PHOENIX — USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport of pickleball, today announced that Byron Freso and Don Stanley have joined the USA Pickleball Rules Committee as voting members, representing the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) and Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), respectively.
“Both of these gentlemen are esteemed colleagues of mine, each of whom bring a wealth of rules and player experience to the Committee,” said Mark Peifer, Managing Director of Officiating and Chairman of the USA Pickleball Rules Committee. “I look forward to working with them and the rest of the committee to provide a measure of rules consistency across the pro, amateur and recreational player spectrum.”
Freso has served as the Director of Officials for the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour since its inception in 2019. An avid pickleball enthusiast since moving to Florida in 2011, the retired IT consultant/engineer began as a fierce senior competitor who was consistently successful while competing nationwide. Freso got involved as a referee in 2012 when he attended his first USA Pickleball Association National Championships. He later became a Certified Referee in March 2017, and was subsequently recruited as a Certified Referee Evaluator in 2019. Freso is also an IPTPA and PPR certified pickleball instructor.
“In my experience, the best rules are those that are practical, enforceable, and promote sportsmanship,” Freso said. “I am excited to be a part of this committee and look forward to working with the other members who share my passion for pickleball.”
Stanley, the Director of Officiating for the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), has over 43 years of officiating experience in various sports. He quickly moved from a pickleball player to a pickleball referee in late 2015. Stanley is a USA Pickleball Certified Referee with over five years of experience. He has conducted referee training classes and has taught over 150 potential referee candidates. Stanley’s passion is training and promoting referees and has an equal passion for pickleball rules. He has been involved, in a non-voting manner, with the rules documents for the past three years, serving as the Rules Committee Recording Secretary and as the main creator for the annual Change Document.
“I am honored to serve on this committee and look forward to working with everyone to help promote this great sport which we all love,” Stanley said.
Freso and Stanley join current USA Pickleball Rules Committee members Ken Schoonover, Jeff Shank, Karen Parrish and Peifer.
The 2024 USA Pickleball Rulebook is currently under development. The rule revisions being considered by the USA Pickleball Rules Committee can be found here.