Sisters shootout brings 53 teams to Sisters

The Sisters Shootout kept things jumping in Sisters over the weekend. The basketball tournament, organized by Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), delivered on its promise of "small-town hospitality, big-town basketball" to 53 participating teams.

"This is really an awesome tournament, and our community rallies to support it," said Ryan Moffat of SPRD. "Our middle school players and their families help with everything from setup to take-down and we really couldn't host a tournament of this quality without the support of the Sisters community."

About 530 players and an estimated 1,200 fans took a timeout from their busy lives to huddle in snowy Sisters. Thirty of the 53 teams came from Central Oregon, and the remaining 23 traveled from around the state.

"These teams came from everywhere from Westview to Clatskanie, Beaverton to Keizer," explained Moffat. He said that many of the teams were attracted to the competitive tournament because of the town atmosphere and the welcoming people here in Sisters.

"The tournament has been a lot of fun," said Cathy Stadeli, whose son, Trey Stadeli, plays on the fifth-grade Sisters team. "It helps our community a lot because it brings kids and families here and they have to eat. Some of them stay here too," she said, with a watchful eye on her three energetic sons.

Sisters High School's gym echoed with the sounds of fifth- to eighth-grade boys and girls hard at play all weekend long. Families not only packed the gyms, but the hotels, restaurants and shops in the slow winter season.

Kathy Jackson of Martolli's Pizza confirmed that the weekend was a slam dunk for her business thanks to the enthusiastic carb loading of the young athletes.

"We are very affected by the tournament. It's something we really depend on in the winter when it's tough for businesses," Jackson said. "There's a lot of people out walking around - I'm sure it's helping all the businesses."

According to the Sports Tourism Research Report, sports tourism is the fastest-growing tourism industry in the United States. Using the formula they provide, the economic impact of the Sisters Shootout is estimated to be around $400,000 - a score for Sisters on a hopping Presidents' Day weekend.

Erin Borla, executive director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, thinks that sports tourism has big potential in Sisters Country.

"Sports tournaments like the shootout are a good way to showcase all that Sisters Country has to offer," Borla said. "What a great way to bring families to Sisters for a mini vacation, while generating hundreds of thousands of dollars for our local economy!"

"We are all sold out this weekend," reported Troy Burdg of Best Western Ponderosa Lodge. "All of our 75 rooms are full, and most of those are families from the Shootout-I can tell you that the hotels, motels and pizza parlors are definitely doing well this weekend."

Hotels and pizza parlors are not the only businesses that rebounded over the weekend. Maria Garcia of Your Store said that this was perhaps the busiest day she's seen this winter. She was happy that a lot of families were out shopping between games.

Kathy Jackson echoed the positive feeling: "We really appreciate all the tournament is doing for us," she said. "It's a really big plus for us and our community."

Look for more action the weekend of March 17-18, when the Shootout will conclude with its third tournament of the series.

SPRD plans to host other sports tournaments with the goal of bringing more families to Sisters. Results of the Shootout are posted online at www.SistersShootout.com.