The ACT may only be a speck on the Australian map, but Canberra is the giant of men's softball.
The Raiders have won three NRL premierships, the Brumbies have won two Super Rugby grand finals. The Canberra Capitals boast seven titles, while Canberra United is the current queen of W-League soccer.
But the ACT men's softball team comes out in front of them all and heads to Sydney today in a quest to equal a national record 11 Australian titles.
Canberra's team is batting way above average and has dominated Australian softball for the past decade, winning six national titles and missing the grand final just once.
The team is just one title away from equalling Western Australia in the 29-year history of the competition with 11 titles and will get its chance starting today at the national championships in Sydney.
But why has the small territory had so much success?
Current Australian and former ACT coach Bob Harrow believes the wealth of local talent unearthed has been the key to the success.
''We just have an abundance of talent to work with,'' he said. ''We had a group of players that were young and willing to learn and that made a big difference and right now we have the best group of players you could wish for in the world.''
Some of these players include Adam Folkard and Andrew Kirkpatrick who Harrow rates as the two best pitchers in the world.
But it isn't just nursing talent that has seen ACT softball rise to such lofty heights - the ''best facilities in Australia'' and imaginative planning have also helped.
''We were never afraid to try innovative things and right from day one [of my involvement] we looked at ways to better ourselves,'' Harrow said.
The ACT will be out for its sixth title in seven years and Folkard said the side would use its 2009 championship final loss as motivation.
''[WA] beat us here at home [in 2009] and we are keen to get back out there and beat them,'' he said.
The ACT team will also be buoyed by the return of former Australian representative Jeff Goolagong.
Goolagong, the nephew of seven-time tennis grand slam winner Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, retired from the sport in 2009 after Australia's success in the world championships but the 30-year-old could not stay away from the game.
''I thought I had accomplished most things that I had set out to but that desire was still there after a couple of years of sitting out,'' Goolagong said.
Goolagong is confident the ACT team will again bring home the John Reid Shield.
''We have been dominant over the past seven years so I think the boys are just really keen to stamp everybody out of the game and really cement ourselves as the No.1 team in the country,'' he said.
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