Larry and Shirley Stewart
The second annual Sportsbarn Invitational pickleball tournament was held on the Memorial Day weekend, and teams were drawn by random selection of playing cards. The defending 2021 champions (Johnny Houston and Ethan Carver) were not able to play, and a retired husband and wife team won the championship.
Larry and Shirley Stewart won the finals against Steve Purcel and Col. Bill Spurlock (U.S. Marines, Ret.). Purcel and Spurlock shot ahead in an early lead of 7-3, but the momentum shifted, giving the Stewarts a few hard-fought rallies to tie up the game at 7-7. The scores stalled out at 8-7 for a few turnovers, before the Stewarts served out the game to win 11-7.
This was Purcel's second time to organize and run the tournament. He had the idea to set up the first tournament just a few months after the Sportsbarn Athletic Club opened up a new pickleball court at the downtown location in 2021. Since then, the Sportsbarn has opened new courts at its East Chattanooga location, and two beautiful outdoor courts at its North Chattanooga location.
Shirley Stewart was asked about the match, and said, "It's not that we played any better or different than anybody else today. But we didn't make many mistakes, and we came out on top when it mattered."
Larry added, "I thinks it's kind of funny - most of the players here are playing with paddles that cost them from $75 to over $150. Shirley and I are still playing with a pair of Winlook pickleball paddles we bought on Amazon for less than $40 for a pair more than a year ago. They aren't fancy, but they seem to play as well as anybody else's paddle, and we're happy with them."
As the champions, the Stewarts won a bottle of California champagne, a gift bag of products from Chattem (the local manufacturer of products including Gold Bond lotions, IcyHot pain relief products and ACT dental rinse, where Purcel worked before retiring in 2021), and a pair of tickets to attend a game at the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Harry Beech and Kelly Williams won a playoff game to take third place, which carried the same prizes, minus the champagne. Purcel has already committed to organizing the third annual event again in 2023.