Pickle Power

Pickleball with Purpose | Pickle Power Ottawa Fundraiser

What happens when pickleball meets purpose?

On April 18th, the courts at The Forge Pickleball Club come alive for something far bigger than competition. Pickle Power Ottawa is more than a tournament. It is a movement driven by community, resilience, and the fight against cancer.

Founded by breast cancer survivor Andrea Douglas, this event brings players together to raise critical funds for the Ottawa Cancer Foundation, supporting free programs and services for those navigating a cancer journey.

Every rally played is a step toward impact.

This episode dives into the story behind the event, the people driving it, and why this tournament matters far beyond the baseline.

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🔗 Learn More & Get Involved

👉 Ottawa Cancer Foundation

https://ottawacancer.ca/

👉 Pickle Power Ottawa Donate

https://support.ottawacancer.ca/site/TR?fr_id=1130&pg=entry

👉 The Forge Pickleball Club (Event Location)

https://www.theforgepickleball.ca/

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🎯 Event Details

📍 Location: The Forge Pickleball Club, Ottawa
📅 Date: April 18, 2026
⏰ Time: 1pm start

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This is what pickleball looks like at its best.
Community. Connection. Cause.

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🔥 Hashtags

#PicklePower #PickleballForACause #OttawaEvents #OttawaPickleball #CancerAwareness #PlayForACause #PickleballCommunity #KitchenConversations #StoriesBehindThePaddle #OttawaCancerFoundation #TheForgePickleball #FundraiserEvent #PickleballLife #GrowTheGame

And that wraps up this episode of Kitchen Conversations.

If you enjoyed the conversation, be sure to follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves the game as much as you do.

And if you want the full experience, including the visuals, head over to YouTube and watch the episode at

https://www.youtube.com/@KitchenConversationspodcast

Or search Kitchen Conversations Pickleball Podcast

That’s where these stories really come to life.

You’ll also find links and show notes in the episode description.

Until next time…

more than dinks, drops and drives…

these are stories from behind the paddle.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, and welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Kitchen Conversations and welcome to a special episode. Now, we normally release a new episode every Thursday at about 1 o'clock Eastern Standard Time, but today is Tuesday. And the reason for that is it's a special episode in support of a special event that's coming up this Saturday, April 18th, 2026, at the Forge Pickleball Club in Ottawa, Ontario. I had a chance to sit down with cancer survivor Andrea Douglas and talk about her tournament, the tournament that she and others are hosting at the Forge this Saturday in Ottawa. Pickle Power is the name of the tournament. There's all kinds of teams, there'll be all kinds of costumes, all kinds of fun, all kinds of camaraderie, and all kinds of conversation around the work that the Ottawa Cancer Foundation is doing to help support those diagnosed with cancer. It is one of the most difficult moments in anyone's life. Andrea shares her personal journey through cancer and how that led to pickleball and ultimately this weekend. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Andrea Douglas as much as we did on Kitchen Conversations. Well, Andrea, welcome to my podcast. Welcome to Kitchen Conversations, and thank you so much for being here today. I am totally inspired by your story and uh and honored at the chance to share a bit of that with those listening and watching today. So I want to start by thanking you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Thank you, Mike. It's a thrill for me to be here as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

Well, it's just such a story. And uh, you know, a full disclosure to everyone watching and listening today, you and I just met literally about 10 minutes ago for the first time. We were just introduced to one another in the last couple of days, thanks to Diana from the Ottawa Pickleball Association. And she has kind of put the two of us together and suggested that maybe we should do a quick podcast in support of a pretty big event that's coming up April 18th at the Forge Pickleball Club in Ottawa. And we'll get to the details of all of that in just a couple of minutes. But yeah, your story is a cancer survivor and the work that you've done to raise funds and raise awareness for this, Andrea, are just remarkable. And so if you don't mind, I would love to have three separate rallies with you in the time that we've got together today. And in rally number one, I'd really like to talk about your cancer and your journey through that, the moment that you were diagnosed, how did that feel? Uh, and let's hear that story. And then we'll transition into something a little lighter, which is pickleball, this crazy, remarkable game called Pickleball. And I'm convinced, Andrea, that if they had named it something other than Pickleball, it probably would have gained far more uh attraction and far more interesting growth 30 years ago. Yeah, I just I think that, and I love the name, but I think, you know, it's one of the things that has maybe held it back over the years because it is just the greatest game in the world, in my opinion. And then the third rally, yeah, that third rally is the important rally. It's really the rally that we talk about, the work that you're doing to raise awareness and funds and what you've done in the past and some of the other events that you've uh organized and had such uh success with. So if you don't mind, why don't you jump into Rally One and give us, you know, go take us back, I think it was 2014 when you were diagnosed with cancer, breast cancer, and tell us about that moment, Andre, and and how you worked your way through all of that.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

