Kyrgios a star, Balodis a stayer

Nick Kyrgios, one of the brightest young talents in world tennis, has been nominated for the prestigious Newcombe Medal, awarded annually to Australia's best player. But it's hard to beat Canberra's Ros Balodis, 55, for longevity. Balodis is in the running for Tennis Australia's most outstanding over-35 player of the year award. Balodis has travelled the globe chasing her passion since taking up the game at five. It was in 1998, when she hit the seniors ranks, that Balodis began racking up the frequent flyer miles. She's travelled to Britain, Argentina, the US, Germany, South Africa and Spain for seniors tournaments. This year, Balodis represented Australia in the 55 women's world championships, finishing fourth in her age group. She won the 50 women's doubles and was runner-up in the 55 mixed doubles with fellow Canberran Colin Holgate. Balodis is ranked fourth in the world in the women's 55 division in singles, second in doubles, and first in mixed. She moved to Canberra in 1981. "The big thing for me was in the middle of the '80s, when they made pennants unisex, that gave me the chance to play against the men players and get a better standard of tennis." Balodis is aiming to make the most of her home-ground advantage when the national seniors championships are held in Canberra in January. Canberra's Sue Cowie is a finalist in Tennis Australia's volunteer of the year category. Kyrgios joins Lleyton Hewitt, Sam Stosur and Casey Dellacqua as finalists for the Newcombe Medal on November 24.

One step at a time

Canberra's Mark Bourne still refuses to take an elevator. The stair-climbing champion will line up at the bottom of 88 floors, 1642 steps, in a bid to win his fourth successive Eureka Climb up Melbourne's tallest building. Bourne took out the race last year and broke his own race record. Unsurprisingly, he is the No.1 seed for the event on November 19; surprisingly the rankings are sanctioned by Stair Climbing Australia (who knew?). A public servant with the Environment Department, Bourne has habitually been scaling tall buildings for a long time, and last year he took out the Vertical World Circuit, a series of races up some of the world's tallest edifices. Twelfth seed James Stewart, from Canberra, will also compete. The winner will win a trip to Vienna for the Danube Tower stair climb in January, although Bourne already booked his spot in that by winning the Sydney stair climb earlier this year.

Billie's impressive body of work

He's a personal trainer by day, a security guard by night, and a hip-hop dance choreographer as well. But Billie Paea is off to the United States to try to prove himself as one of the best natural bodybuilders in the world. Having won the ACT natural bodybuilding titles for the past three years and the Australian title this year, Paea – also a former 100m sprinter – has qualified for the Natural Olympia in San Diego and Musclemania in Las Vegas later this year. While his athletic background gave him a good head start in bodybuilding, his dance skills have also come in handy. "My hip-hop background really helps me with my posing routines, and I feel it has allowed me to stand out from the rest," Paea said. "It's every athlete's dream to take their talent to the world stage. I want to set a new standard in the sport of natural bodybuilding." Paea is looking for sponsorship to help fund the trip and can be contacted at billypaea@gmail.com.

Canberra drivers revved up

Have you run out of petrol watching a gripping Bathurst 1000? Not the 15 Canberrans who have entered the Winton 300, regarded as the pinnacle of club-level endurance car racing in Australia. Canberra Hydraulics Future Racer pilot Nathan Jess and his co-driver, Matthew Thompson, lead a contingent of 15 ACT drivers who will take on the 100-lap journey around the Victorian circuit on the weekend of November 8-9. Jess is a two-time winner of Goulburn's Wakefield 300, a sister event to the Winton 300. But the Victorian track hasn't been so kind to Jess and Thompson, who have qualified on pole the past two years, only to have their day ended by mechanical issues. "The last couple of years have been very frustrating. We've had the fastest car but silly things have gone wrong," Jess said. "We'll be looking to go all the way this time, and the car has been much more reliable at other events this year." The Jess-Thompson combination is one of several Canberra teams entered in future racers: small fibreglass cars powered by motorcycle engines.

Halloween treat for Cavalry fans

The Canberra Cavalry will put on a Halloween treat for fans before the coming Australian Baseball League season. The players will get into the Halloween spirit and dress up as witches, werewolves or warlocks in an exhibition game, along with some ACT "celebrities", at Narrabundah Ballpark on Saturday, November 1. With coach Michael Collins and most of his team arriving in the day or two before, it will be the fans' one and only chance to see the team before their season opener against arch rivals Sydney Blue Sox at the Fort the following Thursday. Entry costs $10 but you can get in for free if you get in the spirit (pun intended) by dressing up in Halloween costume.

Calvin Bruton shoots with the stars

Former Canberra Cannons coach Cal Bruton will display his silky skills on the court when he spearheads the ActewAGL All Stars team in the annual charity game against the ACT media during half-time of the Canberra Capitals' game next Saturday. Bruton has assembled a quality side featuring former Raiders captain Alan Tongue, a couple of retired Capitals – Lucille Bailie and Linda Muir – along with ACT Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr. Offence will be the name of the game, with proceeds going to the Heart Foundation. ActewAGL will chip in $50 for each basket and $100 for every three-pointer.