Category: Sports

Animals, Chattanooga, Entertainment, Family, Healing, Health, outdoors, Photography, Sports, UTC

Chattanooga’s Dock Diving Dogs

Written by Clara Paulson

Angie Young tracks the flight of her 1-year-old German Shepherd, Epic, as she jumps for her floating bumper. Epic is a beginner at dock diving. Monday April 6, 2026 (Photo by Hannah Godel)

The words “let’s go swimming!” barely escape Angie Young’s lips before her dog bursts across the backyard dock, eyes transfixed on the red toy she just tossed toward the pool. The four-legged athlete soars over the edge, never losing sight of the prize, even as gravity takes hold, sending him back to earth with a refreshing splash.

What resembles an exciting game of fetch is actually deliberate training for an upcoming dock diving competition at Southern Kingdom Diving Dogs. This backyard setup in the suburbs of Soddy Daisy is one of only two training grounds in the state of Tennessee that aims to transform pets into high-flying competitors. 

Angie Young, the owner of Southern Kingdom Diving Dogs, trains local pets how to dock dive and hosts dock diving competitions. Young speaks on all her backyard business has to offer, what dog dock diving is, and how to get started.

Angie Young, the business owner, just finished cleaning the pool and is preparing to begin swimming and dock diving lessons throughout April, in which she’ll instruct local dogs to take a leap of faith and jump as far as they can across a pool.

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, outdoors, Sports, Uncategorized, UTC

Wheels of Hope

Written by Zoie Denton

Blake Pierce washing a bike outside of the WOBC warehouse in preparation to give it away at the Traffic Garden Jamz event. Pierce is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of WOBC. Friday, April 3, 2026. (Photo by Ashlyn Yoes)

In the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, a quiet yet powerful movement is taking place. It is not built on grand gestures, but on simple acts of generosity and connection. White Oak Bicycle Co-op may look like a modest operation at first, but behind its doors, lives are being repaired one bike at a time. White Oak addresses two major challenges at once: access to transportation and access to physical activity.

At the center of it all is Blake Pierce, the executive director and co-founder, whose vision continues to guide the organization. What started as neighbors fixing bikes in garages has grown into something much bigger. For Pierce, White Oak is more than just a bike shop; it’s a direct response to real needs within the community.

White Oak Bicycle Co-op is a local Chattanooga non-profit that specializes in providing bikes and repair services to underprivileged and children in the community. Produced by Kara Newstreet.

“We saw early on that transportation was one of the biggest barriers people were facing,” Pierce says. “A simple bike can remove that barrier almost immediately.”

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Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Entertainment, Malcolm Key Audio, outdoors, Photography, Sports

Skatepark Flattened

Written by John Talley

Jackson Gammon soars above a wooden half-pipe outside of Cassette Skate Shop. The business held its grand opening of a temporary skatepark in February. Friday, February 20th, 2026. (Photo by Andromeda Stewart)

Chattanooga, Tennessee, is home to a vibrant skate community currently undergoing immense changes. What was once a cultural hub, practice grounds, and the only legal spot designated for skating, ChattTown Skatepark is currently reduced to being a dirt lot. While only a temporary inconvenience, skaters from far and wide are searching for a gathering place while the $4.4 million skate park renovation is underway.

The dilapidated wooden structures hadn’t satisfied local skaters for decades. A need for a new park was brought to light by local skaters who spoke up about how the previous wooden ramps just weren’t cutting it anymore. The Chattown Skatepark officially closed for reconstruction on November 10, 2025, and is set to reopen in late 2026. 

Gene Haman, the owner of VW Clubhouse, shares how Thursday nights have welcomed a community of displaced skateboarders in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A backyard car shop turned haven with a simple half pipe, these skateboarders stay resilient amidst the current renovation of ChattTown skatepark.

Despite not having a main skate park for the next few months, the Chattanooga skate scene is still thriving and finding any and every opportunity to go out and skate together. It’s community players that work behind-the-scenes, offering their own business parking lots and backyard shops to Chattanooga skateboarders that act as the glue for skate culture while ChattTown is closed.  

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art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Farm Life, farming, Healing, horse, Malcolm Key Audio, Music, Sports, Uncategorized, UTC

Rising Rock Radio Showcase 2025
Graphic by Kylee Boone

Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories from this past semester in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots.

Check out the individual audio stories here or listen to the entire showcase on WUTC

Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase 2025” →
Chattanooga, community, Diversity, Entertainment, Food Banks, History, Sports

A Stadium’s Last Stand

Written By Kayelyn McCaslin

Engel Stadium, owned by UTC is locked from the outside and decaying on the inside. The stadium is set to be torn down and replaced by a women’s sports complex in 2026. Friday November 7, 2025 (Photo by Delaney Holman).

Patterned ties knotted at the neck and bright dresses swished with each stride. Frilly hats, white gloves, and leather shoes stayed on despite the heat. A Sunday afternoon in 1950s Chattanooga, Tennessee, called for the best fashion. Only this crowd had already been to church, and they were headed for another kind of sanctuary: Engel Stadium. “I can picture my father with his tie on, sitting in the stands on a Sunday after church,” said Mickey McCamish, former President of The Engel Foundation. “Growing up, Engel Stadium and The Lookouts were a social fabric of Chattanooga. It was the center place.”

Now, those Sunday games are long gone. After decades of negligence and decay, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC)  has announced that Engel Stadium will be demolished in 2026 and replaced with a women’s sports center. This decision has stirred both nostalgia and frustration from the Chattanooga community, especially those like McCamish who knew the stadium as the hub of social life in town.

