I’m going to be trying something new for the Lansing scene, a women’s tournament series called the Lansing Lightning Flippers. If it is successful it may become a regular monthly tournament. It will be free, novice-friendly, and eligible for women’s ranking points with the IFPA, which can be used to qualify for the women’s state championship (new this year). The format will be four-strikes knockout. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about women’s tournaments in pinball.
What’s the point of a women’s tournament? Can’t women compete with men at pinball?
Yes, of course, women can and do compete successfully with men at pinball. However, the IFPA recognizes that women are underrepresented in pinball. The reasons for this are diverse and complicated, but one likely factor is that pinball has not always been a socially welcoming hobby to women. The purpose of women’s tournaments is to try to encourage greater participation by women and to bring greater attention to women in pinball.
Can women’s-restricted tournaments be sanctioned by the IFPA? How does that work?
The IFPA has a separate WPPR (World Pinball Player Ranking) points system for women’s -restricted tournaments. They follow the same rules as other IFPA tournaments except for being restricted to women. Because there is no prize pool, women’s tournaments are not charged the $1 per player sanctioning fee, which is why ours can be free.
I’m a female player and I see myself listed in two different women’s rankings on the IFPA. What’s up with that?
The IFPA keeps two rankings for women. One is the women’s open ranking, and one is the women’s restricted ranking. The women’s open ranking uses only points earned by female players in open tournaments. The women’s restricted ranking is based on points earned in women’s restricted tournaments and does not consider open ranking points.
Which ranking is used to qualify for the women’s state championship?
Both rankings will be used to determine the qualifiers for the state championship. The higher of the two will be used for each player, based only on tournaments played in 2022. There will be 16 slots for the state championship this year. The odd numbered seeds will be drawn from the women’s open rankings for 2022, and the even numbered seeds will be drawn from the women’s restricted rankings for 2022. Unlike in the open state championship, there is no limit on the number of events that can be used toward someone’s ranking.
I’m a female player but I don’t see myself in the women’s rankings. Can I fix that?
Yes! That means that the IFPA does not know you want to be included in the women’s rankings. You can email ifpapinball@gmail.com and tell them you would like to be included in the women’s rankings.
Can men come to the event?
Men are welcome and encouraged to come, watch, socialize, and cheer on players.