So, wow, where to begin? Uh 2014. Yeah, so I actually uh found the lump myself. And uh, you know, as as any uh person would do when they're a little worried about something, reached out to my doctor who saw me immediately. I was sent out for mammogram and all those other things that followed. And um, yeah, sure enough, it came back as a breast cancer diagnosis. Now, when you hear those words, you have cancer, uh, you do basically feel like your life might just be coming to an end right then and there. Um, it's such an emotional blow. Uh, my husband, uh, my two daughters who at the time were in, let's see, how old would they have been? 16 and 20. Um it's a devastating blow, not for the individual alone, but for the entire family, of course. And I don't even remember how I dealt with those, you know, first few days. All I do remember is that on a Monday I was given the breast cancer diagnosis. On a Friday, uh, we met with uh my breast cancer surgeon who was an amazing uh surgeon and who really put my mind at ease and made me believe that I was going to come out the other side of this. And and that was, you know, for five days I didn't breathe, I didn't Google, I didn't, I couldn't do anything. And and then to learn that, you know, it was early stage, but I'd still have to go through a lot of stuff. Um, that was that was a that was uh that the toughest week of the whole thing, probably. Um and from there, you know, I I had surgery, I had uh chemo, I had radiation, and then I was on um medication hormone blocking drugs for six years. Um and so that's it. So I lost my hair, all those things, you know. I and and and it was the situation where I thought, okay, this was has been horrible, but I learned ways to get through it. And one of the ways I think I came through it was with the help of a support group, which was run by the hospital at the time. And so at the time I met uh eight other women who were on the same journey, various stages of it, but pretty much the same. And and we just discovered, unbeknownst to me earlier, that a support group meant that there were people that understood precisely what you were going through, versus your family loves you, they want to help, they support you, they are there for you, but they don't get it. And those other breast cancer patients do. And it's the same with any other situation, but but that was really a that was I'd say uh almost a life-altering moment for me. Because from from there is where I then discovered how a support group could make a difference in this journey. And so now that's what I've been doing for the last how many years is it? 11, 10.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

Wow, what a story. And I thank you so much. It's such a personal story. So I appreciate you being willing to go there and to share that. I think it's important that that message is understood. And I want to draw you back to a point you made because we mentioned just off-camera, my dad was diagnosed uh over 30 years ago, he he was diagnosed with bone cancer, and we ultimately lost him to that disease. And, you know, I know for dad, we just didn't know what to say. You know, we as a family, the kids or my brother and I and my mom, we, you know, there was no good news. Dad was diagnosed as terminal bone cancer, so there was just no saving him. It was just a matter of pain management, and and we had the conversation about quantity over quality and you know, all the things that you go through when you're diagnosed with a terminal disease, be it cancer or anything else. And so I love your story about the support group, Andrea, because to me that that's the magic bullet. That's the that's the thing that just keeps you going and keeps you getting up the next day and finding that next step and that next breath and and and making your way through that. And yes, the family knows and they understand, but I found it just, you know, and again, it's this is not about me, this is about you and what you're doing. But I, you know, just to make the point with those listening uh who haven't been through it yet, uh, those support groups are so important, you know, to know that you're not alone. I'm not here alone. And the relatable conversations that you can have with those people versus your family, two totally different conversations, I would assume.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Absolutely. Uh just so different. Um and and it it's just no one can quite understand unless they've been in your shoes. It's just, it's just the way it is, as much as they want to be there and support you. And they do, uh, don't get me wrong, but it is yeah, and it it's just it's even the little things, you know, like like helping other women with little tricks like what helps when you're feeling really sick from chemo, or what helps when your skin is really burned from the radiation, or or any number of things, because uh there are a lot of side effects, there are a lot of things to grapple with, and it's all about helping other women on the journey. And it's it's for me, it's been a very fulfilling thing for for many women. You know, they go through the experience and then they need to step away and they don't want to utter the word cancer again. Right, right. And for me, it's almost been the opposite where I embrace embrace it isn't maybe the right word, but I want to help others. And it's so it's just become a part of who I am.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

