Remembering Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi with New Fund

Posted on February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 by Jeff

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi Memorial Award Fund in memory of Regina’s Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi.

The Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi Memorial Award Fund was created by Paul’s family to honour his memory and his love of rugby. The awards will recognize leadership and provide support for elite players to compete at a higher level.

About ‘Koby’

Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi

Paul was an athlete who excelled at any sport he played, but it was through rugby that he found a camaraderie like no other. A brotherhood.

Paul joined the Campion Grads when he was 17 and was fortunate to have an exceptional group of veteran players who mentored and developed him both personally and as a player. Whenever Paul was going through dark and tough times in his life, it was his rugby brothers who stepped up and came through for him. They were all there for each other. As a former teammate/mentor of Paul’s stated, “He who sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.”

In his last few months, Paul reminisced fondly about his rugby days and the Grads. He shared many stories about his rugby brothers and had many laughs. He also talked about the opportunity he had to play for the Prairie Fire and travel to Halifax and reflected on those days as some of the best times of his life.

The family wanted to honour Paul’s memory by providing two annual awards to support the game that meant so much to him.

As this is a newly established endowment fund, award amounts and timing of distribution will be dependent on raising the minimum requirements for disbursement. Applications for both awards will open at that time, and deadlines will be provided. Ideally, the Kobayashi family would like to grant two separate awards: the Koby Leadership Award for Campion Grads players only, and the Koby Excellence Award open to all Regina Men’s and Women’s Rugby Clubs.

Koby Leadership Award ($500)

Awarded annually to a current member of the Campion Grads RFC through a nomination process

Koby Excellence Award (Amount TBD)

Awarded annually to assist a current Regina Rugby Club Men’s or Women’s player who could benefit from financial support to travel for a provincial or national level rugby competition. Players planning to travel to participate in a recruitment program or I.D. camp can also qualify.

More details on the two awards are here.

For any further inquiries or clariﬁcations, please email kobymemorialfund@gmail.com

To make a donation towards the Paul ‘Koby’ Kobayashi Memorial Award Fund, go here:

For the Love of the Game Joins the Foundation to Create a New Endowment Fund

Posted on February 20, 2024February 20, 2024 by Jeff

The For the Love of the Game Fund at the Canadian Rugby Foundation was established in January 2024 to act as the endowment fund for the registered not-for-profit organization “For the Love of the Game Experience Ltd.” founded in 2015 by former Canadian international Dave Lougheed. The mission of For the Love of the Game is to “inspire excellence through experience for athletes, coaches and their passionate supporters”.

For the Love of the Game has already partnered with the Foundation on a number of initiatives including sponsorship of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship and the Canadian University Coaching Awards and continues to support initiatives through the Canadian Rugby Foundation that align with its mission, vision and values.

Please visit www.fortheloveofthegame.info for more information about For the Love of the Game.

Fletcher’s Fields Launches 2024 Summer Celebration of Rugby (SCOR)

Posted on February 8, 2024February 8, 2024 by Jeff

We are pleased to support the Fletcher’s Fields 2024 Summer Celebration of Rugby, marking the final season to be played at the historic Fletcher’s Fields in Markham, Ontario. The Foundation’s partnership with all six shareholders of Fletcher’s Fields Limited helped launch the Foundation to new heights at the end of 2021, and we are only too happy to continue our partnership with this summer’s celebration.

The official media release announcing the Summer Celebration of Rugby

Supporters of the UVic Vikes Men’s Rugby Club Start New Fund

Posted on January 18, 2024January 18, 2024 by Jeff

Just as the University of Victoria Vikes were competing in the 2023 Coastal Cup to qualify for the 2023 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship, supporters of the team banded together with Coach Scott Manning to establish the new Vikes Men’s Rugby Supporters Fund. The Vikes Men’s Rugby Supporters Fund was established in October 2023 as a means for the University of Victoria Men’s Rugby program to solicit, invest and use fund earnings, donations and fund-raising proceeds for the long-term and short-term needs of the program. NOTE: The Vikes earned a Silver Medal at the 2023 CUMRC, falling to arch-rivals UBC Thunderbirds in the Championship Final.

Vikes Aspirations
As Coach Manning stated, “As a program, our vision is simple: we’re looking to ‘Grow a World Class University Rugby Program’. Every decision we make attempts to build off the legacy of Vikes Rugby already established and to close the gap between where we are now and where we aspire to be.

