North Canterbury News: November 07, 2019

MAINPOWER NORTH CANTERBURY SPORTS AWARDS
12 North Canterbury News, November 7, 2019
Kazuma aces
top regional
sports award
By ROBYN BRISTOW
Kazuma Kobori was just seven
years old when he joined the
Rangiora Golf Club and set his
sights on becoming an
accomplished golfer.
Adecade later, he has astring
of successes to show for his
hours of practice and
dedication to the sport.
The talented teenage golfer
was named the MainPower 2019
North Canterbury Supreme
Sport Award winner at a
ceremony in Ohoka last Friday
evening.
The 18th annual awards,
hosted by the North Canterbury
Sports Trust and led by master
of ceremonies Jendy Harper,
celebrated the region’s best
sporting talent.
Kazuma was unable to be on
hand to accept the Supreme
Award as he was playing in a
tournament in Auckland, but
spoke via video of being
honoured to be named the
winner.
He said, to date, the highlight
of his chosen career was
winning the New Zealand
Professional Golfers
Association (NZ PGA)
Championship at Pegasus
earlier this year.
The Rangiora High School
17­year­old, who caddied for
himself at the tournament, won
by four shots with a21­under
267 tournament total, winning
the Sir Bob Charles Trophy as
the leading New Zealand
player, but not the winner’s
purse of $125,000 because of his
amateur status.
Kazumo stressed the support
from the Rangiora Golf Club
and Pegasus Golf &Sports Club
as being integral to his success.
Kazuma had earlier taken out
the N.F. Preen Contracting
Sportsman award.
The awards evening
celebrated everything from dog
trialling, sailing,
mountainbiking, croquet and
basketball, to rugby, cricket,
crossfit, archery, golf and
athletics.
Sports award winners were:
Active Health junior
sportswoman: Esra McGoldrick
(basketball).
Rangiora New World junior
sportsman: Fletcher Newell
(rugby).
Pegasus Golf &Sports Club
sports coach: Liam Connelly
(basketball).
McAlpines Mitre 10 athlete
The master and the apprentice ... Golfing great Sir Bob Charles, from Oxford, with Rangiora High School
student Kazuma Kobori, after the teenager’s win in the New Zealand Professional Golfers’ Association
Championship at the Pegasus Golf and Sports Club earlier this year.
PHOTO: FILE
with adisability: Kyle Harpur
(athletics).
The Sports Shop sports team:
Glenmark Cheviot Division 1
rugby team.
Rangiora Vet Centre master
sportsperson: Sara Schist
(crossfit).
All Insure sports official: Kim
Cotton.
R. Grant Electrical
sportswoman: Grace Brooker
(rugby).
N.F. Preen Contracting
sportsman: Kazuma Kabori
(golf).
BNZ, Harcourts Four Seasons
Reality &Hurunui District
Council service to sport:
Gordon Wong (basketball), Mike
Smart (BMX), John Hamilton
(cricket).
Injury Prevention Waimak club
of the year:(Peter Allen Safe
Sport award): Rangiora
Croquet Club.
Waimakariri District Council
sports event: NCBA South
Island Primary School
Basketball tournament.
Supreme sports award: Kazuma
Kabori.
MainPower youth sport
scholarship finalists: Helen
Jones (basketball), Rececca
Jones (archery), Gabrielle
Rennie (football), Jacob Turner
(mountainbiking), Olivia Sloan
(archery), George Prain
(Rugby), Blair Currie (football).
Runners up: Angus Kelliher
(swimming), Macey Fraser
(football&futsal).
Winner: Kazuma Kabori (golf).
Success celebrated ... The
awards drew alarge crowd.
PHOTOS: RICHARD CONNELLY FROM GAMEFACE
Active Health junior sportswoman ... Basketballer Esra McGoldrick,
centre, with the Active Health team, from left, Bevan Lawson, Simon
Wheeler, Kirwan Franke, John Roach and Mark Hollands.
Youthful sailors ... Members of the Waimakariri Sailing Club youth
team who were finalists in the team of the year award, from left, manager
Joanna Lowrey, Georgina Lowrey, Dominic Pulley, Alex Humphrey and
coach Jeff O’Leary. Ben Lowrey is absent.
Honoured ... Ann Rogers, from R. Grant Electrical,
with sportswoman winner Grace Brooker.
Recognition ... Robin Brown, from Rangiora New
World, withjunior sportsman winner Fletcher Newell.