I just love it. I just love so much what you're doing, and I think it's so important. And you know, for those that are, you know, are in that moment, and there may be someone listening right now that is in that moment that you just described. And so maybe there's you know a message in that that just you know, make sure you're connecting with the right groups, and there's lots of them out there. And and thank goodness there is, you know, Andrea, because that's just such an important part of what this process is. So, well, thank you for that. I appreciate it. So let's let's you know jump into now kind of this crazy, wonderful game called Pickleball, you know. And we joked a little bit uh off camera about this crazy name, and uh, you know, there's a lot of rumors. I think there's two stories about how it was named. One had to do with a dog, one had to do with a boat. You decide which one you want to believe in. They're both interesting stories, but I've played the game for about three years. I couldn't imagine not having the game as part of my day, week, month, year. I just love it. I love the people. And you know, you talk about that support group, I've got my little pickleball support pals that uh it's so similar.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

Yeah, it's it's absolutely crazy. And and particularly in my group, what I've found is that uh, you know, there there are we're all of a certain age. So many of us have obviously gone through a lot of experiences already, but uh amongst my now close circle of pickleball lady friends, um, I'd say the vast majority have had cancer, many, many breast cancers, other cancers as well. And it's it it sort of helps make the group what it has become in this particular instance, anyway, and made them super involved and excited about helping on this crazy ride that we call this pickleball power fundraiser. So yeah, but uh my my uh you know I I'm I'm about three years new to the game as well. Um and in fact, uh pickleball originally, I knew it existed. I actually had no idea what it was. Right. All I knew was my neighbor at the cottage. Every Friday, she would take her boat across to the other side of the lake to get in her car and go and play pickleball. And and we'd say, Oh, there goes Jane to play pickleball. What is this pickleball thing anyway? I didn't know if it was a card game or a physical. I didn't, I had no clue. And so now she laughs at me because I used to pickleball. I don't like that sounds stupid, whatever that is. But yeah, so here I am. I am definitely a pickleball convert.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Yeah, it doesn't take much, does it? It's momentary almost. I mean, it's the first two or three minutes. I've had the luxury of introducing a number of people to the game, and uh, that experience, I love it. I love when I can tell somebody's not sure, you know, very similar to you know, where you found yourself and I found myself many years ago, not understanding what this thing was. And and I think there was a point, I've mentioned this on previous podcasts, where if you were a pickleball player, you were a little embarrassed by it at one point. You know, you'd like, I play pickleball. Now everybody's out there going, I'm a pickleball player, you know, and we're throwing our hands in. We just love the game. And so I'm so glad that you found it uh in the way that you did. And uh it's obviously an important part of your week. I know you played earlier today.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

I did, yeah. I th I think I'm up to, you know, sometimes it's four times a week. And I know lots of people play a lot more than that. Listening to your um Kawamato family uh broadcast, I was astounded to hear them say that the dad was playing five hours that day.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

That's Tom. Tom may need to seek some help on that. Yeah, that the addiction may have taken a whole different to a whole different thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Is there a pickleballs anonymous? That should be the next podcast.

SPEAKER_00 12:22

Yeah, that's great. Well, I'm so glad the game's part of it. Yeah, it's just so wonderful. And I think, you know, it itself, when we talk about support groups, Andrea, and we talk about the importance of that socialization and the relationships and the new friendships that get built on the court, there is something about this game. And obviously, our podcast is all about the stories behind the paddle and the people that play the game and the wonderful lives that they've led and and the interesting lives that they've led as well. And I'm fascinated by so much of that. But there is that instant connection. It just seems that we make friends quicker, faster, longer, and more meaningful through pickleball than almost any other thing that I've done in my life. And I do would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_01 12:59

So much. And I don't understand the reasoning behind it. All I know is that that this this, you know, I I started playing pickleball in a learn to play pickleball group with my husband when he retired. He didn't really stick with it. I did. Um, and then I got into this Monday-Wednesday league with with a bunch of random people. I knew one or two, you know, just from being an old Ottawa person. Um, and before I knew it, they just sort of became part of my landscape. And and then the following two years, it's like the Hunger Games trying to sign up for something at the RA for programs. So, and we were all so like, oh my God, we all have to sign up and be in the same program again. To the point where, you know, eight o'clock at night on Tuesday, whatever, we'd all be there at the no, we we took it a step further because we didn't want things to mess up. So we all had our our laptops or our iPads at the RA in front of guest services counter in case we ran into trouble. Yeah, we weren't taking it.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Help us, help us. We need to get in.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

We are very serious and committed. Or we should be committed.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

