The DUDE: The GOAT of Under $100 Carbon Fiber Paddles

The DUDE: Play With Attitude

The Dude Pickleball Paddle

Remember the last time you were playing a match, and you heard someone from the sidelines yell, “wow that dude is really good!”?
NO??? You don’t remember that???

Well, we are here to fix that with The DUDE.   The newest 16mm carbon fiber super paddle from the team at Pickleball Rocks.
This bad boy is rock solid and made to last.  You’ll feel the softness of the popular thick 16mm paddles, but unleash the power that you get with 3K carbon fiber.  Also, and you may not care about this, but The DUDE has a distinctive “thunk” when you hit the ball.  Yes, it is a very quiet paddle compared to most other paddle in player’s bags.

So next time you are on the court with this new paddle, don’t be surprised if you hear from the sidelines,
“WOW, THAT DUDE IS IMPRESSIVE!”

They might be talking about you…..and then again it could be the paddle.  But who cares!

Pink Widow: The Paddle Designed By The Ladies of the Courts

Six months ago, our team at Pickleball Rocks reached out to our huge Facebook fan base and asked a simple question:

“With all the macho named paddles out there, what would be a great paddle name that ladies would like?  Go ladies!”
And OH MY the responses!

There were names like Honey Badger and Godiva.  There was Queen B and there was Bella.
And yep there were names of both female and male body parts that we just won’t mention here.  🙂
But the point is, we were inundated with names to choose from and ultimately the name that won out was “The Pink Widow”.

Thank you Michell Cook for being the first to submit that winning name.

So next we put some graphic designers to work to come up with some fun Pink Widow paddle designs.  Then again, we put you Facebook pickleball addicts to work to vote and choose the winning design that would become “The Pink Widow”.
And again, we loved what you decided on.

With your help we decided that Pink Widow would be a soft, yet powerful paddle, so we chose a super thick 16mm polymer honeycomb core that would absorb not only the impact of the ball, but the sound from the impact as well.  We love the sound of the ball hitting this paddle and will be sending it off to the USA Pickleball sound testing guys to see if it meets their “quiet paddle” standards. 
We believe it will.

We also wanted to give you the latest and greatest surface in paddles, so the Pink Widow has the iconic T700 carbon fiber face.  Plenty of strength and yes, plenty of spin.

And finally, you told us that you wanted the new Pink Widow paddle to be affordable.  You said it had to be a price where everyone could have one, and for some players even two, of them in their paddle bags.
So the Pink Widow paddle is coming to courts everywhere for $79.

CLICK HERE TO BUY ONE or TWO TODAY

Ladies you hit a home run with the creation of the new Pink Widow and we are excited to bring it to you.

Be ready for the reaction when you walk onto the court with it in your hand.
People will want to try your new weapon of choice.
So be ready to share it at your own risk.  You may not get it back.

Thanks again for all the team work that went into bringing The Pink Widow to life.
Let the fun begin!!!!
-Rocket and the whole Pickleball Rocks Team

Pink Widow Pickleball Paddle by Pickleball Rocks

Breaking News: Lime Green Pickleball Shirts No Longer Banned

January 1st, 2023: The new USA Pickleball Rules officially went into effect

SPOILER ALERT:  You can wear Lime Green shirts or apparel while playing pickleball. No Rule Against It.

Every year it is a big deal.  The new rules go into effect and immediately everybody starts talking about them. Some rules get no discussion, while some rule’s conversations go viral with players dissecting every sentence and word to make sure they understand the intent and how to apply the rule to their next game of pickleball.
 
This year one of the first posts to hit social media was a post that said “lime green shirts will have to stay in the closet.  USA Pickleball rules have now banned them.”  And just like that, people started commenting and sharing the news in record fashion. It became entertaining to watch social media take this very simple rule and twist it into something it isn’t. Soon the whole world was talking about the fact that one of their favorite colored shirts could no longer be worn on a pickleball court.

So if you know anything about Pickleball Rocks, you know we sell shirts, and yes we sell lime green shirts.  And yes we sell lime green shirts in big numbers. So at first, that first social media post was quite disappointing to us, but at the same time became intriguing to us.
The intrigue????

Did USA Pickleball actually single out one color and ban it from being worn in the sport of pickleball?    Just didn’t seem to make sense.   So we did what any good, common sense practicing pickleball player would do.  We decided to actually read the rule book.  