Over the past two years, we have made strides to close that gap. We’ve brought in qualified coaches (all former Vikes!). We’ve taken The Boot back from UBC for the first time in a decade. We’ve started multiple community initiatives. We’ve taken a roster of 50% first and second years to a BC Premier League semi-final (the top Sr. Men’s rugby club competition in North America). And we’ve recruited competitively, with 8 out of 24 members from the 2023 Canada U18 team choosing to join our program. The future is bright!

We want to be the #1 choice for Canadian rugby players to develop as players and as people. To be competitive in creating the best national varsity rugby program, we put a premium on creating the right environment, including coaching, tours, equipment, strength & conditioning, educational workshops and more. Your support will directly contribute to building that environment.”

The Fund
The Vikes Men’s Rugby Supporters Fund is the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s first hybrid University Fund. Donations and contributions to this Fund consist of two parts. The first is intended to address the long-term needs of the rugby team or program through an endowment funded by 50% of the donations and fundraising. These monies are invested in perpetuity, and only disbursements of the earnings of the fund are permitted. The second 50% of donations and fundraising contributions are intended to address the short-term needs of the program through disbursements towards annual operating expenses. There is no limit to the disbursements from this part of the fund.

As is the case with all of the Foundation’s funds, any donation to the new Vikes Fund is eligible for a charitable tax receipt. These donations may be made on a one-time or monthly basis, by cheque, bank wire, credit or debit card, PayPal, or stock transfer.

Further details on the Vikes Men’s Rugby Supporters Fund, and a link to make donations to the Fund are here:

Rick Bourne Among 2023 Inductees into Rugby Canada Hall of Fame

Posted on December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Jeff

December 12, 2023 (Langford, BC) – Rugby Canada is pleased to announce the Hall of Fame class for 2023. Nine Canadian rugby icons will have their distinguished careers celebrated forever as they enter the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame.

Since the inaugural Class of 2016, the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame has recognized and welcomed the most dedicated and decorated members of Canada’s rugby community to its growing list.

The Rugby Canada Hall of Fame was established to honour and preserve rugby’s culture and heritage in Canada by recognizing the extraordinary achievements of rugby participants throughout our country.

“This year’s class of inductees to the Rugby Canada Hall of Fame showcases nine outstanding women and men who have brought honour and fame, on and off the field, to the history of rugby in Canada,” said Mike Luke, Chair Rugby Canada’s Hall of Fame Project Team. “Their skills as former international rugby players and match officials, administrators and leaders in the game, has made them great contributors to Canada’s place in the world of rugby.”

Inductees will be celebrated at the 2024 HSBC Vancouver Sevens on Saturday February 24, 2024. Tickets for the HSBC Vancouver Sevens can be purchased at vansevens.com.

Please view a brief overview of the inductees below and click on the corresponding links to learn more about each inductee’s outstanding contributions to the sport of rugby in Canada.

CLASS OF 2023

RICK BOURNE – BUILDER

Bourne has held several positions at the national and international levels, serving on Rugby Canada’s Board of Directors from 2003 to 2019, including five years as President. He was Canada’s Rugby Americas North representative from 2012 to 2019 and currently holds an active position on the board of HSBC Vancouver Sevens as well as director roles with the Canadian Rugby Foundation and the Canadian Rugby 7s Fund. Rick is also a long-time Contributing Member to the Canadian Rugby Foundation Contributing Member.

Click Here For Full Bio

Complete 2023 Class Announcement: https://rugby.ca/en/news/2023/12/rugby-canada-announces-hall-of-fame-class-of-2023

Maria Samson Appointed Chair of the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship

Posted on December 6, 2023December 7, 2023 by Jeff

As previously announced on November 16 at the 2023 Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship banquet, Maria Samson has been appointed the Chair of the CUMRC Organizing Committee effective January 1, 2024.

Maria joined the CUMRC Board in January 2020 while she was still head coach for the Mount Royal University (MRU) Men’s Rugby team, and a member of the Rugby Canada Board of Directors. She was a highly decorated member of the Canadian Senior Women’s team as the 2012 Women’s XVs Rugby Canada Player of the Year and a 2014 Rugby World Cup Silver medalist. She also counts time with the McGill University Martlets, SABRFC, Windsor Rogues, Fort McMurray Knights, Alberta Wolfpack, Calgary Hornets and Calgary Saints, as well as travelling teams the Dog River Howlers, Stars Rugby and Canadian Classics.

Since joining the CUMRC Board, Maria has also served as Vice Chair of Rugby Canada, and only retired as the MRU head coach following their 2023 playoff run. Her CUMRC duties kept expanding and included her roles as our social media creator, broadcast commentator, Instagram interviewer and tournament director at the 2022 and 2023 championships, our rules and regulations head, and beginning in 2023, CUMRC Vice Chair.

