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Contributing to Society through Sports
Support by the Kobe Steel Rugby Club for reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, special sponsorship for high school rugby, and support for women's rugby-Contributing to society through sports is one of the Kobe Steel Group's distinctive activities. This Close Up gives a taste of our unique social contributions aimed at broadening the base of sports, nurturing the next generation of athletes, and energizing people in the community.
Contributions by the Kobe Steel Rugby Club, the Kobelco Steelers
(1) Scoring a Try for Reconstruction! Disaster Support in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture
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On June 2 and 3, 2012, the Kobelco Steelers visited Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture and engaged in disaster support activities together with Kamaishi's rugby team, the Kamaishi Seawaves RFC. Around 80 players and staff members spent about three hours removing wreckage and driftwood as well as mud that had accumulated in ditches along Kamaishi's Nebama Coast. Team members also joined a get-together with local residents and held a rugby workshop for almost 100 elementary, junior and senior high school students. Mixed teams consisting of elementary school students and players from both clubs played a match, making for a fun rugby workshop.
This visit was the fulfillment of a desire on the part of the two teams, both of which had experienced a major earthquake, to help with reconstruction together. We sincerely hope that the disaster-afflicted areas will recover as soon as possible.
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Cleaning up wreckage left by the tsunami along the Nebama Coast
Enjoying oshiruko, a sweet soup made with red azuki beans, served by locals
Joint practice with the Kamaishi Seawaves RFC
Rugby workshop where children were full of smiles
Handing out presents to children who participated in the workshop
"We were energized by the bright and happy children."
Daiki Hashimoto, Captain
Kobelco Steelers
Reconstruction still has a long way to go, but the people living in the area were full of energy. During the rugby workshop, the children were really so cheerful that I feel they energized us, instead of the other way around. We were only able to do very little. But, I hope that by doing that little bit over and over again, we can keep helping the community move toward recovery.
(2) Kobe Steel Old Boys Team and Nippon Steel Kamaishi Old Boys Team Hold V7 Charity Match!
Former star players battling it
out
Players call for sustained
reconstruction
support.
Veteran members of the Kobelco Steelers and the Nippon Steel Kamaishi Rugby Club along with the NPO Scrum Kamaishi, both of which are based in the earthquake–hit city of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, held a V7 Charity Match at the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, which is a sacred place in Japanese rugby, on September 23, 2012 in an effort to support reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Thirty-three veteran members from Kobe Steel participated while more than 2,500 spectators thronged to the venue. Donations raised in a charity drive after the match went through Scrum Kamaishi to help support disaster-afflicted areas.
The two teams, which had both experienced
a major earthquake, share a single hope.
(3) Raised Funds Presented to the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation
Presentation ceremony with Captain Hashimoto
in attendance
The Kobe Steel Rugby Club conducted the Kobelco Steeler Fund Drive at the venue of every match it played in the Japan Rugby Top League 2011-2012 season, from the opening match to the Japan Rugby Championship. The raised funds plus a portion of the proceeds from the KOBELCO Rugby Festival 2012 were presented to the Japan Spinal Cord Foundation. The Rugby Club has continued to make donations to the Foundation for 10 years, as spinal cord damage is an injury to which rugby players are susceptible.
Special Sponsorship for High School Rugby
(1) KOBELCO Cup 2012 Held to Nurture Japan's Next Generation
Participants who heated up the field at Nagano
Sugadaira-Kogen
The KOBELCO Cup 2012 (including the 8th All Japan High School Combined Teams Rugby Football Competition and the 2nd All Japan High School Women's Rugby Sevens Competition), of which the Kobe Steel Group is a special sponsor, was held at the Nagano Sugadaira-Kogen Sania Park from July 31 to August 3. It is hoped that the competitors who appeared in this contest will make good showings as leading players in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, in which men's and women's rugby sevens will be an official event, and in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which Japan will host for the first time. The Kobe Steel Group is committed to contributing to the popularization and strengthening of rugby in the future through the KOBELCO Cup and other events.
(2) Shoot for the Olympics!
Supporting the Popularization of Women's Ruby Sevens
Come on girls! Heroines of Rio de Janeiro
As of the KOBELCO Cup 2012, women's rugby sevens has been given a serious tournament format, the same as for the men. The country was divided into eight regional blocks with regions competing against each other. The team that came out on top in the Kanto region took the cup. The Kobe Steel Group holds workshops for beginners and inexperienced players to help spread the popularity of women's rugby.
Diverse Support for Sports
(1) Nadahama Sports Zone Opened to the Public as a Place of Exchange Through Sports
Artificial turf field open to the
public
Adjacent to the base for the Kobe Steel Rugby Club, the Nadahama Sports Zone, which has an artificial turf field and tennis courts, has been opened to the public. The facility loans out some equipment so that the field can be used for rugby, soccer, and ground golf. The Sports Zone is serving as a place of exchange among people who love sports, including local schools and rugby and soccer club teams.
(2) Supporting Sports NPO SCIX
Trying Space Ball
The objective of NPO SCIX is to contribute to the local community through sports based on its principle of providing opportunities for all people to enjoy sports.
SCIX came up with Space Ball, an original sport that helps children to increase their physical abilities while having fun and to cultivate a broad perspective and the ability to assess situations. SCIX invites children out to the field and teaches them how to play Space Ball.
Approving of SCIX's idea, Kobe Steel opens the field and dispatches instructors to support SCIX's activities.