What did we find?
The rule that everyone was talking about is rule 2.G.1. Safety and Distraction: A player may be required to change apparel the is inappropriate, including that which approximates the color of the ball.
 
So somehow social media took that simple rule to mean, YOU CAN’T WEAR A LIME GREEN SHIRT.

Rule 2.G.1 is for player’s protection, and rightfully so, but the rule is ONLY for a piece of apparel (could be a shirt or could be shorts, or could be wristbands) that is exactly the same color as the ball being used.  In other words, you literally can’t see the ball when it is laid on the apparel. If there is a contrast, a tournament director will not ask for a change. In rec play, we are the referee, and likewise we should only ask someone to change an item if it truly is causing the complete loss of sight of the ball.

Think about it.  In rec play and even in tournaments there are many different colored balls being used.  White, Red, Lime Green, Yellow and many others.

This picture below from social media, shows well known pro player Dekel Bar in a lime green shirt.  If you look at the ball in his hand, it is yellow.  So a tournament director would never ask for a shirt change.

So the bottom line is, wear what you want (but not exactly the same color of the ball).  Have fun and…
LET’S PLAY.
-Rocket

8.9 Million Pickleball Players Now Playing: Can You Say Tsunami?

Wow! I thought our sport was exploding before.  Now the word explosion almost under describes the growth.  How about tsunami?  This just in from USA Pickleball.  The 2023 Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s (SFIA) Topline Participation Report was released today, announcing that pickleball continued to be America’s fastest-growing sport for the third year in a row.

According to the report, pickleball participation almost doubled in 2022, increasing by 85.7 percent year-over-year and by an astonishing 158.6 percent over three years.

“After anticipating the 2023 SFIA report and its insightful findings, we were thrilled to see further evidence-based research that confirms pickleball’s momentum and exponential growth continued last year,” said Stu Upson, USA Pickleball Chief Executive Officer. “This data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association is valuable for our team’s efforts to build the pickleball community and reach new mainstream audiences, as the sport collectively reaches new heights.”

Pickleball is now up to a total of 8.9 million players in the United States over the age of six years old, an increase from 4.8 million in the 2022 SFIA Report. Tom Cove, SFIA President and Chief Executive Officer, stated in his Executive Summary that “you will find the pickleball craze is alive and well, still the fastest growing sport in the United States.”

The annual SFIA Topline Participation report provides a comprehensive snapshot of all sports, fitness, and recreation activities in the United States for the previous year. SFIA research is the leading supplier of sports and fitness research, publishing over 100 industry reports each year on industry and product categories.  END OF USA PICKLEBALL RELEASE.

So we all have some work to do.  Gonna need more courts!
But in the meantime….

Let’s play!
-Rocket

Pickleball Rocks Opens First Retail Brick and Mortar Store In Brookville

If you haven’t heard of the sport of pickleball, you soon will.  Simply turn on the TV and on any given weekend you’ll see players competing in tournaments and leagues across the country and around the world.  Yes, over 70 countries now have people playing the fun sport of pickleball. Television shows like Good Morning America and The Today Show have recently showcased pickleball, and the news is abuzz about the fact that people like Tom Brady, Lebron James and Mark Cuban now own Major League Pickleball teams.

We personally have been playing pickleball in the tiny town of Brookville, Indiana since 2008. And yes, thanks to Brookville friends and residents Marilyn Hedrick, Larry Sheets and Charlie and Betty Allen, pickleball has been played here since 2006.

So with the simple cutting of a ribbon, we’ve launched the very first Pickleball Rocks Shop at 110 Main Street in our hometown of Brookville, Indiana.

This new site will be the first midwest store dedicated solely to the sport of pickleball and further solidifies Pickleball Rocks as the country’s best known pickleball apparel brand.  The shop will handle much of the world famous Pickleball Rocks branded apparel as well as their new branded paddles and portable nets. Additionally people will be able to demo paddles from major paddle makers like Gearbox, Selkirk, Engage and Pro-Lite Sports.

 

 

USA Pickleball Rocks
Pickleball Rocks Shop Mens Department

The store has its own indoor dinking court plus, during good weather, will have an outdoor demo court for trying out your future new paddle.  We are excited to move the Pickleball Rocks administrative office to 110 Main Street and additionally the new shop will act as the launch pad for all new Pickleball Rocks products before they go for sale online.

We are thankful for our many customers and fans. Pickleball Rocks because of you!