Category: Sports

Chattanooga, community, Family, Healing, Hugs, Philanthropy, Sports

Addie’s Angels

By Kylee Boone

Chris Ray pushes his daughter Addie during a training session for Addie Ray Racing while volunteers follow. Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (Photo by Kylee Boone).

From the sweat dripping down a runner’s back to the endorphins rushing through their veins, racing is an activity many would describe as euphoric, including married couple Chris and Michelle Ray. Knowing how empowering a runner’s high feels, the Ray’s made it their mission to share the unique experience of racing with the disabled community by founding a nonprofit organization, Addie Ray Racing.

The inspiration behind this was Chris and Michelle’s 16-year-old daughter Addie who was born with Angelman Syndrome. After taking her along for her very first race and seeing the joy that it brought her, they knew this was something that needed to be shared with the people of Chattanooga.

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Chattanooga, community, Entertainment, Family, Sports

Beyond the Ring

Written by Caroline Colvin

Filmed by Cassandra Castillo, Madison Van Horn, and Cassandra Castillo. Edited by Cassandra Castillo.

When Jaden Newman was seven years old, he discovered a DVD at a flea market that would eventually ignite his passion for professional wrestling. The 1997 match between Rey Misterio and Eddie Guerrero revealed to Newman that his love for wrestling was more than a fandom; it was something he wanted to do forever. 

His grandfather, who was with him when he discovered the flea market DVD, was determined that Newman would follow his dream of becoming a professional wrestler. “I wasn’t into sports, but I loved pro wrestling,” Newman said.

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art, Chattanooga, community, Dance, Sports

Dedicated to Dance

By Madison Van Horn

Pierceton Mazell stretches in the studio at Chattanooga Ballet. Thursday, December 3, 2022. (Photo By Madison Van Horn).

The world of ballet is more than just sugar plum fairies and pirouettes. With years of training and a deep passion for artistry, professional dancers like Pierceton Mazell revolve their lives around dance.

“A lot of people haven’t been exposed to this type of lifestyle,” Mazell said. “Dancers are professional athletes without the benefits of professional athletes. You know, it’s a passion project and it’s a lifestyle job.”

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Environment, Health, outdoors, Sports, UTC, women

Row As You Grow

Written by Anna Truss

Filmed by Jake Redfern and Madison Van Horn. Edited by Jake Redfern.

“Shoulders, ready, up,” calls the coxswain as the team of rowers lifts the boat onto their shoulders.

Kay Hughes and her team were moving their boat to a different dock to prepare for the Head of the Hooch regatta in early November. Even after 10 years of rowing, the thrill has not died for Hughes.

“We had so much fun and people started posting pictures and the camaraderie and the group coming together, it really is truly a team sport,” Hughes mused.

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Chattanooga, community, Family, outdoors, Photography, Sports

Life on the Ramp

Written By Niah Davis

Dani Harris catches some air while rollerskating on her backyard ramp. Wednesday, April 13, 2022. (Photo by McKenna Pegrim).

Dani Harris, a Colorado native, has been roller skating practically since birth. Nowadays, the 27-year-old loves nothing more than to grab her skates and pull off some of her favorite tricks on her home ramp. 

“I grew up skating, not at the park, but just with my parents outside of the house or to the grocery store and at the rink,” she says. 

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Chattanooga, community, Healing, Health, Sports

Corporate to Crossfit

Story By Kylee Boone

Emily Griffith performs bar muscle-ups in her gym at CrossFit Brigade. April 9, 2022. (Photo by Kylee Boone.)

Chasing a check instead of chasing a dream is a dilemma that many people in corporate America face each and every day. Married couple and owners of CrossFit Brigade in Chattanooga, Eric and Emily Griffith, made a decision many would never dare to do. They quit their corporate jobs to follow their shared passion for fitness.

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Anxiety, community, Daily Life, Healing, Health, Sports, UTC

Overcoming: Lauren’s Eating Disorder Recovery

Written by Niah Davis

Lauren Baker indulges in eggs, a bagel and coffee she made for breakfast. Thursday, March 10, 2022. (Photo by Niah Davis)

Practice, weights, conditioning, traveling and on top of it all attending classes and maintaining a good grade point average. Unfortunately, college athletes also have to contend with a higher likelihood of developing an eating disorder.

Lauren Baker is a determined, music-loving dance-like-no-one’s-watching freshman on the women’s volleyball team at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. However, it was much earlier on during her freshman year of high school in South Bend, Indiana when she began to struggle with her eating disorder.   

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Diversity, Environment, Sports

Green Racers

Written By Maggie Weaver

Hamilton County schools race their electric cars in the Chattanooga Green Prix. The race put on by Green Spaces Chattanooga was a part of a STEM learning project for over 40 schools in the Chattanooga area. Saturday, November 20, 2021. Photo by Maggie Weaver.

In 2017 green|spaces Chattanooga started a hands-on program to encourage STEM learning in Hamilton County students through designing and building race cars. The Chattanooga Green Prix, this year held at the Bend in downtown Chattanooga, allowed hundreds of students from 40+ schools to put their full-sized, functioning electric power race cars to the test.

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Entertainment, Sports

Under the Hood of Chattanooga’s Car Community

Written by Rachel Jordan

Frank Zucchi and his co-driver race past the finish line with Charles Test close behind in their matching 1910 Nation race cars. Friday, October 15, 2021. (Photo by Jerrod Niles)

From growing up playing with Hot Wheels to owning your own hot-rod, the Chattanooga car community is a welcoming spot for all different types of car enthusiasts. Being so close to large cities like Atlanta, Knoxville, and Nashville, the car culture in Chattanooga has become a melting pot of these influences. The culture is diverse in many ways with different genres of car scenes, whether that’s the off-road, muscle or classic American. Chattanooga loves to blend different cultures and styles. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Sports

Wheeled Women

Written by Nessa Parrish

Baylee Rauberts and Meredith Fullbright discuss skating and what it takes to get started. Video by Nessa Parrish.

The sounds of chirping birds and skateboard wheels meeting concrete blend together in a symphony adored by millions of people across the globe, including Meredith Fullbright, a student-teacher that has just recently started her journey with the sport, and Baylee Rauberts, a Chattanooga longboarder, with two years of riding under her belt.

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