Locker Room: NBL player Bul Kuol chases unlikely World Cup dream

Bul Kuol grew up in a refugee camp, where the gates were locked at sunset.

"But we got to be kids," the Cairns Taipans player said. "We'd be outside all day, playing soccer, being reckless and exploring. In the environment we were in, you could easily die. But as kids, we were just living life. When danger comes, you run."

Now 26, Kuol finds himself back at his adopted home in Canberra. His resume already includes an NBL rookie of the year award, a stint in France and workouts with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kuol will host a junior camp at Belconnen Basketball Stadium on July 13-14. The coaches on hand are: Sunday Dech, Deng Acuoth (both Adelaide), Deng Deng (Illawarra), Kuany Kuany (Kauhajoen Karhu), Emmanuel Malou (Amartha Hangtuah), and Mango Mathiang (New Zealand).

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What comes after that will be Kuol's most special on-court moment yet.

Having moved to Australia when he was nine, Kuol will represent South Sudan at the FIBA World Cup beginning in August, turning down the chance to play for Australia in favour of a move he hopes will have a greater impact.

Kuol couldn't speak English when he came to Australia with his mother and four siblings. At that point, South Sudan wasn't even its own country.

"I think this World Cup is going to be something that unites the country and paves the way for the next generation. It's given the country hope in a lot of ways," Kuol said.

"A lot of the time our culture focuses on negative events and emotions. This is something that's brought people together in a positive way.

"When we qualified, everybody went crazy, people were running from the crowd to kiss the floor, I've never seen anything like that before.

"You can see how the country has received it. No matter where you're from, what language you speak, they're all cheering for one team. There's no division.

"It's one of the most amazing things I've seen, how people are coming together and sharing this. It's not just us, it's everybody."

Now is the time to talk. If you're still a Civic stadium believer, the ACT Brumbies want to hear from you.

The Brumbies have opened a post-season survey asking fans to evaluate their match day experience at Super Rugby games in Canberra.

The bulk of this debate has been held between the ACT government and major clubs, who have been silenced amid concern they could upset the powerbrokers with the keys to their future funding.

Now fans have a chance to have their say.

It only takes a few clicks for the questions to turn to a stadium in the city, asking fans if their expenditure on travel, food, beverages, and accommodation would increase or decrease if the stadium was in a CBD location.

But what about this year? Which other leisure activities did fans enjoy before and after heading to a Brumbies game in Bruce? Restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs, shopping, museums?

We're tipping most people ticked "nothing" - because Bruce is a ghost town on game day. The ACT government's plans to either redevelop or build a new stadium at Bruce means they must invest in the surrounding precinct to create some sort of match day atmosphere.

The survey then adopts a long-term lens, asking fans to consider how important it is for Canberra to host Brumbies matches.

The hunt for answers comes as the Brumbies move ahead with plans for a short tour of Japan later this year.

Welcome to the Nick Kyrgios Foundation-backed app that can revolutionise how emerging talent manage their rise through the tennis ranks.

Tennis Neutral is an aid for competitive tennis players, parents and coaches to assist their interactions with the Universal Tennis Rating system.

Tennis Australia adopted the UTR system in January 2022, but app developer Ric Curnow says the change caused considerable confusion and stress for those within tennis.

The Tennis Neutral app allows those using the UTR system to put in two player ratings, before spitting out the ratio of games the algorithm predicts players will win.

Users can also plug in a match result to find out which player improved their UTR and which did not.

Curnow had initially planned to develop an algorithm and give it away, before enough people suggested they would pay for it.

Instead of cashing in, Curnow is directing funds to the Nick Kyrgios Foundation for underprivileged youth.

Who says sport and politics don't mix?

ACT Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead and Canberra Raiders recruit Grace Kemp want their voices heard as they throw their support behind voting 'yes' to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

The pair supported Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney during an emotional address at the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday.

Wiradjuri woman Burney outlined why she believes a voice will make practical differences to the lives of Indigenous people and why constitutional recognition is unfinished business.

Muirhead used a Brumbies debacle as a vehicle to educate his Super Rugby teammates about the referendum earlier this year, after Brumbies chairman Matt Nobbs set off alarm bells when he declared the club would not weigh into the Voice debate. That decision was reversed to publicly support the "yes" vote a week later.

Kemp has shifted from the Brumbies' Super W program to join Canberra's NRLW team, with the NRL publicly announcing its support for the referendum.

John Hunt is being remembered as the reason generations of Canberra kids fell in love with athletics and the man who "taught us what inclusion meant".

Tributes are flowing in on social media after the Little Athletics ACT and Corroboree Athletics life member died on Monday morning.

"John has been a steadfast presence at Corroboree for as long as anyone can remember, and leaves behind a wonderful legacy to the club he cherished and to so many of our members who remember him fondly," a Corroborree Athletics statement said.

"He will be greatly missed by Corroboree and the wider athletics community past and present."

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