Chris made a huge impact and will be sorely missed

Chris Hann was known for his dedication to badminton, spending countless hours teaching the sport to youngsters and developing ties with other clubs.

News of his passing came as a shock to many at the recent East Fife Sports Council awards, where chair Rona McGraw opened the event by praising his long standing contribution to the Fife sporting community.

The Glasgow based governing body for the sport, Badminton Scotland, said badminton was ‘in mourning’ after his passing.

Locally, amongst those who benefited greatly from Chris’s time and dedication, was the North East Fife Badminton Association.

A spokesperson for the group told the Fife Herald/St Andrews Citizen: “He stepped-into the breach and took over as head coach at NEFBA when two of the previous coaches left.

“He encouraged me to become more and more involved with the club and to gain coaching qualifications.

“My daughter was a member of NEFBA before I became involved so it was Chris, and the previous team of coaches, who first taught her how to play badminton and, with my parent of a member of the NEFBA squad hat on, I would thank him for his unwavering commitment to the club and for the colossal amount of work he, and his wife Liz and son Lewis, did behind the scenes to keep it going from an administrative point of view.

“He encouraged all of our young members to think tactically, to play as much badminton as they can, to compete in local and regional tournaments and, perhaps more than anything, to enjoy it. He used to say that a lot and always with a great big smile on his face. His warmth and strength of character will be sorely missed by the NEFBA team and their families, who, I am sure, all appreciate his efforts tremendously.”