In a previous life Zack played gridiron for Australia, making the team after a relatively short time in the code. He also spent time in the defence force in Afghanistan.

With those careers behind him, he is now channelling his considerable energies into making a difference and, every day, he deals with at least 30 young people at risk or homeless.

He works with abused kids and kids who, at times, have nobody but Zack looking out for them. He is a guiding force as they try to navigate the day-to-day uncertainty of life on the streets.

In this day and age it’s hard to comprehend that we have young people living on the streets in Canberra, but we are indebted to the likes of Youth Care for looking out for them. Such is the demand they are raising funds to put a second youth worker on the streets.

SEVENTEEN-year-old Canberra swimmer, Ben Freeman, has now set his sights on the legendary ice swims, having conquered the English Channel.

Ben says he is now looking at the ice swims, which require the swimmer to complete about 1.5 kilometres in water of a certain temperature. Needless to say, the water is very cold. It’s a swim that can be done anywhere in the world so long as the water is cold.

Good luck to Ben as he works towards his next goal.

THE push by the Canberra Capitals to play its home WNBL games at the Convention Centre could provide an early indicator of what life will be like for sport as part of the City to the Lake concept.

The team was forced to look at other options because its regular home court, the AIS Arena, was going to be out of action for refurbishment midway through the season.

The renovation has since been postponed, but the Capitals had already started looking at other options. The Royal Theatre at the Convention Centre has been used for sport; most recently for the Australian Open Squash titles.

Once the basketball flooring is in, there’s room for about 2000 people, perfect for regular season games.

More importantly, it’s closer to Civic, which might make going to the basketball more attractive for many people.

It’s perfect for the ACT government as it presses ahead with plans for the new indoor stadium on the site of the Civic Olympic Pool.

If the deal goes ahead and the Capitals play eight home games at the Convention Centre it will allow the government to test public response to playing major sport in the city precinct.