Black (Charcoal) Colored Tempest Recall

Paddletek is very proud of the quality line of Pickleball paddles it produces and provides to pickleball players of all skill levels. Over the past four years we have been blessed to become one of the premium brands within this great and growing sport. Great effort is taken to ensure that the words “Made in the USA” reflect quality design and craftsmanship in each Paddletek paddle. It is for these reasons we regret to announce that Paddletek recently and mistakenly had a batch of black Tempest paddles produced and shipped that were not up to Paddletek standards.

The specific batch of Tempest paddles were produced without the appropriate levels of lacquer that keep the texture within USAPA guidelines. Since the new color Tempests are fairly new, this batch of paddles represents between 8 to 10% of the black paddles sold. The USAPA has therefore removed the black Tempest paddles from the approved paddle list. We understand why the USAPA came to this decision and support its efforts to ensure all paddles meet the guidelines for USAPA sanctioned tournament play.

In light of these events, Paddletek is issuing a recall of the black colored Tempest paddles. The Tempest paddle will be given a new name and will be resubmitted as the Tempest Wave. For players who do not play in USAPA sanctioned tournaments, or players with a Tempest with a white or yellow background (See photo), there is no need to return your paddle.

Players with a black Tempest that wish to play in a USAPA sanctioned tournament, directions on how to return your paddle to ensure USAPA compliance are listed below.  Players that do not participate in USAPA sanctioned tournaments do not need to have their paddle tested.  The black Tempest is still approved for recreational and non-USAPA tournaments. 

 

Paddletek by no means attempts to circumvent the USAPA rules and regulations that have helped them to facilitate the amazing growth the sport of pickleball has seen over the past few years. We support their continued efforts to improve the sport and to retain those aspects of game that make it such fun to play. We would also like to thank the USAPA for bringing this mishap to our attention and for being reasonable and fair regarding the details of the recall.

We sincerely apologize for the confusion that this recall may create and will do everything possible to prevent future situations like this from happening again.

If you are like us and the thousands of other pickleball enthusiasts that love the playability of the black Tempest, we assure you that the new Tempest Wave will be the exact same paddle as the currently produced black Tempest, but tighter internal controls to ensure USAPA compliance.

RETURNING YOUR BLACK TEMPEST

Paddletek will reimburse or pay for the shipping cost of your Tempest to Paddletek. 

1.  Email  info@paddletek.com with your shipping address and Paddletek will email a prepaid shipping label.  The shipping label can then be printed and applied to a large envelope or appropriate sized box. 

2.  DEALERS:  If you have a UPS account, email info@paddletek.com and Paddletek will provide you with an account number in which to pay for the shipping.  If you do not have a UPS account, email info@paddletek.com for instructions on how to receive a return label.

 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

About 1 in 10 black Tempests sold are noncompliant.  That means your paddle is more than likely USAPA compliant.  However, your paddle will still need testing and labelled as compliant by Paddletek.  Compliant black colored Tempests will be labelled as the 'Tempest Wave' to allow tournament directors the ability to distinguish that it has in fact been tested for compliance. 

Example of a Red Tempest Wave

If your paddle tests positive for compliance it will be relabeled and sent back to you within 48 hours. (See above example)  If your paddle tests negative for compliance, it will be made compliant and relabeled and sent back to you within 48 hours. 

The process to make the paddle compliant is very simple and involves applying the correct amount of lacquer to the face.  Since the paddle already has a small layer of lacquer, the amount added to the paddle will be very small and should not change the way the paddle plays.  The weight will not change enough to register on a scale so the paddle's spec weight will not change either. 

We again apologize for the inconvenience and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.  If you have any questions, please email info@paddletek.com

SPONSORED PLAYERS

Any sponsored player that plays with a black Tempest, please email sales@paddletek.com.  We will attempt to get you a compliant Tempest by the weekend.

Thank you