the queue and accelerate testing so that they get their results quicker .” Testing of paddles and other equipment has come a long way from the early 2010s when it was performed by a competent technician in a garage .
“ It ’ s an ongoing process , and like every other racquet and paddle sport , there ’ s an evolution in manufacturing processes , new material technologies , and innovations in configurations ,” Schmits says . “ It ’ s a moving target .” When the testing process has required tweaking , a crawl-walkrun approach has been utilized because USA Pickleball doesn ’ t want to make drastic changes and use costlier tests overnight — increased costs that would then drive licensing fees upward , and in turn be passed on to pickleball players in the form of higher prices for certain paddles .
“ As time passed , we introduced new tests to essentially address changes in the market ,” Schmits explains . “ For example , at the end of 2019 , it was apparent that several manufacturers were introducing new coatings on the paddles . Where the surface roughness test was adequate before , it became clear that we needed to advance the nature of testing relative to how do we measure friction off the face of the paddle .
“ We worked with NTS to develop the American Society for Testing and Materials based test for coefficient of friction . This puts us in a position to determine how much friction the face of the paddle can exert on a ball independent of its roughness or sticky texture . A paint that might be infused with compounds that increase the friction components of the face of the paddle might be smooth to the touch , but very sticky once you drag a ball across it .”
In early 2022 , several manufacturers were about to introduce open-throat paddles , a sharp departure from the industry norm of a single beam connecting the grip to the paddle head , but USA Pickleball was ready and tweaked its testing accordingly .
“ We developed a cantilever beam test , which tests the overall flexibility of the paddle ,” Schmits says . “ We were able to make sure it ’ s not too whippy or too flexible .”
And being a pickleball player since 2014 , when he took up the sport with his wife in Oregon , this gig is essentially another dream job for Schmits , who has a background in areas like industrial and systems engineering , racquet sports , and information and communications technology .
“ This really is a convergence of everything I ’ ve done before ,” he adds . “ I ’ m able to apply just about everything I ’ ve learned through my multiple careers .” •
Stephen Hunt is an accomplished freelance writer and sports statistician who has covered a multitude of subjects and sports . He is a regular contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial , Inc .
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