Ex Hull Ionian Chris Skelley was recently awarded an MBE for his services to Judo in the Queen's new years honours. Here’s a brief insight into Chris’ background:
Chris first came to Hull Ionians at the age of 8, from Hessle RUFC. I’ll always remember the first time he joined us, he insisted that he played at Fullback, but it wasn’t long before Sean Carty had him playing in the front row, and that's where he played for the following 10 years. The team that Chris played in was coached all the way through to the colts by Sean, with myself helping out with the forwards. We did have a very good team, winning several Yorkshire Cups along the way. Other team members included the likes of Simon Hammersley, Sam Wilson and Brad Willingham.

Chris soon developed to become an exceptionally good prop, he had the natural ability of making his opposition feel very uncomfortable in the scrum, and his fitness and strength allowed him to excel in open play. Off the field, Chris had such a lovely personality, and he quickly became a popular member of the team.

Chris inherited a rare disorder called Oculocutaneous Albinism, and during his last couple of years with us, his eyesight started to deteriorate. At the age of 17, he made a decision to retire from rugby, he also had to give up his apprenticeship to become a mechanic. We all knew that Chris wouldn’t sit back and do nothing and we were all delighted that he made a decision to concentrate on his other sport of Judo. He trained at his local Judo club in Hull, but his coaches soon realised that he had an exceptional talent and at the age of 19 Chris moved to Walsall to train full time at the British Judo Centre of Excellence. Since the move Chris has been crowned European Champion and won two World Championship bronze medals. In 2019 Chris became ranked world number 1 in the -100kg category, a ranking he still holds to this day. Coming into the Tokyo Paralympics ranked No1 in the world, Chris lived up to expectations by beating USA’s Ben Goodrich in the final to become the Paralympic champion. On winning the Gold medal, Chris said “I’m lost for words, I just want a Pork Pie”

The last couple of years have been a remarkable journey for Chris, in September 2020, he proposed to his girlfriend, Louise Hunt. In August 2021 he won Gold in the 100kg Judo Paralympics, and more recently he was awarded an MBE in the Queens New Years honours. I asked Chris what his thoughts were on receiving such an accolade, his words were “When the news came through I was absolutely ecstatic, I couldn’t believe it, I was gobsmacked. I just do Judo because I love it and to get an MBE for doing something I love, is a huge honour”
Sometimes in life we have hurdles in our way, but Chris has clearly demonstrated that with passion, desire and commitment, the obstacles that we face can be pushed to one side.
We are all so proud of Chris’s achievements and I’m delighted that he will be our guest of honour at the Presidents day pre match lunch on Saturday 29th January, when we play Harrogate. I asked Chris to bring his shiny medals, and hopefully he will give us some words of inspiration. It will be a fantastic day and I hope you can join us.