Canberra sporting team's mistaken identity in liquidation notice

Liquidator Frank Lo Pilato and the Canberra Brave have moved to ease concerns about the ice hockey franchise after a notice on the ASIC website sent a shock through the Canberra sporting community.

RSM Australia's Lo Pilato has been appointed the liquidator after a general meeting of the CBR Brave Canberra Pty Ltd on Tuesday "resolved that the company be wound up".

A separate notice issued on the same day invited creditors to prove their debts or claims by May 14.

It prompted a flurry of calls to the Brave, who are under a new ownership, about the team and whether it would impact the Australian Ice Hockey League campaign.

The situation caught the Brave's new(ish) owners off-guard. But after rifling through documents, it was confirmed the CBR Brave Canberra Pty Ltd was a different company than the one currently in charge of the team.

The new name is the Canberra Brave Ice Hockey Pty Ltd, with owner Stephen Campbell in charge and Steve Moeller as the chief operating officer.

Lo Pilato told Locker Room the two were completely separate entities and the team wouldn't be impacted at all. "It's just a decision has been made to deregister the [CBR Brave Canberra] company," Lo Pilato said.

The Brave have moved away from the CBR branding this year to bring "Canberra" back into the name on their jerseys.

Campbell is in his second season as the licence holder. He is, interestingly, also the director of Cruachan Investments, which is the company behind the design and construction, and owning and operating model for the new ice rink in Canberra to be built in Greenway.

Cruachan and Pelligra Holdings have a heads of agreement to build the facility, which was first floated as part of the 2016 election campaign.

The ACT government has committed more than $16 million to the project, but Campbell said it could cost more than $50 million in total.

The Brave is struggling to get momentum on the ice this season. The team has one win from six games, but have a chance to get back on track when it hosts Newcastle on Saturday night.

The Brumbies pursued every avenue possible in the hope of making a trip down memory lane at Manuka Oval work this season.

They initially set their sights on having their first home game at Manuka, but that was scrapped because of logistical challenges.

They then explored the option of moving a clash against the Canterbury Crusaders across town, but that is now off the cards as well and the game will be at Canberra Stadium on May 18.

The Brumbies-Crusaders match will double as a championship reunion for the Canberra side as they celebrate 20 years since beating the Crusaders in the final. The Brumbies haven't beaten the Crusaders in 15 years. Now might be a good time to get them given the Super Rugby powerhouse is perhaps at its lowest ebb in history.

And it's probably fitting the game will be at Canberra Stadium - the same venue where the 2004 final was played. But Manuka was an option and considered a nice heritage touch given the club played a game there in 1996.

In the end, the hurdles - through no one's fault - proved too great to jump over. So all home games will be at Canberra Stadium this year. It doesn't mean Manuka is now forgotten as a historic rugby venue, and the Brumbies will still investigate it in the future, but just not this year.

Locker Room took a lovely call from Queensland yesterday morning. Malcolm McCouat, 83, thought to get in touch because of the Anzac Day AFL match at Manuka Oval.

Mal's father, John Battison McCouat, grew up in Canberra and was a champion footballer in the local competition in the 1930s, a source of pride his son wanted to share with us.

John enlisted in the air force during World War II as a navigator, dying when his Beaufighter collided with a Spitfire on takeoff at an airstrip in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1944.

Mal was a toddler at the time and never met his dad, but thinks of him often. He laid an engraved stone at his grave when he visited the "lovely cemetery" some years ago.

"I was told he was a champion bloke as well as a champion footballer. I've always missed him. The absence is hard, like it is for a lot of people affected by the war. It affected us a great deal," he said.

Mal's wife Christine was a baby when she and her family fled Singapore after the Japanese invasion. Both 83, they support the Lions and were cheering for a victory at Manuka. Mal doesn't know which club his dad played for here in Canberra. If you do, then please get in touch and we'll pass the details on.

It turns out not all Canberra Raiders fans were losers in Brisbane last weekend. Just ask Phoenix Myers, and try to wipe the smile off his face despite the Broncos shellacking.

The Raiders gave Phoenix the red carpet treatment and at the same time offered a glimpse into the often unseen side of coach Ricky Stuart.

