For a man who once thought pickleball was a “goofy game,” Howard Haugom might seem a surprising candidate to revolutionize the sport.
Haugom, who lives in Oak Bay, has designed a quiet pickleball paddle to address noise complaints about the sport. Launched in November, the OWL paddle is certified by USA Pickleball in the association’s quiet category and proven to reduce noise by 50 per cent.
While standard paddles deliver a sharp thwacking sound at 1,100 to 1,200 hertz and more than 85 decibels when striking a ball, the OWL is the first on the market that registers below 600 hertz and under 80 decibels, the American governing body for the sport said in its announcement endorsing the paddle late last year.
Haugom’s path to designing the paddle began with a dire warning from a doctor. Facing health issues, Haugom and his wife, Fiona, headed down to Mexico for treatment.
“He said, if your body senses that you’re being unproductive, it’s obliged to kill you,” Haugom recalled from his Oak Bay home.
Haugom, who owns QE Home, a chain of linen stores with about 70 locations across Canada, had been mostly retired since 2015.
https://www.timescol...-paddle-8138723
The quiet paddles hit the market in mid-November and are being sold online at owlpaddle.com and in select stores.
They’re also sold at the reception of Oak Bay Recreation Centre and Henderson Recreation Centre.
$189
https://shop.owlpadd...jg1NC4wLjAuMA..
He's got Drew Brees and John McEnroe endorsing it.
Mr. Haugom is co-owner of Quilts Etc., a national linen retail chain and a partner at Burkehill Capital Corp, a Vancouver based private equity firm. He has taught extensively at Simon Fraser University, worked for both the private (Canadian Pacific) and public sectors (BC Treasury Board) as an Economist, and has been a consultant to the gold resource sector. Mr. Haugom received Economic degrees (specializing in international trade/finance and Resource Economics from the University of Victoria – BA and MA, 1984) and a PhD ( 1991) from Simon Fraser University.
https://alxresources.com/our-team/
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2024 - 07:05 AM.