The March 14th, 2026 Crazy 8s Tournament featured 96 players participating in two divisions. The day featured great pickleball, good humour and $5,134 raised for two local organization.
Tiny Home Takeout and The Food Bank of Waterloo Region each receive $2,567, and the Food Bank will also get the food donations brought by participants. A huge thank you to all the players, volunteers and sponsors who made this day such a success on and off the court.
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The 2026 Winter Programs were a big success! Thanks to everyone who participated.
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In January 2026, POWWR held its annual Volunteer Appreciation Event. POWWR Volunteers are the backbone of this organization. Thank you to all who make POWWR such a wonderful association!
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In December 2025, the POWWR Coaches held a Professional Development session. As the sport evolves, so do our coaching techniques. Our coaches are always learning.
The Fall 2025 Drill & Play and Open Play sessions were a smashing success!
Adult Summer Camp – July 2025
POWWR held its first Adult Summer Camp in the week of July 14-18. Over 3 days, 24 players advanced their skills with the support from 8 coaches. In addition, players received POWWR swag, heard from guest speakers, learned mental approaches to the game and had the opportunity to win prizes. Thank you to the City of Waterloo for awarding a project grant for this endeavour. Proceeds from the camp were used to donate equipment (paddles and balls) to Sunnyside Public School for use within the school program, and to Focus on Girls in Sport – a free program for girls aged 11-16.
Guest speakers Dr Adrienne Goldsworthy, certified pickleball referee Chris Kelly and fitness instructor Shannon Henkel.
Inspirational and Motivational
May 2025 – Crazy 8s Tournaments
In May 2025, POWWR held two Crazy 8s Tournament in support of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region. Participants had lots of fun both on and off the courts. Through the generosity of POWWR members, over $4600 was raised for the organizations. In addition, many items of outdoor sports equipment for kids were donated to Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.
Saturday May 3, 2025 – Crazy 8s Tournament
This tournament raised $2000 for Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region in addition to the 6 boxes of outdoor sports equipment. Thank you POWWR Members!
Monday May 5, 2025 – Crazy 8s Tournament
Through the generosity of POWWR Members, $2600 was raised for Bereaved Families of Ontario – Southwest Region. Thank you to the POWWR Members who participated in the tournament and your enthusiasm at the Draw Prize Table and Silent Auction!
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2025 POWWR Annual General Meeting
All active members of Pickleball of Waterloo Wellington Region (POWWR) were invited to attend the 2025 Annual General Meeting on Wednesday March 5th, 2025 from 7-9 pm.
The Meeting Agenda, Board Reports reviewed at the meeting and the Meeting Minutes are found here.
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POWWR offered two Skills Clinics in December 2024 and January 2025, with participants rotating to six different stations led by POWWR Coaches. A participant provided this comment:
“Thank you again for today! An exceptionally well-run POWWR clinic! Wow, it was such a positive experience for everyone.”
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POWWR held a variety of Drill & Play and Open Play sessions in the fall of 2024. Here is some feedback from one of our members:
“I really enjoyed the Drills and Skills course and was able to use the skills I learned. 5 stars!”
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A Special Meeting of POWWR members was held on October 1st, 2024 at 7 pm. The motions to approve the Bylaw Amendments and Articles of Amendment were passed unanimously. The updated POWWR Bylaws are found on the About POWWR web page and the Articles of Amendment were filed with the Government of Ontario on October 2nd, 2024.
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In May 2024, POWWR held two Crazy 8s Tournament in support of Tiny Home Takeout and Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.. Participants had lots of fun both on and off the courts. Through the generosity of POWWR members, over $3,300 was raised for both organizations. In addition, many boxes of diapers and other needed items were donated to Women’s Crisis Services. Thank you to ML Boulanger and Fiona for donating original artwork, and thanks to all the participants for making both tournaments such a huge success.
Saturday, May 4th Crazy 8’s Tournament:
Monday, May 6th Crazy 8’s Tournament:
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POWWR offered a variety of events in the fall for novice to advanced players. The 8-week sessions began in the week of October 23rd, 2023 and ended in the week of December 11th, 2023.
The four Drill & Play programs provided approximately 45 minutes of instruction, followed by 75 minutes of playing time. The three Women’s Open Play sessions provided 2 hours of playing time. The Saturday Ladder Play offered 2 hours of pickleball with players at comparable skill levels. The Youth program focused on pickleball skills, drills and fun games for POWWR members between 10-17 years of age.
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On Saturday October 28th, POWWR and the Rotary Club of Kitchener held a fundraising tournament for the Ukrainian Committee. Over 95 players participated and raised over $3500 for books for the Ukrainian school and for youth sports programs. A big thank you to all of the participants and their generosity, and to the POWWR volunteers who made this event such a huge success.
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The spring Women’s Only Play sessions were held at the KW Badminton Club and St Louis Gym. Thanks to our volunteers and all participants for making these programs such a success.
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On May 17, 2023, 48 POWWR members participated in the Crazy 8s Tournament. The 8 teams showed their team spirit by sporting their team colours and having fun on the pickleball court.
