Since 1984, USA Pickleball has been the cornerstone of pickleball in the United States, providing players, organizations, manufacturers, and referees with official rules, equipment standards, and tournament sanctioning.
Today marks a significant shift in the sport’s governance landscape with the announcement of the United Pickleball Association’s (UPA) new governing body, UPA of America (UPA-A). The UPA-A claims that it will protect, grow, and champion pickleball at all levels, aligning with the sport’s rapid expansion and evolving needs.
The UPA’s press release highlights the supposed urgency and importance of this transition. The statistics they highlighted underscore the sport’s explosive growth: pickleball saw a staggering 52% increase in participants from 2022 to 2023, outpacing the next fastest-growing sport by 33 percentage points, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. With such rapid growth, the UPA suggests the need for a new forward-thinking, and proactive governing body.
The UPA-A has been established to address these needs, ensuring the sport’s integrity while embracing innovation. This new organization pledges to work collaboratively with all stakeholders, valuing feedback from the sport’s most passionate advocates and acting on their insights.
Collaborative Efforts and Immediate Priorities
One of the UPA-A’s first tasks is to bring together key stakeholders to consider pressing issues, starting with paddle regulations. To immediately address this problem, the UPA-A has formed two advisory boards: the Equipment Manufacturer Advisory Board and the Equipment Player Advisory Board.
The equipment advisory board includes representatives from leading companies like Franklin, Gearbox, JOOLA, Onix, Paddletek, Selkirk, Vulcan, and UPA board member Brian Levine. The player advisory board comprises top players such as Ben Johns, Julie Johnson, Brian Levine, Altaf Merchant, Catherine Parenteau, Leigh Waters, and Thomas Wilson.
These committees are expected to tackle the emerging paddle crisis by developing and enforcing new regulations that ensure fair play and maintain the sport’s integrity. While this initiative could highlight the UPA-A’s commitment to addressing rising concerns around paddle legality, it also begs the question: Is this really the right way to approach the issue?
Having pro players on an official committee feels like a foot in the right direction to have their concerns addressed, but having top-dog paddle companies like JOOLA and Selkirk represented as leaders in this discussion feels like a conflict of interest considering they’re the ones developing the paddles in question.
Suffered my first (with many to come) headshot from a @joolapickleball paddle today. They’re out of control and ruining the game @PPAtour @MajorLeaguePB @Pickleball
— Zane Navratil (@ZaneNavratil) May 15, 2024
Ideally, we think it should be the players, league officials, and an official paddle-testing company at the center of setting paddle regulation standards, and then those rulings would be passed onto the paddle companies. It feels like UPA-A should host regular meetings with paddle companies about the rules, but not have them in the building to dictate those rules.
However, maybe having paddle company representatives in the equation will help immediately clear up any issues with the technologies they produce. Let’s hope that this new system does end up working for PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball (MLP) events moving forward, which in turn will impact play at the recreational level.
Enhancing On-Site Testing at Major Events
Speaking of paddle-testing companies, the UPA-A emphasized its ongoing collaboration with Pickle Pro Labs (PPL) to enhance on-site testing at MLP and PPA Tour events. PPL, an independent third-party organization, plays a crucial role in protecting the game’s integrity by preventing product-related issues from negatively impacting the sport’s growing market.
While specific details about changes in testing procedures are yet to be disclosed, the UPA-A’s proactive stance is ultimately a positive sign for professional players who have long advocated for improved testing protocols.
However, if last year’s Paddle Gate debacle is any indication, we have yet to see consistency with the testing protocol by MLP and PPA. Hopefully, UPA-A’s formation mitigates further issues moving forward.
How Does This Affect You As A Player?
For recreational players, the immediate impact of these changes will be minimal. Everyday games and local leagues will continue as usual, with possible minor adjustments as new rules and regulations are implemented.
However, tournament players, especially those participating in UPA-sanctioned events, will need to stay informed about specific rules and equipment approvals. This differentiation could lead to some initial confusion if you’re bouncing between USAP and UPA-A events, but it underscores the importance of staying updated with both governing bodies’ guidelines.
How different these rulesets will look remains to be seen, so we’ll just have to keep our eyes on PPA and MLP events to watch for any major differences from USAP’s rulebook begin to pop up.
Professional Pickleball Dynamics
The introduction of the UPA-A brings significant changes to the professional pickleball landscape; notably, an even greater division between the APP Tour and the MLP/PPA (UPA). Recently, the APP Tour issued a statement supporting USA Pickleball as an independent governing body, and alluded to a stance against UPA-A, as they see USAP as being “free from conflicts of interest by a single commercial entity.”
This move suggests that the APP anticipated the UPA-A’s announcement and sought to assert its position on the matter early. While a lot of pickleball media has held a firm focus on the happenings of the UPA, the APP seemingly continues to thrive on its model that has been consistent for years now, utilizing the strengths of USAP-sanctioning to host world-class tournaments.
Professional players now find themselves navigating a complex environment with the UPA and UPA-A on one side and the APP and USA Pickleball on the other. While these types of divisions often lead to the merging of a singular body (i.e. literally what happened with PPA and MLP last year), we don’t foresee a near future where USA Pickleball unites with the UPA-A.
Time will tell, but for now, it appears we are stuck with two different pro organizations, and now two different governing bodies. And here we thought that pickleball was all about bringing people together…
Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges
While the current division may seem daunting, it also presents opportunities for healthy competition and innovation. The establishment of new rules and regulations, particularly concerning equipment safety and quality, can certainly benefit the sport as a whole, not just at the pro level.
As the governing bodies strive to protect and enhance pickleball, the hope is that their efforts will serve the best interests of the growing community of players and fans. While we don’t expect it, hopefully we see cooperation between UPA-A and USA Pickleball as we enter this new era.
Ultimately, the future of pickleball governance remains uncertain. Whether the UPA-A and USAP will coexist or one organization will emerge as the dominant force, the priority should be the continued growth and integrity of the sport. If the decisions made by these governing bodies reflect the collective interests of the pickleball community, the sport should sustain its meteoric rise.