John Rawlston, during his time as staff photographer at the Chattanooga Times Press, documented the final season of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s minor league baseball team The Lookouts. This last season took place at the famous Engel Stadium, which is set to be demolished under UTC’s ownership to create a new women’s athletic center. Rawlston recounts what made that season special, and the historical significance of the Engel Stadium.

McCamish first saw Engel as a ten-year-old selling Coca-Cola in the stands. Now a Navy veteran and Executive Director of Friends of the Festival, he watches as the fabric of Engel Stadium fades.

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Chattanooga, Photography, Racing, Sports, Uncategorized

A Race to the Finish Line

Written by Zoie Denton

Axel Robards looks at the camera as he prepares for testing at Atlanta Motorsports Park, Georgia. Friday November 21, 2025 (Photo by Zoie Denton)

At just 14 years old, Axel Robards, a young driver from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is already setting his sights on one of the most exclusive dreams: a seat in Formula 1. What makes his journey so compelling isn’t just the speed or the ambition, it’s the unshakable belief that one day, he’ll race among the best. The one sport in which you can say, “You’re one of the best in the world.”

For Robards, racing was not something he discovered later in life; it coursed through his veins from the very beginning. Growing up in Chattanooga, he was immersed in a world where his two older brothers spent their weekends kart-racing. As a kid, he never got behind the wheel, but he had a front-row seat to his brothers’ battles, feeling every turn, every drift, and every slip.

“[Racing] made everything feel alive,” said Robards. He didn’t just like watching; he wanted to race. That longing matured fast. Around age 11, with no formal training, Robards got behind the wheel of a kart for the first time. What followed was less of a tentative drive and more of a revelation. 

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Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Healing, Health, Karate, Sports

The Seated Champion

Written by Zoie Denton

Joel Westbrook talks about his journey as a wheelchair athlete in martial arts and how his spina bifida doesn’t limit him. He is the first wheelchair athlete to join the U.S. Para-Karate National Team and became an inspiration for those with physical limitations to challenge themselves, so they can take the first steps towards greatness.

Greatness wears many faces. For 18-year-old martial artist Joel Westbrook, greatness is carved into every determined push of his wheels. As the first ever male wheelchair athlete selected for the U.S. Para-Karate National Team, he has become a living symbol that limitations don’t define a person. His journey is proof that true strength is not bound by the body, but by the fire that drives it forward.

Joel Westbrook releases a sharp kiai, a forceful, exclamatory shout in karate. This practice supposedly connected the mind and body, as he executed the final move in his kata. Tuesday, November 11, 2025. (Photo by Angelina Fraga.)

Westbrook was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects how the spine and nerves develop. He can walk short distances using braces and crutches, but his wheelchair is where he feels strongest and most comfortable. Despite the challenges he faces, he has never felt limited.

When Westbrook was around eight years old, he saw a television show with a character performing martial arts in a wheelchair. For most viewers, it was simply a character, but for Westbrook, he saw himself represented in a sport that had always seemed inaccessible. Under the guidance of his physical therapist, Westbrook and his family discovered Green’s Karate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a dojo known for adapting karate for all students.

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Animals, art, Chattanooga, Chattanooga Audubon Society, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Dance, donate, Entertainment, Environment, Healing, Health, History, Immigration, K-Pop, Love, Music, outdoors, Philanthropy, Safety, Spelunking, Sports, Sustainability, teachers, UTC, women

Rising Rock Radio Showcase
Graphic by Kylee Boone

Rising Rock is excited to showcase some of our best audio stories from this past semester in a continued partnership with Scenic Roots.

Continue reading “Rising Rock Radio Showcase” →
Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Environment, outdoors, Safety, Spelunking, Sports, Sustainability, teachers, UTC, women

Spelunking Shenanigans

Written by Emily Petitt Dwyer

Rachel Sakar talks about her experience in caving and how she is involved in the caving community as a mentor and a teacher.

Beneath the rugged mountains of Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, a region known as TAG, is a network that is somewhat unknown to most, boasting intricate passages, waterfalls, and hidden chambers that Blake Webber has devoted himself to exploring and preserving.

Webber, a civil engineering major at UTC and active member of the UTC Wind Ensemble and Men’s Ultimate Frisbee, first discovered caving in 2021 at a local festival.

“I was thrown off the deep end, completing a relatively challenging vertical trip my first time in a ‘real’ cave,” Webber said. “I was immersed in the challenge and felt like I had stepped into another world.”

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art, Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Dance, Entertainment, Fashion, Health, K-Pop, Music, Sports

K-Nooga

Written by Drew White

Sarah Thomas is the Co-Founder of 42E3, a K-pop dance cover group dedicated to bringing K-pop choreography’s energy, precision, and artistry to life in Chattanooga.

K-pop has been a growing global phenomenon in the past ten years; even in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 42E3 is a K-pop dance cover group that semi-frequently releases dance covers on their YouTube and Instagram pages.  

Many of these dancers have experienced the rise of K-pop firsthand, having been fans themselves for over ten years. They have watched the landscape of fan interactions and song promotions shift over the years due to the rise of social media and COVID-19. 

“I became a fan of K-pop in 2013, but I didn’t start dancing to K-pop until 2015, because I was kind of embarrassed to be a K-pop fan at first.” said Sarah Thomas, one of the founders of 42E3.

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