In honour of the late Garry Dagenais, the first POWWR Spirit Award was presented to Murf by our special guests, the Dagenais family. Congratulations to Murf!
While the tournament winners have bragging rights, the real winner of the day was the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. Through the tremendous generosity of the tournament participants, over $1200 and lots of lots of diapers, baby wipes and other needed items were collected. A big thank you to all for making this day such a success.
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POWWR Coaches led two pickleball sessions at the WRDSB teacher’s PD day in April 2023. Sixty PHE teachers learned the basics of the sport.
POWWR’s first Women’s Only Play session was a big success in the winter of 2023! Thanks to all of the players and volunteers who made the sessions so much fun.
On December 10th, 2022, POWWR held a Beginner Skill Clinic and an Intermediate Skills Clinic at the KW Badminton Club. The Intermediate Skill Clinic included 6 different skill stations and players rotated through each one.
On June 1st, POWWR convened the OSGA District 26 Pickleball Tournament. Twenty-five teams competed throughout the day, with winners of the qualifying events earning the right to represent District 26 at the Summer Games in Peterborough. POWWR members developed the schedule for 7 different tournament pools, filled the role of Tournament Director and refereed matches. Thanks to all involved for a great day!
POWWR offered a Rules & Play Clinic on Wednesday, May 4th from 11am – 2pm. The Rules Clinic was a 2 hour fun and interactive session to learn the rules of the game, including the lesser known ones. The clinic was held at the Parkwood Gardens Church on 501 Whitelaw Road in Guelph.
POWWR held a 2 hour intermediate skills clinic on Wednesday, May 4th from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm. This clinic focused on recognizing your opponent’s play, making in-game adjustments and was a blend of strategy and skills. Specific attention was given to serve and serve receive, punch volley, block volley, reset, soft shot and court positioning. The clinic was held at the Parkwood Gardens Church on 501 Whitelaw Road in Guelph.
POWWR held two 10-week Drill & Play sessions from February to April 2022 at the KW Badminton Club. What an outstanding group of pickleball enthusiasts!
POWWR held Skills Clinic and ‘Bubble Tournaments’ on Saturday March 19th 2022 at the KW Badminton Club located at 69 Agnes St in Kitchener. Donations for the Women’s Crisis Center of Waterloo Region were also collected.
Clinic 1 – The Beginner/Intermediate Clinic focused on serve and serve receive placements and strategies; soft shot (dink); blocking and volley including decision making; offensive lob, lob retrieval and emphasis on footwork.
Clinic 2 – The Advanced Clinic focused on 3rd shot drops and working through the transition zone; developing more aggressive soft shots (dinks) in order to move opponents around; volley blocks and volley pushes; game strategy and working the point.
‘Bubble Tournaments’
Each team played a 5 game round-robin tournament. The top two teams in each division earned bragging rights… and a ‘pickly’ prize.
On Monday, February 7th, 2022 at 7 pm POWWR held its Annual General Meeting. The meeting minutes and reports referred to in the meeting are found below.
The team format of this tournament fostered new pickleball connections, and the big winner was the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. A big thank you for the generous donations made by all participants.
Crazy 8’s Tournament on September 14, 2019
Great fun was had at the round robin tournament held at the KW Badminton Club. The players generously donated to the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. Thank you to all the participants for a fun-filled day of pickleball!
Ontario Deaf Sports Association Tournament on Saturday, September 7th
On behalf of Ontario Deaf Sports Association (Non-profit organization), we wanted to thank POWWR, in Kitchener on September 7th, 2019. Pickleball of Waterloo Wellington Region, member Fiona for helping us to find the location plus 2 POWWR volunteers – Cindy and Rob. 17 players attended including 10 were first time players. They really enjoyed it and wanted us to do that again and more often. They believe more new players and experience players will want to come too. This is Ontario Deaf Sports Association’s first time to host pickleball, it was important for us to let players know that we do have Canada Deaf Games every 2 years – next year in May in Edmonton and 2022 in Montreal. Thank you again to Fiona, Cindy and Rob.
ODSA President Dana McCarthy
Pickleball Tournament presented by POWWR!
Thirty-six enthusiastic players took to the courts at KCI and battled for the ultimate team championship and the right to claim first prize, a pickle Christmas tree ornament!
Okay, the actual purpose of the event was to enjoy 5 or 6 games of pickleball, give a donation to student-athletes in need at KCI and raise money and give donations to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Mission accomplished!
Sincere thanks to all participants for their enthusiastic play and generosity in support of KCI Athletes and the Food Bank.
Food Bank Totals:
174 lbs of food = 154 meals
$313.00 cash donation = 939 meals
TOTAL = 1093 meals!
Also, thanks to Bob Riehl for his sponsorship and donation of items to our prize table. bgriehl@gmail.com
Hope to see everyone at our next tournament!
POWWR
CSI Tournament at RIM Park
On June 12th and 13th the City of Waterloo completed another successful CSI Tournament at Rim Park. the competitors were very keen and demonstrated good sportsmanship over the two days.
The POWWR Pickleball Club enjoyed the opportunity to volunteer its services during the competition. A few of our members were involved in keeping stats, refereeing medal games and acting as gym marshalls. A few referees in training had their first taste of refereeing in tournament play and hopefully will continue to participate in future events.