Maria takes the reins from Jeff Chan, the current Chair and co-founder of the CUMRC in 2017. As has been recounted numerous times, in 2015-16, Jeff had been frustrated by the lack of a national university championship in Men’s Rugby which led to all university programs eending their schedules after their conference championships. Working with fellow co-founders Mike Holmes of the Canadian Rugby Foundation, which became the lead CUMRC financial sponsor, Doug Tate, the long-time head coach of the University of Victoria Vikes, and Bishop’s University rugby alumnus Keith Labbett, the foundation was laid at the inaugural 6-team tournament hosted by the University of Guelph in 2017. Except for the 2020 COVID year, the CUMRC has met all but one of its goals:

grown (from 29 to 33 teams competing to qualify, and 8 teams in the tournament);
helped develop the calibre and depth of university men’s players and programs across the country;
been recognised as a crucial step in the pathway towards Canada’s Men’s senior team; and
established and maintained the national university men’s rugby championship.

The lone exception is gaining the endorsement of Men’s Rugby by U SPORTS as an official sport, (as is the case for Women’s Rugby) and as it has been the case with the OUA and RSEQ conferences for many years. This remains a work in progress by Rugby Canada.

It is now time for the CUMRC to take another step in its evolution, with Maria taking the lead, working with the University of Ottawa as the 2024 host, coordinating the University Men’s Rugby Coaches Association, and working with the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s University Rugby Supporters Fund to continue to develop university Rugby Coaches across Canada.

Good luck Maria!

Tattyannah Jackson Wins Inaugural Rick Bourne Rugby Award

Posted on November 29, 2023December 7, 2023 by Jeff

Following the announcement of the new Rick Bourne Rugby Award during his induction into the BC Rugby Hall of Fame, in June 2023, we are now pleased to announce the inaugural winner of the Award, Tattyannah Jackson of East Gwillimbury, Ontario.

Tattyannah Jackson

Tattyannah is a third-year student at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON majoring in Sociology and Psychology. Her background in rugby has been relatively short, but has rapidly developed to a starting prop position on the Queen’s University Gaels, a top-3 university women’s rugby program in Canada, and a selection to the Ontario senior women’s and Canada’s U20 team in 2023. Her earlier development has come through the high school system and the Aurora Barbarians RFC with coach Nick Daniels.

Of her experience at Queen’s, she says “My time at Queen’s has been a wild ride over the last three years. I’ve had to take the time to discover myself as a person and a player. This team has helped me come out of my shell, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My experience here has been one-of-a-kind, thrilling, and once-in-a-lifetime, and has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment.

On her selection to the U20 team this past summer, Tattyannah says, “Being able to represent Canada’s U20 program has been one of my most recent accomplishments. It was an incredible opportunity to meet other female rugby players and play alongside some of the best players in the country. It taught me a lot to be able to play with such amazing women, and it meant a lot to form new friendships within that community. Knowing that my efforts and hard work were ultimately worthwhile gave me confidence and dignity. Moving forward, my goal will be to continue in the Canada age-grade program, with the goal of one day representing Canada at the senior women’s level.”

Looking ahead, her aspirations in rugby burn bright. “ I’m resolutely focused on donning the U23 Canada jersey, an honour that would signify a remarkable progression in my rugby career. Beyond that, I am steadfast in my commitment to reaching the pinnacle of the sport: the senior women’s team. The thought of representing my country on the international stage and competing at a Rugby World Cup fuels my training and propels me forward. Each step I take, both on and off the field, is driven by the indomitable spirit that rugby instilled in me.

Rick Bourne Rugby Award

The Rick Bourne Rugby Award provides an annual financial award of $2,000 and aims to support students of any gender who are actively involved in playing rugby in Canada. This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of Rick Bourne, a prominent figure in the Canadian rugby community for over six decades. Rick Bourne’s leadership, passion and generosity have made a significant impact on rugby in Canada, making this award a deserving tribute to his legacy. The awards will be funded from donations to the endowment fund and earnings on the fund’s assets. More details on the award are here.

“We had many impressive candidates apply which is hopefully a fantastic sign of where rugby is headed in this country,” said Rick Bourne. “The selection criteria for this award consisted of a candidate’s active participation in rugby, a commitment to stay engaged in the sport and an overall commitment to the rugby community positively impacting the sport both on and off the field. Tattyannah Jackson, this year’s winner, is a testament to Tattyannah’s commitment to rugby and we very much look forward to this continued dedication to the sport and watching Tattyannah’s rugby career well into the future.”

