Great hearing a company owner's perspective! I think companies having to compete on price--with the old model keeping the barrier of entry so low--was a huge benefit to consumers. (And then having the marketplace being so confusing was actually what helped reviewers have purpose and break out as the established reviewers had [and still have] access to paddle companies that are very hard to get to even now.) All that being, the positives that stick out to me are two-fold: 1.) I do hope the new paddle regulations will at least keep the nature of open play a little less like a battlefield. 2.) With the new fees, I hope USAP will be better equipped to be faster-moving to not be put out of business and to continue steering the nature of how pickleball is played (at least) at the rec level. If the paddle business becomes purely pro-focused, I think a lot of the social benefits of pickleball will be at risk as folks will be more hesitant to drop in with the game becoming more dangerous and accident-prone with hotter and hotter paddles that folks don't know how to control. This is a surefire way to kill the growth of the sport, and I'm still not sure how viable pro pickleball is as an entertainment spectacle--and even more so if there are fewer people being introduced to the sport at the rec level. UPA's strategy might result in more intense games, but will the gameplay be any more engaging? And who's the audience? I think anyone watching the pro's play are players themselves, and the audience will only shrink if the rec play gateway/entry point to the sport is squeezed shut. But those are just my thoughts! For me, I like that pickleball is a fun and relatively worry-free recreational activity that gets people moving and interacting. And I see USAP as pretty much the only avenue focused on promoting/maintaining that, but they will need capital and resources to maintain influence as the bigger paddle companies would prefer to regulate themselves--first, on paddle standards, and then, second, either intentionally or unintentionally, on price--with collusion and price fixing at higher dollar amounts being the ultimate result IMO. Also, love the Circuit by the way! If that's where rec play goes, I'm excited! Fingers crossed! And sorry if I should have used LESS words here! The grammar police are working overtime! Lol. 😂 Keep up the great and insightful content, Larry!
Great hearing a company owner's perspective! I think companies having to compete on price--with the old model keeping the barrier of entry so low--was a huge benefit to consumers. (And then having the marketplace being so confusing was actually what helped reviewers have purpose and break out as the established reviewers had [and still have] access to paddle companies that are very hard to get to even now.)
All that being, the positives that stick out to me are two-fold: 1.) I do hope the new paddle regulations will at least keep the nature of open play a little less like a battlefield. 2.) With the new fees, I hope USAP will be better equipped to be faster-moving to not be put out of business and to continue steering the nature of how pickleball is played (at least) at the rec level.
If the paddle business becomes purely pro-focused, I think a lot of the social benefits of pickleball will be at risk as folks will be more hesitant to drop in with the game becoming more dangerous and accident-prone with hotter and hotter paddles that folks don't know how to control. This is a surefire way to kill the growth of the sport, and I'm still not sure how viable pro pickleball is as an entertainment spectacle--and even more so if there are fewer people being introduced to the sport at the rec level. UPA's strategy might result in more intense games, but will the gameplay be any more engaging? And who's the audience? I think anyone watching the pro's play are players themselves, and the audience will only shrink if the rec play gateway/entry point to the sport is squeezed shut. But those are just my thoughts!
For me, I like that pickleball is a fun and relatively worry-free recreational activity that gets people moving and interacting. And I see USAP as pretty much the only avenue focused on promoting/maintaining that, but they will need capital and resources to maintain influence as the bigger paddle companies would prefer to regulate themselves--first, on paddle standards, and then, second, either intentionally or unintentionally, on price--with collusion and price fixing at higher dollar amounts being the ultimate result IMO.
Also, love the Circuit by the way! If that's where rec play goes, I'm excited! Fingers crossed!
And sorry if I should have used LESS words here! The grammar police are working overtime! Lol. 😂 Keep up the great and insightful content, Larry!
🫡 Keep up the insightful content Larry!
The word is 'fewer' not 'less.' That is, few paddles, fewer companies, not less companies and less paddles.