So well, that's terrific. Well, listen, let's get into rally three, because this is really why we're here today, and it's to talk about this incredible fundraising journey that you've been on. And I'd like to just hand the paddle to you on this one and let you just run with this and give as much detail, Andrea, as you can. I want to see your shirt. You shared it before we got on camera. Make sure we see the shirt because it's wonderful. Pickle power. I love it. Yeah, but I want to hear about the pool and how we went from the pool to the pickleball court. I want to hear about all the proceeds. We're staying in the this is like Sesame Street, the letter P pickle power, pickle pool, profit, proceeds, fund, yeah, proceeds. Yeah, it's all great. So that's really bad. Yeah, maybe we'll edit that part out. I don't know, but you know what I'm getting at. But please tell me about all the fundraising that you've done and and and and and give me a sense too, if you don't mind. You know, the money is one thing, and I understand the importance of that money. And I know the money that you've raised has done good things, you know, in the short time I've had to kind of look into your story. I understand that you've been able to purchase certain equipment and it's made a difference. But I have to also think that part of this is awareness and letting people know that they're not alone and that, you know, there is support groups out there. And I'm would love for you to weigh in on that. So why don't you run with that? It's up to you to kind of tell the story from this point on.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Okay. So um I was a little more obsessed with swimming before this whole pickle ball stuff came into my life, admittedly. And and it was it was a really good fitness journey for me. Um, so I swam with a master's group, and our coach, Andrea Smith, uh, is a former Olympian. And basically a few of us hatched up this idea to have a swim meet fundraiser, and it was called Olympic. Um I know I can't even say Olympic anymore. It always comes at Olympink. Yeah. Like I watched the Olympics on TV. Um anyway, so we dreamed this fundraiser up, and it ended up being just a fabulous event because we had six Olympians join us in the pool, uh, and it was a regular master's swim meet for the rest of it. But we'd have this moment where we uh we uh got into the pool, each of us survivors or two, three survivors with an Olympian, and we did a ceremonial swim to the end of the pool and back. And um I was always paired up with my friend and coach and Olympian, Andrea. Andrea, Andrea. Um, and so she, of course, being an Olympian, she has this crazy competitive spirit. So she'd be we'd be kicking with the kickboard and our our little Olympic torch, and she'd be yelling at me, kick harder, kick harder. So I had no idea what was going on around me. But my husband and my friends who were in the stands were like, oh my God, there was not a dry eye in the house. And and it became this moment of, you know, you you can't get through a cancer diagnosis, in my opinion, without support around you. And and, you know, it's similar to being an Olympic Olympic, see, I said it again, Olympic athlete. You can't get to the Olympics without a world of support around you. And I mean, it's very different, but but we we saw the similarities and and we kind of went with that and it really worked. And, you know, we started off very small. We only raised $19,000 in our inaugural year, but uh but kept going up every year. Uh, we a little break for, you know, a little thing called COVID. And and then uh last year we raised $143,000. And um, so in in previous uh years, some of the money uh was raised for the Ottawa hospital, and uh we were able to buy the breast health center at the Ottawa Hospital a new ultrasound machine. There is an ultrasound room uh that has the Olympic name on it, which is pretty cool. And um, and then uh we pivoted to uh supporting the Ottawa Cancer Foundation, um, partly because it was it was sort of time to to refocus on what I felt was really important, and that's the support programs around being on the cancer journey. Uh the hospital is great, they save your lives, absolutely. Uh that's that's what they're really good at, but they they're they sort of fall down a little bit on the whole support of the person inside the patient. And that's that's where I saw uh the need. And and so Olympic last year, and well, two years, two years of Olympic, the money uh went to the Ottawa Cancer Foundation. Um so yeah, we were and and last year we had uh you know famous Canadian Olympian uh Maggie McNeil join us, and that was that was an amazing day, such an amazing day. And her motherhood had breast cancer. So, you know, every time you turn around, there's someone else who, oh well, my mother, oh my sister, or my whatever. Yeah, it's it's there. It's and and the need for support is real. Um this can be a very isolating journey, even for those that have what they think is enough family and and friend support, but but you don't you don't know about things like how to deal with chemotherapy, the nutrition you should be having, the um the mind-numbing fatigue that you undergo. And there are programs, I can't even list all the programs at the Ottawa Cancer Foundation that people can access all at no charge. And they walk into that place and they feel like, ugh, this is where I belong. This is where people get me, and it's not in the hospital setting, which is also really, really important. And and I've I've met, so I run my support group at the Cancer Foundation twice a twice a month. And I I meet women there all the time who, you know, say, oh, it's basically a full-time job for me now to come here and go to all these different programs. But it's such such a great help to them. It's how they get through everything and it it's how they learn to cope with the many side effects and and whatever else. And and um so I find that a really, really important thing. And and sadly, it's not something that the government funds. So everything that the Ottawa Cancer Foundation offers free of charge is funded by the generosity of donors and the community. And so that's why to me this is a really, really important thing. So we uh we are at about $78,000 uh dollars right now, and it's Monday. And you know, I gotta believe that a lot of people are really last minute givers. So we'll we'll see. We've already uh we started off with a $50,000 um goal, and we've had to change that upwards twice now. So that's that's a pretty it's a pretty exciting thing for a first-time event. Um, and it's not like this isn't about duper ratings this tournament, right? It's not we we only have two, it's a round robin, we only have two categories, 3.5 and over, 3.49 and under. And so it's gonna be a mishmash, but it's gonna be about fun. Uh, you know, we have we have some crazy names. Uh, for example, my team's name is the Gherkin Girls. We have the Spicy Picklers, we have the Smash Brothers, we have Big Dill, we have uh oh um oh I know wait, big Big Dill no skills, something like that. Like just great. Like people are having a lot of fun with this. And I am hearing from from others who aren't even really close to me necessarily. Oh, yeah, we just ordered our costumes and like we're gonna have matching outfits and this, that, and the other thing. And and it so it's really gonna be fun. And I I need to acknowledge that my pickleball friends have been very Very helpful in creating swag. Every player, and there are there are 90 players signed up right now, will get an emotional support pickle person. They will get a sticker. And they will get a pickleball. And hold on. This is what a hundred pickleballs looks like.