On being notified of her award, Tattyannah stated, “I am truly honoured and grateful to be the first recipient of the Rick Bourne Rugby Award. Rick Bourne’s legacy in rugby is inspiring, and receiving this recognition is not only a personal achievement but also a reminder of the values and dedication that make rugby a special sport. I am thankful for the support and encouragement from the rugby community, and I look forward to continuing to contribute to the spirit of the game.”

Brooklyn Harrison wins 2023 Judy Seddon Memorial Award

Posted on September 6, 2023October 3, 2023 by Jeff

On what would have been Judy’s 67 th birthday, we would like to announce the winner of the 2023 Judy Seddon Memorial Award. This scholarship is awarded annually to a young woman who is involved in rugby in Alberta as an athlete, referee, coach or volunteer, selected on the basis of community service and academics, who is or will be enrolled in a post-secondary institution.

Brooklyn Harrison is a student at the University of Prince Edward Island entering her first year of a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Biology and a specialization in Life Sciences. She is a multi-sport athlete who started playing rugby in high school. She overcame significant challenges while finishing high school and maintaining involvement in athletics. She was the head coach of the Calgary Rams’ U5 minis rugby program, volunteer coach at Lord Beaverbrook High School girls’ rugby program, and is now
joining the UPEI Panthers varsity rugby team. She is honored to represent Judy by giving back to women’s rugby.

We would like to thank all the applicants and their references for taking the time to apply, and encourage anyone who wishes to apply (or re-apply) next year to mark May 1st in their calendar when applications for the 2024 award open.

More information on the Award and the application process is here, where you can also make a donation to help support future awards.

Canadian Rugby Loses a Titan: RIP Bill Webb

Posted on August 31, 2023August 31, 2023 by Jeff

Sad news as we lost Bill Webb, a Canadian Rugby Foundation Board member and CRF Investment Committee member, on August 28. He will be sorely missed by all in the Canadian rugby community and remembered for all his contributions to rugby in this country at the club, university, national, and professional levels.

William “Bill” Reid Webb passed away peacefully at North York General Hospital on Monday, August 28th, 2023, in the presence of family after a bout of prostate cancer.

Bill was the loving son of the late Roberta Webb (née Heard) and was survived by his father, William A. Webb. He was the beloved husband and “the rock” to Dr. Agnes Wong for more than 26 years. Devoted and proud father of sons James and Stephen. Loving brother to Robert J. Webb, brother-in-law to Noriko, and a caring uncle to Masato and Aiko. Bill’s unwavering dedication to his family truly reflected his character.

Bill was born in Toronto, Ontario. Throughout his 59 years, Bill led a life of accomplishments filled with adventures. He was a proud graduate of Wilfred Laurier University (BBA ‘86). After spending two years working in the UK and travelling extensively around the world, including being a trekking guide in the Himalayas, he went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration degree from McGill University (MBA ‘93), where he met his wife and soulmate, Agnes. Bill had a long and distinguished career, including being the Executive Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer at Gluskin Sheff + Associates (1995-2015), a founding partner and later an advisor at Waypoint Investment Partners (2017-present), and most recently, the Co-Founder and President of the Toronto Arrows Rugby Football Club (2018-present), photos of which can be found here:

Rugby was a fundamental part of Bill’s life, from his early days with Brantford Collegiate Institute, the Brantford Harlequins, and the Laurier Golden Hawks to leading Canada’s first and only professional rugby union team. He also served on the Rugby Canada Board of Directors, co-chaired the campaign for building the Al Charron National Training Centre, and passionately supported the Toronto Inner-City Rugby Foundation (TIRF). His friends and family will deeply miss him, as he left a lasting legacy in the rugby community.

Bill will be remembered as a loyal friend and compassionate man who believed in giving back to the community through his actions and philanthropy. His legacy of kindness and integrity will live on in the hearts of those who had the opportunity to know him.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests a donation be made in memory of Bill to TIRF (https://tirfrugby.ca/make-a-difference/donate/), the Canadian Cancer Society (https://cancer.ca/en/) or True Patriot Love (https://truepatriotlove.com/).

The family will receive visitors at Kane-Jerrett Funeral Homes (6191 Yonge St, Toronto, ON) on September 8th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Another brief visitation will be held from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on September 9th, followed directly by a funeral mass at Blessed Trinity Parish (3220 Bayview Ave, North York, ON). The funeral service will be followed immediately by a reception at the Miller Tavern (3885 Yonge St, Toronto, ON) from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kanejerrettnorthyork.ca for the Webb family.