'It was a pretty busy morning': The moment Alice found out she was an Olympian

But when that time came for Alice Arnott on Monday, she was focused on another endeavour entirely.

"We were actually moving house the day of the announcement," she said.

"The announcement came out at 8am, and our removalist truck also came at 8am. So it was a pretty busy morning."

Arnott and her partner, Tom Craig (who will also make the trip to Paris with the Kookaburras) were in the midst of relocating to the other side of Perth when she found out she had been included in the Hockeyroos' team for the event.

Once she opened the email from Hockey Australia, the Willow Tree product was stunned.

"It's very exciting," Arnott said.

"It's an absolute dream come true, I still haven't fully processed what it means. But it's a childhood dream come true."

Little did she know that at the same moment her mum, Kate, had been up for hours due to the time difference and already cleaned most of the house in an effort to expend her nervous energy.

"Mum was very, very excited," Arnott said.

"The whole family was excited and happy for me. They know that I'd been in and around the program for a long time with not much success, so the last six months has been just crazy and exciting for everyone."

18 months ago, Arnott feared the door had closed on a potential Australian career.

But after earning her first call-up to the Hockeyroos at the beginning of 2024, it instilled in her a belief that an Olympic berth was also possible if she retained the same indefatigable work ethic.

"In some ways, I feel like it's been in the works for a while," Arnott said.

"But in others, I only made the squad for the first time this year. And only having 17 caps to my name, I guess I'd be considered one of the inexperienced players. But I feel very ready for it."

While her move to Perth just over a year ago was primarily driven by the desire to be close to Craig, who was based there, Arnott believes it has also done her career some good.

"You get seen more" in Perth, where Hockey Australia's High Performance Unit resides, and "you get more opportunities".

But the catalyst for her selection, she suspects, was her form in the 2023 Women's Hockey One competition for NSW Pride.

"I think a good performance there put me in good stead for selection this year," Arnott said.

With a trio of three-time Olympians in the Hockeyroos squad, the 26-year-old said they have already begun to dispense some wisdom to Arnott and her fellow first-timers.

And while there is plenty of talk around tactics, the pressure of the occasion, and high hopes for this year's campaign, she found one unusual tip the most helpful.

"Some of them have already given some advice about how overwhelming the food court can be," Arnott said.

"Apparently it houses thousands of people. There's multiple cuisines and you have to be careful not to get overwhelmed by eating too much and deviating from what you'd normally do.

"Things like that are actually really helpful to know."