Christopher Skelley

Started: He took up the sport at age five. (emergingproud.com, 20 Apr 2020) Reason: He played rugby growing up and started judo as a way of improving his fitness and to socialise. He worked as an apprentice car mechanic but was let go when his sight started to deteriorate. "I made sure I was still doing competitions and someone spotted me at one when I was wearing a blindfold. I was beating people at a national level and was asked if I wanted to start travelling with the team and fighting internationally. I thought I had to grab that opportunity with both hands because I had no other options." (emergingproud.com, 20 Apr 2020; paralympics.org.uk, 28 Jul 2019, 20 Nov 2018) Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (swindonian.me, 10 Jan 2024) Awards: He was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2022 New Year Honours list. (britishjudo.org.uk, 01 Jan 2022) In 2020 he received the Social Impact Award at UK Sport's PLx awards for his voluntary work for non-profit organisation Phoenix Enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. (uksport.gov.uk, 17 Nov 2020) In 2017 he was named the Hull Daily Mail's Sporting Champion and Disabled Athlete of the Year at the Sporting Champions Awards. (hulldailymail.co.uk, 07 Aug 2017) Additional Info: OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as a mentor with The True Athlete Project, which aims to improve mental health and wellbeing in sport. He has also served as an ambassador for the charities Phoenix Enterprises and Disability Sports Humber. "I just want to help people, that's who I am. It is in my nature and always has been. If I can help someone have a good day by chatting to them or just making them a cup of tea, I have succeeded and that will make my day." (LinkedIn profile, 13 Feb 2024; uksport.gov.uk, 17 Nov 2020; emergingproud.com, 20 Apr 2020) FURTHER EDUCATION After studying vehicle maintenance and repair at Hull College, he studied for an apprenticeship in sports and exercise at Wiltshire College, and for a diploma in counselling at Oxford Learning College. (LinkedIn profile, 13 Feb 2024)

Sporting Relatives: His wife Louise Hunt has represented Great Britain in wheelchair tennis. She competed at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games, and reached the women's doubles semifinals at Wimbledon in 2015 and 2016. (SportsDeskOnline, 09 May 2021; tennisthreads.net, 30 Jun 2020)