Arena on Wednesday 4 August followed by the Swifts’ final-regular season game of the year against Sunshine Coast Lightning at USC Stadium on Saturday 7 August.
The Swifts currently sit third on the Super Netball ladder, one win away from Finals and still in the hunt for a top-two berth.
The 2006 Swifts team, which features some of the biggest names in netball history, stands for the national anthem ahead of that year's Grand Final. Pic: Netball NSWSwifts Executive General Manager Nikki Horton said the way the new fixture worked out allowed for a back-to-back celebration of the club's storied history and legacy.
"Originally it was our plan to hold the heritage round in the second NSW Derby of the year, which we were due to host at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney earlier this month, but the COVID-19 outbreak ended our hopes of that happening," she said.
"However that doesn't mean that we can't celebrate the legacy of what has gone before over the past 25 years, in particular the Premiership successes, the hosts of Australian Diamonds players and captains we've produced and the establishment of the Swifts as a leading team and brand for women in sport right across Australia.
"Our centurions such as Liz Ellis, Cath Cox, Kim Green, Susan Pettitt, Ali Broadbent, Megan Anderson and Selina Gilsenan are some of Australian sport's greatest ambassadors and this current group has a lot in common with those players.
"There is a special bond between them, which is something Liz says was a feature of the Swifts team she played in back in the 2000s.
"We've haven't had the best results over the past few weeks but I know the pride each player will take in wearing our first-ever heritage dress will spur them on as we look to first qualify and, hopefully, build momentum for Finals."
Swifts co-captain Paige Hadley, who is also a club centurion, said she was excited to wear the uniform.
"The team in yellow was the Swifts I grew up supporting and after 25 years it's so exciting that we can honour the players and club stalwarts who went before," she said.
"I remember being in the stands back in the day when those players were winning titles and have been lucky enough to be involved with the Swifts since 2012, so I have always been well aware of the rich history.
"At 25 years I think we have been around long enough to start making this a staple of what we do every year and I know all of the players can't wait to don the yellow this week."
GET YOUR HERITAGE TEE
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