Not surprisingly the 10-year-old had an amazing time when he ran out with Raiders captain Joe Tapine. On top of that, Phoenix got a five-minute chat with Stuart - who signed his jersey, and gave him some high-fives and fist bumps.

But the moment that perhaps sets the Raiders and Stuart apart was when the coach signed "thank you" in Auslan to Phoenix.

It's just one example of the good work footy clubs can do behind the scenes, with the Ricky Stuart Foundation helping organise Phoenix's first ever day at the footy.

Phoenix has autism and is non-verbal - but said, "Hello Ricky" using his augmentative-alternative communication device.

The only thing missing on the day was the win, but an invite to experience the Viking clap at Canberra Stadium in the future will no doubt help with that.

"Phoenix had an amazing time. He was taking it all in and wanted to go everywhere and look at everything," his mum Jaymee-Lee said.

"He got to meet Ricky Stuart and he loved that. He's just a really nice guy.

"He took to him straight away and was really comfortable with him - giving him hugs and high fives and fist bumps.

"He signed his jersey and we were probably talking to him for about five minutes, which was really nice of him that he took that time out when it would be a hectic schedule.

"He had the best time. It was amazing."

Eagle-eyed golf fans spotted something strange at Canberra's most prestigious, and best manicured, course earlier this month.

Royal Canberra unleashed a robot mower on the eighth fairway to test its capabilities and whether it might be the future of keeping golf courses in top condition.

The trial was organised by Dint Golf Solutions, with the mower heading towards the bunker before sensing a change ahead and then turning around and coming back.

There are already automatic line-markers in use at sports fields around Canberra. Robot mowers might be the next to take over.

The good news was flowing out at Netball ACT this week, and not just because the first of their multimillion-dollar court upgrades was finished.

Six rising stars were picked in Australian developments squads as the capital tries to build the junior base to hopefully have more players in Super Netball and, eventually the Diamonds.

Capital Darters star Olivia Clark was the first on the list. She was named in the inaugural First Nations invitational team, which will consist of 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island players from around the country. They will play in the Pacific Netball series in Brisbane from June 10-15.

Her news was swiftly followed by more young guns getting their chance. Alice Henman has been picked in the Australian under-19s side, with Sophia Martinussen and Ashley Weller in the under-17s squad.

Liam Platt is in the under-20s men's team and Llandon Vergano and Dylan Bryant are in the under-17s boys' group. The next hurdle for all will be national camps later this year.

Hockey ACT has cleaned up at the Pride in Sport Australia awards, again, after bagging the gold-tier award for the third consecutive year.

It's another feather in the cap for chief executive Rob Sheekey and his team, who have worked tirelessly to make the sport more inclusive in recent years. If Hockey ACT reaches gold-tier status again next year, they will be elevated to platinum.

What does it all mean and why should we care? Because hockey has created one of the most inclusive sporting environments in Australia.

Canberra star Davis Atkin was nominated as the LGBTQ role model of the year after becoming the first openly gay man to play international hockey for Australia.

In the past year Hockey ACT has hosted a pride round, appointed nine pride ambassadors and improved the governance structure.

"We at Hockey ACT have been focusing in this space, to ensure we provide a safe and welcoming environment for all," said Hockey ACT's participation and engagement manager Jolanta Moore. "Although there is still a long way to go; receiving recognition for our efforts, lets us know we are headed in the right direction."

Canberra sporting fans - and even non-sporting fans - have unleashed in a survey about the on-again, off-again stadium plan.

We had plenty of feedback about cheekily suggesting City Hill as a new location last week, and more ideas came flooding in after the survey went live this week.

Some are furious we're still talking about it after 15 years. Others are adamant the money would be spent better elsewhere. Some of the best suggestions we've seen so far include building the stadium at the Hyperdome (now known as "South Point"). We'd like to see that.

A sample of these responses sums up the frustration at the delays. "The solution is obvious (Bruce). Get it done," one participant said.

"Get on with it and make it something we can be proud of and not half baked! Even New Zealand has a stadium with a roof," another added.

There's still time to take the survey. Click or touch here to have your say.