A big thank-you to all the participants and volunteers who made the event such a success. Also, congratulations to all the winners who medaled in each of the events.
This year’s event was held in June, but it is hoped that it will return to its original date in March for next year.
Congratulations to everyone and good luck to those teams moving on to the Provincial Summer Games!
Also thanks to the set up, take down crew, and a special thanks to Marilyn Pearce and Ann Weber for a full day of tournament work!
The OSGA (Ontario Senior Games Association) hosted an Open Pickleball Tournament May 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the Rim complex in Waterloo.
We had a number of local first, second and third place finishers in both men’s women’s and mixed play. Here are just a few. Congratulations!
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POWWR Mondays
It is official, POWWR has leased four Pickleball courts at the KW Badminton club in Kitchener on Monday nights from 7:00pm till 9:00pm. As you can see by the picture, it is just a wee bit cold, as this section of the old curling rink has no heat! So sometimes layers, toques and mitts are needed for the warm up, literally to warm up! This hardy, dedicated group of very enthusiastic players started playing the end of November and will play right through till mid May. A number of different playing formats will be used throughout the season. Ladder, play and split, strategy sessions, and socials…of course! If anyone is interested in joining POWWR Monday’s next season contact us at powwrinfo@gmail.com.
Local players win some hardware at the Ontario Championships
The team format of this tournament fostered new pickleball connections, and the big winner was the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. A big thank you for the generous donations made by all participants.
Crazy 8’s Tournament on September 14, 2019
Great fun was had at the round robin tournament held at the KW Badminton Club. The players generously donated to the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region. Thank you to all the participants for a fun-filled day of pickleball!
Ontario Deaf Sports Association Tournament on Saturday, September 7th
On behalf of Ontario Deaf Sports Association (Non-profit organization), we wanted to thank POWWR, in Kitchener on September 7th, 2019. Pickleball of Waterloo Wellington Region, member Fiona for helping us to find the location plus 2 POWWR volunteers – Cindy and Rob. 17 players attended including 10 were first time players. They really enjoyed it and wanted us to do that again and more often. They believe more new players and experience players will want to come too. This is Ontario Deaf Sports Association’s first time to host pickleball, it was important for us to let players know that we do have Canada Deaf Games every 2 years – next year in May in Edmonton and 2022 in Montreal. Thank you again to Fiona, Cindy and Rob.
ODSA President Dana McCarthy
Pickleball Tournament presented by POWWR!
Thirty-six enthusiastic players took to the courts at KCI and battled for the ultimate team championship and the right to claim first prize, a pickle Christmas tree ornament!
Okay, the actual purpose of the event was to enjoy 5 or 6 games of pickleball, give a donation to student-athletes in need at KCI and raise money and give donations to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Mission accomplished!
Sincere thanks to all participants for their enthusiastic play and generosity in support of KCI Athletes and the Food Bank.
Food Bank Totals:
174 lbs of food = 154 meals
$313.00 cash donation = 939 meals
TOTAL = 1093 meals!
Also, thanks to Bob Riehl for his sponsorship and donation of items to our prize table. bgriehl@gmail.com
Hope to see everyone at our next tournament!
POWWR
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PICKLEBALL AMBASSADORS – MARY AND PHILIP RAJOTTE
January 2013 while vacationing near Puerta Vallarta, Mexico we were introduced to a new sport called Pickleball. We had played all the racquet sports over the years but had never heard of Pickleball, what’s that? We were handed a paddle and a ball with holes! The courts were asphalt, cracked and uneven in spots and the nets were probably tennis high. We were advised of a few rudimentary rules and told to hit the ball over the net. Zap, the attraction was instant and we were hooked. Playing was so much fun, easy and social.
Back home and Phil is searching the internet for Pickleball sites. Downtown Community Center offers Pickleball….let’s Go! Staff at the facility were very polite and helpful. The more we played, the more we wanted to play. Forest Heights Community Center, the “YMCA”, Kingsdale Community Center, etc.
February 2014, we, along with Marsha and Jack Redmond presented Pickleball to Jim Zuber and Kendra Priddle at the Research In Motion sports complex in Waterloo. Facility workers joined in the play wearing their steel toed shoes. It was great fun doing the demonstration. Nets, poles and paddles were purchased by RIM and the game was on. Court play was offered free of charge until September. In the first year 3500 players attended the program now named the Waterloo Pickleball Club. To access sites that offer Pickleball go to Pickleball Association of Ontario.
Along the way we realized that there was a great need for referees so we studied the rules and offered a workshop to introduce the “rules” of the game. Fun time sharing our love of the sport with others.
As the sport continued to grow in our region we volunteered to help with the initial formation of a new organization, Pickleball of Waterloo Wellington Region or POWWR. POWWR is a registered non-profit volunteer run association. POWWR provides a safe and welcoming environment for the promotion, development and growth of the sport of Pickleball in the Waterloo-Wellington Region of Ontario.
We have volunteered at local tournaments, London, Hamilton, and Midland. We feel privileged to be ambassadors for this growing sport. See you on the courts.
