While many of Sussex’s sports teams faced a nailbiting finish to the season yesterday, members of the Men’s Badminton team could afford to relax. Last week’s 5-3 defeat of Essex meant that Sussex were crowned champions of the BUSA South Eastern Mens Division 3A regardless of yesterday’s results. It has been a very successful campaign for the Sussex boys. Undefeated this season and with maximum points, the team surely would have won every game outright had St. Bartholomews bothered to turn up on 22 January.

The performance of the boys should not come as a surprise. As a fresher I went to a badminton meeting with high hopes of taking part in the team. It took a few minutes for me to be thrashed 15-0 by a skillful opponent, and I quickly realised the quality of the squad. It was the last badminton meeting I attended.

More surprising is the decline of the womens team. Reading’s 9-0 defeat of Sussex last Wednesday meant that the girls were relegated.

The men’s football first team had a crunch final match at Kingston yesterday which would determine the promotional places. Rivals Royal Free & University College Medics, a place ahead of Sussex, faced Surrey, the other team vying for second position.

Sussex’s struggling rugby boys were hoping for an escape from relegation yesterday. Royal Holloway had a home game against Royal Vetinary College to decide the issue.

But for Sussex to win away against a Buckinghamshire Chilterns side that had won every game so far this season was surely too much to ask. Royal Vetinary College had to get a draw from their game to give Sussex any sort of chance.