# IFPA Quarter Drop – 2026 2Q

**Source:** IFPA  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-06-03  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.ifpapinball.com/ifpa-quarter-drop-2026-2q/

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## Analysis

The IFPA released its Q2 2026 'Quarter Drop' transparency report detailing behind-the-scenes organizational work, recent staff additions, and ongoing internal policy discussions. Key topics include venue planning for the Women's World Championship, potential rule changes for qualifying formats and TGP calculations, hybrid rules modifications, and guidance on competitive conduct incidents. The initiative aims to increase community visibility into IFPA operations beyond public rankings and results.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] IFPA added three new staff members: Stephanie Traub, Claire Lickman, and Leslie Ruckman — _Official IFPA announcement in Quarter Drop report_
- [HIGH] 11 incidents were officially reported to IFPA during the last 3 months (Q1 2026) — _IFPA Quarter Drop Q2 2026 report, stated as factual guidance provided to TDs_
- [HIGH] IFPA is planning venue selection for next year's (2027) Women's World Championship — _Listed as ongoing internal discussion in Quarter Drop report_
- [MEDIUM] Potential rule change proposed: events with split machine groupings must split for both qualifying and finals — _Listed as certified requirement update proposal under internal discussions_
- [MEDIUM] Potential hybrid rules change under discussion: 'Greater of 3x machines being used or 4x game scores being counted' — _Listed as potential hybrid rules change in internal discussions section_

### Notable Quotes

> "The purpose of this update is simple: transparency. Each quarter, we'll share what the IFPA staff has been working on, including technical infrastructure, rankings related improvements, policy and process updates, and longer term projects that support the growth and stability of competitive pinball worldwide."
> — **IFPA**, Opening statement
> _Establishes the stated purpose and scope of the new Quarter Drop transparency initiative_

> "Events with direct play qualifying that choose to split machines into groupings (typically this is split by eras) must do so for both the qualifying and finals portion of the event"
> — **IFPA**, Internal Discussions section
> _Proposed certified requirement addressing machine grouping consistency in qualifying formats_

> "Greater of 3x machines being used or 4x game scores being counted"
> — **IFPA**, Internal Discussions section
> _Potential hybrid rules modification under active consideration_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; official governing body for competitive pinball; issuing Q2 2026 transparency report |
| Stephanie Traub | person | Newly added IFPA staff member as of Q2 2026 |
| Claire Lickman | person | Newly added IFPA staff member as of Q2 2026 |
| Leslie Ruckman | person | Newly added IFPA staff member as of Q2 2026 |
| Women's World Championship | event | IFPA competitive pinball championship event for women; venue selection planning underway for 2027 |

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** IFPA launching quarterly transparency reports ('Quarter Drop') to increase community visibility into organizational operations, infrastructure, and policy development (confidence: high) — Entire Quarter Drop report framed as new transparency initiative with explicit goal stated: 'Our goal is to give the community a clearer view of what is being worked on, why it matters, and where things stand'
- **[personnel_signal]** IFPA expanding staff with three new members: Stephanie Traub, Claire Lickman, and Leslie Ruckman (confidence: high) — Official announcement of new staff additions in Changes section of Quarter Drop report
- **[competitive_signal]** IFPA considering multiple rule changes including certified requirements for machine grouping consistency, TGP reductions for certain qualifying formats, and potential hybrid format modifications (confidence: medium) — Multiple items listed under Internal Discussions: qualified requirement update proposal, TGP reduction proposals, and hybrid rules change proposal
- **[competitive_signal]** IFPA discussing possibility of Women's Majors and actively planning venue selection for Women's World Championship (confidence: medium) — Internal discussions include 'New Majors and the possibility for Women's Majors' and 'Ongoing planning and discussion on venue selection for next year's Women's World Championship'
- **[industry_signal]** 11 incidents were officially reported to IFPA during last 3 months, requiring TD and player guidance on handling (confidence: high) — Stated factually in Changes section: 'Provided guidance to TDs and players on the 11 incidents officially reported during the last 3 months'

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## Transcript

Welcome to the second edition of the IFPA Quarter Drop, a quarterly update intended to give the community more visibility into the work happening behind the scenes at the IFPA. Most people naturally see the public facing side of IFPA through rankings, events, and results, but there is also a significant amount of ongoing work and discussion that supports those systems and helps keep everything running reliably. The purpose of this update is simple: transparency. Each quarter, we’ll share what the IFPA staff has been working on, including technical infrastructure, rankings related improvements, policy and process updates, and longer term projects that support the growth and stability of competitive pinball worldwide. Our goal is to give the community a clearer view of what is being worked on, why it matters, and where things stand. Let us know your thoughts, especially on the current internal discussions! Changes We’ve Made: - Cleaned up minor grammatical errors throughout the IFPA site - Set an autoresponder on [email protected] directing people to [email protected] - Set an autoforward for [email protected] to [email protected] - Added Stephanie Traub, Claire Lickman, and Leslie Ruckman as IFPA staff members (announcement) - Provided guidance to TDs and players on the 11 incidents officially reported during the last 3 months. Internal Discussions: - Ongoing planning and discussion on venue selection for next year’s Women’s World Championship - Certified requirement update proposal: “Events with direct play qualifying that choose to split machines into groupings (typically this is split by eras) must do so for both the qualifying and finals portion of the event” - Potential indirect qualifying TGP reductions for events that are running separate direct and indirect qualifying formats that overlap due to lack of qualifying in indirect portions - Potential TGP reductions for events that start with a limited set of games and add more as the event goes on - Discord announcements and more detailed role creation (still going to @everyone for PAPA announcement) - Potential Hybrid rules change: “Greater of 3x machines being used or 4x game scores being counted” - New Majors and the possibility for Women’s Majors

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-06-06 | Item ID: 16575674-d9a0-436f-a6c3-244179be11be*