Two years of sacrifices and tears became worth it for Great Britain's volleyball vice-captain Lucy Wicks on Wednesday as she and her team-mates received their Olympic kit.
The 12 women selected by head coach Audrey Cooper last Friday were at the Team GB holding camp in Loughborough, where they were decked out in all manner of branded items.
Such luxuries have been rare for the squad over recent years, who have essentially had to pay their own way to the Games after their funding was slashed entirely.
When the news was delivered two years ago they were faced with a tough decision; give up or carry on with a training programme at their own cost. The latter prevailed, jobs were quit and homes were sold, while fundraising efforts continue to this day.
But, with their opening Olympic fixture now just 24 days away, Wicks is surer than ever that she and the rest of the squad made the right decision.
"It's a fantastic feeling, when the squad was announced there was such a sense of pride and this just adds to it," she said.
"The journey so far has been emotional, one of ups and downs, but to now stand in GB kit is phenomenal.
"To think that when the funding was cut we wondered if it was all worth it; it is. When that moment came, we knew that even if we raised the money, the British Olympic Association still had to say whether or not we were credible to perform, so there were a lot of ifs.
"But we have fought the whole way, raised the money, the BOA said we were good enough and now we will do the country proud."