Australia's Paralympians competing in Tokyo are more than a team - they're a mob.
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It's an Indigenous word that co-captain Danni di Toro wants associated proudly with them as they build a stronger culture around current and past Paralympic athletes.
The Indigenous art design on the team uniform also depicts every Australian who has competed at the Paralympics since it started in 1960.
Before the last Games in Rio, di Toro and fellow team captain Kurt Fearnley met with representatives from Australia's 18 Paralympic sports to discuss a broad range of issues.
Team values, supporting past competitors and looking after each other outside the Paralympics eventually boiled down to wanting a stronger sense of 'mob'.
"A big part of that was circulating this language around 'mob' and it being a very indigenous word around family, around community," di Toro told AAP.
"What is a word we can use that describes what we are like when we are together? It is a very connected community and we come together from a lot of different places.
"While we might only come together once every four years as a big mob, we have these connection points that directly link us.
"We use it with a great deal of respect and pride. We hope that becomes a bit of a beacon of light for people as well."
She laughed when it was put to her that 'mob' can have another, less savoury meaning - an amputee Tony Soprano, perhaps.
"My family's Italian and for me, that's also family - even when you think of 'mob' in that sense, it's still family," di Toro said.
"Those values of loyal, proud and fierce, I think about 'mob' being those things and however you use it, this very much typifies the idea that this isn't a group you want to mess with.
"Here's a group that are very loyal to one another and proud of the history we have."
The words loyal, proud and fierce are embossed on the inside of their team uniforms.
The pre-Rio meetings were a conscious effort to build on the camaraderie generated at each Paralympics.
Australia finished fifth on the medal tally at the last Games with 22 gold medals, but di Toro said there was a lot more to it than that.
"We want everyone to feel like they're part of something so much bigger than just their own individual result," she said.
"Community is everything, whether you haven't competed for 60 years or you're competing now.
"It was such a wasted time between those (Games) - we felt like that it wasn't enough."
She added that there is a double-barrelled challenge for retired Paralympians - not only do they have to adjust to life outside elite sport, but they are living with a disability.
"Once you're retired, it's very easy to feel like you're discarded," di Toro said.
"We really heard that, we saw that within our friends and we just didn't want that anymore for any of our community."
After five Paralympics in wheelchair tennis, di Toro is competing at her second Games in table tennis.
She is co-captain again, this time with wheelchair rugby's Ryley Batt.
Australia's team of 179 is its biggest contingent at an overseas Paralympics.
Australian Associated Press
