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What can we do about the pickleball noise?

Plus: If you’re losing, don’t panic: just reset

shhhhh

Hello, folks! Welcome to PickleWho, both the #1 pickleball blog on the internet and provider of existential questions like “What's the meaning of life?”, “Is there a God”, and “If the first thing I eat is avocado toast at 2 p.m., is it considered a lunch, a breakfast, or a snack?”.

Now you think about it for years.

Here’s the news!

  • Pickleball reaches underserved communities

  • If you’re losing, don’t panic: just reset

  • What can we do about the noise?

Pickleball for Brooklyn residents!

Brooklyn gathers 2.5 million people and only 3 pickleball courts. That feels like leaving a slice of cake in the fridge and forgetting you share the house with 8 more people. Momma was very fertile.

Luckily, some Anna Garwood and Samin Odhwani are great folks looking to turn things around. Garwood founded Williamsburg Pickleball, a group that organizes amateur tournaments, and Odhwani is the Director of Business Operations at 35 Ventures, owned by Kevin Durant.

Yesterday this unlikely duo proposed to the community committee to refurbish three North Brooklyn parks into pickleball courts. The best part? The Kevin Durant Family Foundation will pay for everything. And if there’s one thing people love more than pickleball, it’s NBA money.

Reset the game!

We’ve all lost hope in the middle of a match. In those dark moments, we do everything we can to die with dignity:

- Throw our hardest shots.

- Snipe the back corner.

- Trash talk our opponent until they decide to forfeit the game.

But it never works. Especially if you trash-talk your opponent, as it only makes themS SIGNIFICANTLY better.

However, one option, the better option and pickleball’s secret weapon, remains : reset the game.

Yep. That’s it. Play long drawn-out points. Try to stay calm, focus on bouncing the ball, breathe deep and remember: you are not and you will never be Ben Johns. We cannot do a hero run to save losing positions. And that’s okay! Unless… You actually are Ben Johns. In which case, hi Ben, thank you for your service.

We need to talk about pickleball noise

Like my belly fat, noise is a long-time problem that most pickleball players choose to ignore. And I would support that if non-players and legislators complaints weren’t on the rise. So, what can we do about it?

According to USA Pickleball certified referee Bob Unetich, sound levels within 100 feet of courts reach 70 dBa. That’s as loud as freeway traffic. So, is there any way to stop that? Maybe. Here are a few options:

- Locate courts 200-400 feet away from residential areas.

- Add sound-proof barriers around courts.

- Invent a better sport than picklebahahahahahaha, that’s funny.

Though the last one is clearly impossible, let’s hope organizations such as the PPA Tour, USA Pickleball, and MLP join efforts to address the issue. We want to play the sport, not the potential lawsuit!

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