UPA-A Makes Announcement Regarding Paddle Testing, But It's Not What You Might Think

Thedink Pickleball 5 months ago 49 views

Last week pro Rob Nunnery tweeted and The Dink reported on information from multiple sources that the UPA-A was allegedly planning to charge paddle manufacturers $100k for annual paddle certification, beginning in 2025.

While that isn't the case as of yet, the UPA-A did make a paddle-testing announcement on Tuesday.

UPA-A's new equipment testing program

The United Pickleball Association of America (UPA-A) announced that it has established the UPA Certification Program in partnership with Pickle Pro Labs (PPL) – a third-party, independent equipment-testing organization.

The announcement also mentioned that PPL will collaborate with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, which is renowned for its work with Major League Baseball on bat and ball testing. The Baseball Research Center, which was founded with a $400,000 grant from MLB, helped resolve the "juiced-ball controversy" in 2000, a time when baseballs were flying out of ballparks at an abnormal rate.

Earlier this week, pro and MLP team owner Travis Rettenmaier suggested that pickleball is in its own juicing era and that action needs to be taken.

"The advantage is about as substantial as I've ever seen in sports. There's nothing like it," Rettenmaier said. "It's like metal bats to wooden bats."

This is a huge step in establishing a mandatory certification for all paddles used in UPA-sanctioned events.

"The United Pickleball Association of America is committed to upholding the integrity of the game and ensuring pickleball’s continued growth," said Jason Aspes, President of UPA-A.

"The collaboration with PPL and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, an institution that has set the gold standard in sports equipment testing, signifies our commitment to excellence and innovation. This partnership will ensure our testing and certification program is unmatched in the industry."

How much is this going to cost paddle companies?

Right now, there is no indication of fees for paddle certification.

However, it's worth noting the choice of wording in the press release:

UPA-A will offer an interim certification program to provide expedited, short-term certification based on Paddle Face Deflection and RPM measurements until the full certification program launches later in 2024. Details of the Interim Certification testing will be made available in the next 30 days. All paddles certified by UPA-A will be subject to an ongoing compliance program to ensure that the paddles submitted for certification match the paddles made available to consumers.

The use of interim here is not lost on us, and we wonder if the "leaked" alleged information and the backlash it received on social media and some of the pickleball podcasts had something to do with it.

What information was "leaked?"

Well, it depends on who you ask, because shortly after we reported on Nunnery's tweet:

Is this fair amount for all pickleball paddle companies?@_robnunnery @pickleballpod @PPAtour @USAPickleball pic.twitter.com/Id5ntPLaeE

— The Dink Pickleball (@Pickleball) June 19, 2024

Thomas Shields, Founder of The Dink, received a response from Connor Pardoe, CEO of the PPA Tour, implying the report was false:

@readmynewslettr feel free to reach out, get proper information and report real news. https://t.co/jfzkNCX6Hr

— Connor Pardoe (@connorpardoe_pb) June 20, 2024

Pro Zane Navratil and Thomas - co-hosts of the PicklePod – discussed all of this on Monday's episode:

We'll never know whether our report or the information that came out is related to today's announcement.

Many people wondered if this new barrier to entry would hurt the "little guys" in pickleball. It appears the UPA-A has an answer for that, as well.

In their announcement, they mentioned that independent paddle brands, including Volair, ACE, and Six Zero, will join the Equipment Manufacturer Advisory Board.

The previously announced board included:

Franklin
Gearbox
JOOLA
Onix
Paddletek
Selkirk
Vulcan
and Brian Levine - a current board member of the UPA

What this means for amateur pickleball players

According to the release:

Once UPA certification is established, it will be mandatory for all paddles used in United Pickleball Association (UPA) professional events to have the UPA-A certification.

It remains to be seen how this will align with current USA Pickleball certification and whether amateurs will be required to use specific paddles in UPA or USAP events.

We're not saying you should keep your JOOLA Gen3, but from what we've heard, the customer service team there isn't answering any calls right now anyway.

This is the most aggressive move we've seen to date regarding the ongoing paddle controversy. If the UPA-A can provide a true solution, why would any player or manufacturer care about USAP certification?

The Dink will have all of the latest updates and announcements in the coming weeks as more details emerge. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook, X) for the latest information.

Source: Thedink Pickleball

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