Jason Aspes Chats With Donn Paben, USA Pickleball Director Of Equipment Compliance

The #CRBN Ban: Everything you need to know! 

Jason Aspes, The Kitchen, Chats With Donn Paben, USA Pickleball Director Of Equipment Compliance, about the informal Joola paddle test video.

Interview Transcript Excerpt

28:49 Jason: Let me just stop you there because some people might not be familiar with this video. A video was leaked from the US Open of you with your roughness test device and a Joola paddle. I don't think you knew that you were being videoed is that correct?

Donn: That's correct.

Jason: Okay, so you had no knowledge that you were actually being videoed and this was an informal setting. This was not a real test? I take it or was it?

Donn: Well, the gentleman asked me, "Would you throw your Starrett meter on this paddle?" 

I said, "Well, I'm not going to test the paddle for you. 
But, I'll give you one quick reading. 
But, it means nothing." 

It was kind of also for my own knowledge. 
Every time I do this 
I learn something about the paddle, too.  

Is it on my radar now? Probably.

So, I put the Starrett meter on it and took the reading.

I said, "Okay, well I'm not going to test it for you."

But, I took this one reading.

It's a little high but let's never forget that I take six readings and average them.

So, one reading means nothing.

It means nothing at all.

So, he asked me to do a second paddle

I set the Starrett on that

And I said, "Yeah, it's a little high. too

So

But, this means nothing

I'm not testing the panel here

He just asked me to do this

So I did it

And you know whatever

And I moved on.

And then all of a sudden, you know, people are saying this paddle is illegal.

That's not true.

This paddle failed Donn's test.

That's not true.

There wasn't a test.

It has taken a life of its own

It's all off this video

That I didn't know he was videoing.

Jason: I saw actually today Richard Lee who's the CEO of Joola put out a video of them testing the paddle themselves with the same, you know, roughness tester and went through the process of how that works and talking about the remote control and putting it on a flat surface. In the video, it was like on a kind of a wicker chair....

Donn: Correct.

And they vibrate when the meter starts moving around.

It's not a true reading.

I just was doing him a favor

and just put it on there

and looked at it

and walked and left

and like I said it got a life of its own.

Then all of a sudden

it failed my test.

And it wasn't a test.

Jason: Okay, fair enough. I just wanted to clear that up.