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 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: