Selkirk has WORDS for UPA

It’s the worst-guarded secret, but Selkirk is - to put it plainly - NOT happy with the UPA. In a letter sent to the UPA, they bring to light some ethically questionable practices within the larger UPA organization (including UPA leadership, the UPA-A governing body, and the PPL paddle-testing partner).

We’re including the letter in its entirety here, addressed to the UPA, which was not-so-sneakily leaked across pickleball forums last week.

In short, Selkirk is extraordinarily unhappy with “incompetent” leadership in the PPL, namely former suit salesman Gary Brody, who heads the organization with absolutely no engineering expertise. Despite being assured Gary is a “cool guy,” he does not have the expertise required to oversee the testing procedures properly.

More importantely, Selkirk has flagged the glaring anti-trust and anti-consumer practices of these testing procedures, the way guidelines that have been handed down behind closed doors (and exclusively to Joola), and the underhanded way financial interests are intertwined amongst the alphabet soup of organizations behind this mess.

Selkirk honorably points out that bringing these issues to light is not necessarily financially beneficial to them, as they could afford the high barrier to entry and force out competition, but their commitment to the ethics of competition and business practices is far too high a value for them to remain silent.

Two specific options were outlined as a path forward:

Option 1: Restructure UPA-A

• Restructure PPL to avoid conflicts of interest and increase oversight and transparency

• UPA-A and/or the certification body of UPA-A must be converted to a non-profit with independent board members

• Reduce the price of certification to enable fair competition and pro-consumer behavior

• Jason Aspes must remove all conflicts of interest if they exist

Option 2: Return Paddle Certification to USA Pickleball

• UPA-A and/or the certification body of UPA-A must be converted to a non-profit with independent board members

• Governance of testing must remain with USAP, while improvements within this organization must continue to be made

After this letter circulated, so did a response from Vulcan’s GM of Pickleball, Lucia DiGiacomo. We’ve included this here as well:

These are serious accusations directed toward UPA leadership, specifically Jason Aspes, who was responsible for not only making the deal with Joola, but thinking he could convince the other manufacturers they received the guidelines when they actually didn’t. Maybe gaslighting worked at The Kitchen, but it can’t fly at the UPA.

The sport seems poised at this precipice, and as Selkirk pointed out, the future of pickleball is bleak if a for-profit governing body pushes out neutral, not-for-profit one.

Fans, players, consumers, and paddle companies not named Joola, await the UPA’s response.