SPEAKER_00 22:31

That is a lot of pickleballs. Isn't that awesome? Wow. Well, congrats on organizing all that. I mean, that what a great swag package that is.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Silent auction, prizes, you name it. Oh, and look at this beauty. It's a pickleball charcuterie board made by a good friend of ours who was a contractor for his career. And he made three of these for me, and they're gorgeous.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Isn't it wonderful? But to see this game that, you know, started back in 1965, Bainbridge Island, bunch of kids running around driving mom and dad crazy, Barney McCallum and the, you know, the rest of them figuring out how to keep them occupied that afternoon. And here we are today raising money for such a great cause. And I just think you're seeing more and more and more of pickleball. You know, golf tournaments were historically great fundraisers for a lot of different causes, still are. And uh it may have been a game that I loved at one point, but I've got no time for that anymore because I'm a pickleball player. So I'm done with the golf thing. I'm just all pickleball all the time.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

I'm like a 24-hour news channel for pickleball, but uh and and also how many calories do you burn playing golf?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

I mean, just yeah, really, not a lot, especially if you take the cart. Yeah. So so let's get into a bit of the detail. So, how many teams did you say there were involved?

SPEAKER_01 23:42

I think we've got uh 44 or 45 teams signed up right now. And and we had said 100 uh players was our max, so so we're we're almost there. Um, as you know, we're we're playing this tournament at the Forge. Um, and uh the Forge has 11 quarts, and it's it's such a beautiful facility. And Brett Conway, one of the owners of the Forge, has been uh immensely um helpful in making this happen and super supportive and always there with answers to questions and willing to you know go the extra mile to make sure this is an event, a great event. So so he's he's been super wonderful. I've got um Darren Lalonde and uh JF La France um uh who have a company called Mission Elite. They are actually running the pickleball, like the play, because what do I know about running a tournament? I've never even played in a tournament.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

So well, there you go. This is a good one to start with, a really good one to start with, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

Yeah. So uh so I I do all the other stuff, but but they do the heavy lifting on the day of yeah.

unknown 24:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

And it's happening April 18th at the Forge in the city.

SPEAKER_01 24:52

Saturday, April 18th, yes. And if you want to come, they have a great viewing area upstairs at at the forge. If you want to come and watch and learn a little bit more about uh pickleball, we also have we do have four people learning to play pickleball for the first time for an hour before we we did have a learn to play pickleball component, but I think most people already know how to play, so it didn't really catch on.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

No worries. And it's kicking off. What time's a kick off? Is it one o'clock start time for the one o'clock to five o'clock?

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Wow, what a great event. Well, you know what? Congratulations on all of this. I think it's nice to see it come from the pool to the pickleball court, and I know it's gonna do well. And uh, what is this? It's a trophy power. Oh, you're too much. It's not a tricky fist on this one. I love it. Yeah. Well, listen, thank you for all of this, and thank you for all you're doing to create the awareness. And good luck on Saturday. And I wish you nothing but the best. And we'll stay in touch. I'm gonna follow the story from the sidelines. Yeah, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Thank you. I appreciate it.