Fifteen teams of pickleball players suited up Saturday at YYC Pickleball to take part in a fundraising tournament to raise funds supporting research into mitochondrial disease. According to the Canadian Rare Disease Network, one in 5,000 people has a genetic mitochondrial disease, with MitoCanada’s website saying “there is a significant gap in support and treatments for patients,” due to the rarity of the disease. “People who have mitochondrial disease often have chronic fatigue, brain fog, and it can be fatal in some circumstances,” said MitoCanada’s board chair Zach Seymour. “It’s a very rare disease, and I feel like it’s one of the areas where we don’t really know a lot about it. So that was really our way to try to provide more education and more funding to an organization that is so great,” said YYC Pickleball owner Ivy Chan. For Seymour, he’s seen both his mother and brother battle the disease, so he knows firsthand just how much it can impact someone’s life. “It’s very debilitating. Someone with mitochondrial disease might spend 14 hours a day in bed, and then when they are out of bed, they can’t think, they get confused, they have trouble focusing,” Seymour said. “It really impacts your entire life. You can’t live an ordinary life,” he added. ‘Devastating effects’ The mitochondria is known as the powerhouse of the cell, and MitoCanada’s website says any mutation in that gene can have “devastating effects on multiple body organs,” including “drastic effects on the brain, which is highly energy dependent.” “It’s really tough, right? I had to take on a big leadership role at a very young age as my mom couldn’t work, and my brother ended up dropping out of high school, so I’m kind of the one that can carry the family,” Seymour said. MitoCanada is a patient-service organization, supporting people who have been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease and supporting research, on top of raising awareness. No official fundraising number was known from the pickleball tournament, although Chan’s early estimates were in the thousands of dollars range. Seymour expects that money to help support MitoCanada’s scholarship programs for diagnosed students, among other support services. “We’re also trying to get our new diagnosis kit for people who have just been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease,” Seymour said. As for YYC Pickleball’s involvement, Chan says it was a great partnership between her gym and MitoCanada, as pickleball is the fastest growing sport in Canada, so the fundraising wouldn’t face many barriers of entry. “Pickleball is generally a sport that can be played by all generations, all ages, all skill demographics, so it really addresses the large population of Canada and being able to raise more awareness for MitoCanada is basically the goal here,” Chan said. To learn more about mitochondrial disease, or MitoCanada, you can visit its website here.
