Badminton ace nets county award

Chris Spice has retired from senior county badminton and been presented the president’s award for services to Sussex.

Hastings-based Spice received the accolade from Sussex County Badminton Association president Malcolm Pratt, who was a big influence on his career.

Now 36, Spice first picked up a racket at the age of nine and by the time he was 11, was already representing Hastings juniors, then managed by Pratt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He went on to represent Sussex from under-12 to under-16 level and was county junior champion in each age group. Aged 18, Spice and Richard Pringle, also from Hastings, attained an English national doubles ranking of nine at under-19 level.

Spice received his first senior county cap in 1993 and played in Premier A of the Inter-County Championships for Sussex against former world number one and Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson and many of England’s top players.

He has been Sussex Senior Restricted champion three times during his career and has captained the senior first team on many occasions. With a remarkable 114 senior appearances, Spice is the highest capped men’s player in Sussex badminton.

Spice would like to say a huge thank you to his family and former coach ‘VJ’ (an ex-Sri Lanka international player) for their help and support over the years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Along with Sheldon Chambers (another stalwart of Sussex badminton), Spice is now putting his knowledge and skills back into the game by helping the development of talented local players. He would like to wish them luck and success in the coming season.

Related topics: