Paddle Corruption, LAWSUITS, and Fighting for This Game That We All LOVE #61

[@PickleballPrime-v2n]

I know Matt Fisher personally from PPA and cash game tournaments in our home state of AZ. I have to say, he is not only a phenomenal player, but a great human being. He is always mentioned amongst the top 25 best players in AZ. All the love Matt!

[@BrionesPickleball]

👊🏼

[@Mr.DJones]

How can he be a great human being when he is freeloading off his parents, doesn't care about them, and takes advantage of them. That is NOT a great human being. His own words.

[@PickleballPrime-v2n]

@@Mr.DJones I hear you, but can you please help me to understand your statement “doesn’t care about them”? Not sure where you got that idea from.

[@Mr.DJones]

@@PickleballPrime-v2n He is living at home, he said his parents don't really want him there. Does he pay rent? Basically, he is freeloading off his parents. And for anyone who does that, they could care less about them. JMO. :)

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Tough crowd lol

[@MichaelPickleball]

The UPA-A is looking at setting the paddle base fee at 100K, not the USAP, which is the current certifcation non-profit. UPA-A is owned by same person that owns PickleballCentral, PPA, and MLP. As most people play under USPA rules they can continue to cerifiy paddles and keep the fees low. The UPA-A can do their own, but most people don't need UPA-A certified paddles.

[@tonym753]

Best podcast I have heard regarding power paddles. I played today where my partner and the opponent’s played with gearbox power paddles. I played with a gen 2 paddle. I felt like I brought a knife to a gunfight. There’s no way to stop power from being produced. The game is already going more to group play with players not using the gearbox or jolla. Another answer is to label courts gen3 and above and other courts gen 2 and below.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

lol thanks !

[@owenallenaz]

In table tennis paddles are tested right before the match. The test is not based on the deflection or anything like that, it's based on easily measurable values such as weight, dimension, width and the presence of easily identifiable chemicals. The paddle and rubber have to be pre-approved so then pre-competition testing isn't based on performance, it is simply to make sure it is free of alteration from what was sold. It's up to the certification committee to perform the necessary random tests to ensure that they random off the shelf paddle always pass the tests. It is not sufficient to test a paddle once and say it's good forever, paddles need to be randomly purchased and tested intermittently outside a competition environment and if a company is caught using 1 paddle for testing and selling another paddle, that's a serious offense which could take an entire companies product line out of approval. Every sport mandates equipment meets standards from baseball to tennis to hocky, you can't get rid of standards.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Thanks for the insight

[@JustMakeBalls]

I want to join the Anarchy Pickleball Club. We need a team t-shirt. As an old tiny woman, I returned my Gen 3 as others were complaining…only to play against 20 year old tennis men using them against me who refuse to give them up. Joola, UPA, unmonitored testing methods, are creating an unfair playing field. What’s going on is unethical. Smaller companies won’t survive which is a shame.

[@adamscott796]

You should NOT be playing against 20's year old tennis men. They would destroy you even if they play with Perseus Gen 1/2. My son is a 11.5 UTR tennis player, and he is automatically a 5.5 DUPR pickleball player after one week of playing PB.

[@Nix27.]

In my opinion, the way they should regulate paddles at the highest level is to 1. Test the paddle at the start of the tournament with multiple scientific tests to see if it's legal. 2. After they test it, they need a permanent way to mark that specific paddle, e.g: a permanent marker on the edge of the paddle that says "LEGAL" this will ensure that after the tournament, the administrators will know that, that was the paddle they tested. 2. Test the paddle again at the end of the tournament to make sure it passes all the same tests as the first time, if it doesn't, that paddle needs to immediately be banned from the approved paddle list for every top-level tournament forever, the paddle is illegal and should not be allowed if it has such a serious change/reaction to temps, contact with the ball etc.... 3. This is where people may disagree you have two options (A) the player who played with the illegal paddle keeps their win and their standings (B) the player loses their win(s) and is removed from that bracket, if they are playing again in mixed after doubles they are fine and just have to pass the same tests as the first time. This seems full proof to me. But if you see any flaws, comment them.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Yes, problem is many paddles would fail, and pros wouldn’t have anything to play with lol

[@Nix27.]

@BrionesPickleballPodcast Yeah, true. I think a lot of that should be the pros' job to find a paddle that isn't cheating. I'd rather pros be out a paddle than for the corporations to continue to make illegal paddles that create unfair advantages for their players, which in turn make them hundreds of millions of dollars.

[@jamesforrestal8206]

Play at your own risk. safety goggles highly recommended but not mandatory. Strong hard hitters can be hazardous no matter what type of paddle they use

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

True

[@jeffsingletary1876]

One, how will the game advance and be promoted without money? The level of the pro game has greatly increased now that many of them are able to play full-time. This is good for the game. Two, every sport has regulations for the equipment they use. Yes it is an issue. A big one. People need to get together and figure this one out. Three, and I agree it should be done without crushing small business competition.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

👍🏻

[@jeraldjaffee3920]

I have not heard about Gearbox failing. They sponsor very few pro’s. Matt stated that he’d “had” played with Gearbox. I understand Joola. Gearbox paddles have never been banned. It seems like he has a bone to pick with Gearbox.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Not totally sure, it’s just his opinion.

[@pickleballnic]

The Diadem Vice and the Diadem Hush are both hotter than any Gen 3 paddle out right now.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Really ?

[@pickleballnic]

@@BrionesPickleballPodcast Oh yes. For sure.

[@dalevoigt8612]

Check out reviews on the Diadem Hush.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Will do

[@FredAllenBurge]

Why do paddle regulations even exist? What problem are they attempting to solve? I like the anarchy pickleball concept. Let the manufacturers make what they want and let the PEOPLE choose (with their dollars) what paddles they want. If one or two become most common because they are the most powerful then so be it, what's the issue? If you want to compete at the highest levels you always have to invest in the best equipment so that would not change. Competition and innovation among manufacturers would thrive which is good for everyone. Let's end the whole paddle regulation concept completely.

[@pickleballnic]

Imagine if the PPA Pro matches did what MotoGP and F1 do for tires, 1 manufacturer for paddles. It would never happen but it’s an interesting thought.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Pickleball is much closer to tennis…

[@harryhoople1684]

I'm unsure why Briones gave voice to a person who might be an aspiring pro, but brings very little to the table except his strange opinions. Anarchy pickleball?? Has he spoken with any USAP or UPA-A official? Has he visited a paddle testing facility? Does he have a business degree? Does he understand the structure of non-profits? Has he ever been employed by a non-profit? Has he ever been employed by anyone? I think Briones would have had a better podcast interviewing someone randomly picked from his local court.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Thanks, plan to have others from the other side on soon

[@HowieB-isMe3885]

So why do smaller companies need to pay $100K to get their paddles approved if it’s all bs anyway.!!!

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Crazy

[@Masterdebator881]

Anarchy solves everything!

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Maybe

[@HowieB-isMe3885]

Wr2 softening the ball, then it would not bounce.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Possibly

[@yoshig4824]

What is a joola 2.5? A mod?

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Yes

[@bart1476]

Matt just cut the hair off. Ridiculous hair.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Lol

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Wow

[@EG80]

50 minutes in and just had a thought, why don't we just regulate what is used in tournaments, gather up the tournament sponsors and players and let them know what paddle will be used, it's specs, maybe why that paddle if there's a specific reason (I'm thinking paddles with pink edge guards for breast cancer awareness or something where 50% of the proceeds go to X non profit charity). Clearly we can't regulate everything about the paddles but why not regulate how clear the information of the paddle gets presented to the consumer, ex: paddle A has crazy pop and has a potentially dangerous exit velocity with not much effort needed to reach that threshold therefore paddle A needs to have a bright red edge guard or handle or some sort of easily recognizable sign that it's a hot paddle, I was thinking why not have a bright red bottom cap on the handle of the paddle, this way players just gotta show each other the bottom of their handles to know what they're up against or what they're signing up for if they decide to play against or with someone with a hot paddle. Regardless of how it's done I think we need to make it easy to just look at a paddle and be able to quickly decide on wearing eye protection or not. Btw not completely unrelated but what do we think about uncapping spin? I think it will shoot the skill ceiling way up which is bad for newcomers but maybe it doesn't matter because your average joe probably can't be a spin master? Idk I'd like to hear from others I actually don't have enough information and personal experience with lots of grit to be able to form an opinion on it

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Thanks for the input

[@Golden_Fire_Chariots]

Easy fix, whos with me? 1) start your own league 2) overhead serves are legal. 3) sand paper paddles are legal. 4) run great tourneys, with much better payouts. 5) produce quality paddles at much cheaper rates.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

I agree with half of these lol

[@jamesforrestal8206]

Even if you're a weak hitter the ball can deflect off the net and catch you right in the eye. Who's responsible? No one's responsible it's a sport. play at your own risk

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Thanks

[@kimleith1378]

Ball change is the answer for slowing down the game, not paddles. No expensive testing equipment or lame protocols.

[@iantercero5380]

What are you talking about. Then normal paddles will hit the ball even slower? So you’ll need hot paddles to hit a formally normal ball? That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. The paddles are the problem. Any faster then eye pro will be mandatory.

[@kimleith1378]

@@iantercero5380 Tournaments only. That's where all the BS is.

[@BrionesPickleballPodcast]

Not sure if it’ll solve it