A Legacy to Friendship: The Tariq Rafi Prizetariq

In tribute for someone we were proud to call our friend. Tariq Rafi passed away on May 31, 2015, after determinedly sustaining multiple rounds of treatment so that he could have as much time as possible with the family and friends he cherished.

Tariq was a member of the Buccaneer Rugby club for many years. After his playing days he would show up on occasion at practices to get a run in but most would remember him showing up at the pub for any type of occasion. Prior to the Buccaneer’s, Tariq also played for the Ottawa Indians in his home town and at Trent University.

To honour and remember him, people whose lives were enriched by Tariq have created a Trent University award in his honour. The Tariq Rafi Prize is given to a Trent rugby player who shows strength, courage and perseverance, on the field and off.

Already, people who admired Tariq have donated enough to make the award a reality. In fact, the first-ever Tariq Rafi Prize of $1,000 was awarded at the 2016 Trent athletics banquet. The first recipient was a very humbled and grateful, Charlie Tremblay. Charlie is admired by his teammates and is a very active member of the Trent community – just as Tariq always was.

Now, we’re trying to build up the fund up so that next year’s winner will be given a $2,000 award. To do that, we need to get to $50,000. We’ve now surpassed $36,000 in donations, and with your help, we think there’s a great opportunity for the Prize to continue to grow in future years.

We can do this for Tariq. He never quit – either on the pitch or if he could help a friend – and neither will we.

You can learn more at www.rafiprize.org. There’s a link to a Trent University page, where you can make your tax-deductible donation.

Thanks for considering a donation.