{"id":815792,"date":"2026-07-21T06:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/815792\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:31:24","slug":"ottawa-woman-90-inspires-others-with-her-love-of-pickleball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/815792\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa woman, 90, inspires others with her love of pickleball"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 90, Ottawa\u2019s Val Couitis proves age is just a number as she inspires everyone at the pickleball court. CTV\u2019s Josh Marano has her story. <\/p>\n

At 90 years old, Val Couitis has no plans of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Nearly every day, she\u2019s on the courts at Valleystream Pickleball Club, paddle in hand, playing for hours alongside people decades younger.<\/p>\n

For Couitis, the game is about much more than keeping score.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the people, the company and getting my exercise,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s most important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Couitis only discovered pickleball seven years ago, but staying active has been a priority for much longer.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pickleball Couitis during a pickleball match at Valleystream Pickleball Club. (Josh Marano\/CTV News Ottawa) <\/p>\n

After undergoing heart bypass surgery 25 years ago, she made a commitment to look after her health, a mindset that eventually led her to pickleball.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t feel sorry for yourself. Get up, enjoy life,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to sit at home. Do something, anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying active also helps Couitis care for her husband, who lives with dementia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very, very important because I have to take care of my husband,\u201d she said. \u201cI have to be in shape and be able to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her determination has made her a familiar face, and an inspiration, at Valleystream Pickleball Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe loves playing, she loves the competitive aspect of it,\u201d said Victor Dillabaugh, vice-president of the club. \u201cTo see her running out and move back and forth on a court every day, it\u2019s inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Pickleball Val Couitis is celebrating 90 years old, and says she has no plan to slow down on her passion for pickleball. (Josh Marano\/CTV News Ottawa) <\/p>\n

Friend and fellow player Derry Cullwick says Couitis is as competitive as she is kind.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a superb player. She has a signature shot, it\u2019s called the lob, and everybody knows that Val gets a point with her lobs every day,\u201d Cullwick said.<\/p>\n

The club recently celebrated Couitis\u2019 90th birthday, a reflection of the impact she\u2019s had on the people around her.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pickleball The club celebrating Couitis’ 90th birthday. Val Courtis\/Provided) <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always happy, always upbeat,\u201d Cullwick said. \u201cThat\u2019s good for all of us to have that kind of mentality coming into play, and in life in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for when she\u2019ll hang up her paddle, Couitis doesn\u2019t see that happening anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll play until I can\u2019t move anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cSo long as I can move, I move.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 90, Ottawa\u2019s Val Couitis proves age is just a number as she inspires everyone at the pickleball…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":815793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[712,49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-815792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}