Trampoline Effect: The Word Game

Trampoline effect is an interesting word and the semantics of it in regulation are changing. In a paddle ball impact the ball is far more elastic. Think of it as it's described, like a trampoline. The more elastic object does the flexing, not the solid one. Further proof of this is the fact that in PBCoR the ball is indeed considered to be totally elastic and its contribution to power is ignored.

The claim is that by doing this only the impact of paddles on ball speed will be tested, but that's not how the real world works. There are not perfectly elastic impacts and we have entropy to deal with. Using a modified ball without cutouts does not alleviate this. 

At the end of the day PBCoR expects you to believe what's written on paper carries over to reality. However, in reality even a standardized test ball will interact with paddles vastly differently based on weight and geometry alone. What's more, the test is set up for standard paddles and prejudices other form factors. 

Why is this being done? It's simple, to standardize paddles in high level play. This will set a trend for the rest of the sports trajectory which right now looks bad. Having faith in the regulations the USAP comes up with is like being in a cult, you must have faith because you will not get substance. 

If you want to play with the current lolipops fine, but if you want to pass them along to your children or any sport at all players will need to become more involved. The class actions against Joola are promising and hopefully they will be punished for their crypto recall.

The USAP says it has 7 more paddles that will be delisted. We don't know what they are or if the manufacturers have been informed. But whichever paddles they are, they don't appear to be bothering anyone who actually plays pickleball.