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Are Boomers to blame for crazy paddle prices?

Are Boomers to blame for crazy paddle prices?

PLUS: The "quiet" OWL paddle IN ACTION + The science behind why people think pickleball is annoying

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TODAY’S MENU

Daily Scoop: The crazy price tags…are Boomers to blame?
News Stash: The science behind why pickleball is annoying. The national championship attendance numbers, revealed. OWL paddle in action.
Sizzling Skills: “Act like a rubber band”
Kitchen Talk: Would you drive 1+ hours to play pickleball every day?

DAILY SCOOP

The crazy price tags…are Boomers to blame?

In a recent Twitter post, I made what I thought was a very obvious observation within the sport of pickleball right now. Here’s the post:

Moments before, I saw Anna Leigh Waters, the #1 world’s women’s pickleball player, advertising her brand new paddle in partnership with Paddletek.

And when I saw that the paddle was priced at $229.00, my mouth dropped. I’m well aware that, from a marketing standpoint, the price point has more to do with its association with ALW and less to do with the paddle being “revolutionary”.

But it sure got me wondering: Who the heck is shelling out an arm and a leg for such an expensive paddle?

A Twitter follower came to the rescue and helped me get more insight into answering my question.

Here is the graph he shared with me:

See a trend? Boomers, the richest generation with the most disposable income, are the ones taking the largest market share right now in pickleball, according to the statistics from the recent Biofreeze National Championships.

So therefore, while larger price tags are a bit alarming, I’d make the guess that boomers are justifying the price tag as pickleball has become very popular amongst the boomer generation.

One Boomer was not so happy and replied:

Yep, so instead of trashing that generation and capitalism how about just getting after it like we did.... Sky's the limit, quit griping and wanting something for nothing...

While a Millennial rebutted:

I agree with the paddle price issue. Paddles are not durable enough to be priced so high. No other sport do you have to replace your primary equipment so frequently. Does not bode well for the idea we push that pickleball is for the masses and it’s easily accessible cost-wise.

Different generation. Different views.

But what I want to know is, given the price trends that we see right now, are we going to have to be paying upwards of $400+ in the near future?

Are companies seeing pickleball as a short-term trend and hoping to simply capitalize off it now before its inevitable bubble burst?

I want to hear your thoughts.

Comment your thoughts below.

NEWS STASH

The science behind why pickleball is annoying

Happenings: Pickleball players say it’s not so bad. Science says otherwise.

Scientific analysis has made it a fact that pickleball noise is truly irritating due to its mid-frequency pitch. At 70 decibels, while the volume alone doesn't damage ears, its consistent yet unpredictable dinks are an annoyance to the human ear.

Mix in a bunch of courts and 30+ balls going at once…even I have to admit its torcher.

Engineers also attribute the noise to the smaller court sizes, enabling rapid rallies as complexes cram in more players. Acoustic evaluation shows that properly spacing courts 977+ feet from homes helps.

Pickleball National Championship attendance numbers, revealed

Happenings: Next time someone says pickleball isn’t a spectator sport, show them these numbers.

In jaw-dropping news, the 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships set participation, attendance, and viewership records as pickleball's premier event.

The numbers: Over 50,000 spectators and 3,500 players packed venues in Farmers Branch, Texas, nearly doubling projections and selling out finals tickets.

Peak attendance hit 9,500 on semifinal Saturday. 2.6 million tuned into 20+ hours of ESPN, Tennis Channel, and the new 24/7 platform PickleballTV coverage. Retail sales broke site records, while a Guinness World Record 264-person exhibition match highlighted festivities.

IN ACTION: The 1st “official” quiet paddle

Happenings: In last week’s newsletter, I announced that OWL, a new paddle brand, got the thumbs up as the 1st official “quiet” pickleball paddle to hit the market.

This week, I was able to find a demo video of the paddle being put into use.

Digging a bit deeper, it looks like the surface is covered in a felt-like fabric, giving it the more muted sound on impact.

Watch the video above and hear it for yourself.