# IFPA Quarter Drop – 2026 1Q

**Source:** IFPA  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-03-01  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.ifpapinball.com/ifpa-quarter-drop-2026-1q/

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## Analysis

IFPA launches 'Quarter Drop,' a new quarterly transparency initiative providing community visibility into organizational work beyond public rankings and events. The Q1 2026 edition details recent policy changes (Code of Conduct, Diversity and Inclusion expansion, WPPR opt-out removal), staffing updates (3 new staff members, 7 private advisors), and ongoing infrastructure projects including incident reporting systems, website reorganization, and championship venue planning for 2027.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] IFPA received 24 officially reported incidents in the last 3 months (Q4 2025 / Q1 2026) — _Provided guidance to TDs and players on the 24 incidents officially reported during the last 3 months._
- [HIGH] IFPA added 7 additional community members to private Advisor roles with potential to become public Staff — _Have added 7 additional community members to the IFPA in private Advisor roles, with the potential to become public Staff in the future._
- [HIGH] 3 new IFPA staff members were announced — _Announced 3 new IFPA staff members (announcement)_
- [HIGH] Punk Rock Pinball was added then removed as a Silver Level Sponsor — _Added Punk Rock Pinball as a Silver Level Sponsor – Punk Rock Pinball has since decided to be pulled from our list of sponsors_
- [HIGH] IFPA removed opt-outs from WPPR Rules — _Removed opt-outs from the IFPA WPPR Rules (announcement)_

### Notable Quotes

> "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 that supports those systems and helps keep everything running reliably."
> — **IFPA**
> _Frames the purpose of the Quarter Drop initiative as providing transparency into behind-the-scenes infrastructure work._

> "Our goal is to give the community a clearer view of what is being worked on, why it matters, and where things stand."
> — **IFPA**
> _Articulates the core mission of the new quarterly transparency report._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; issuing first quarterly transparency report |
| Ashley Weaver | person | IFPA staff member who conducted first live Q&A session on Discord |
| Kineticist | organization | Media organization that interviewed IFPA staff |
| NBC News | organization | Major news outlet that interviewed IFPA staff |
| Punk Rock Pinball | company | Was briefly a Silver Level Sponsor of IFPA but requested removal |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Code of Conduct and Community Standards, Diversity and Inclusion Policy Expansion, IFPA Organizational Transparency, Incident Reporting and Management
- **Secondary:** WPPR Rules Changes, Championship Venue Planning, IFPA Staffing and Community Advisors
- **Mentioned:** Website and Infrastructure Updates

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.78) — Tone is professional, constructive, and forward-looking. The initiative demonstrates organizational commitment to transparency and community governance. Slight ambiguity around the Punk Rock Pinball sponsorship withdrawal and nature of the 24 reported incidents, but overall messaging is positive about organizational improvements.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** IFPA launching formal transparency initiative with quarterly updates suggests organizational maturity and response to community demands for visibility and accountability (confidence: high) — Creation of 'Quarter Drop' as recurring communication channel; explicit framing of transparency as a goal
- **[community_signal]** 24 officially reported incidents in 3 months indicates formalized incident reporting system now in place, reflecting policy enforcement and community safety focus (confidence: high) — Provided guidance to TDs and players on the 24 incidents officially reported during the last 3 months
- **[regulatory_signal]** Code of Conduct and Diversity & Inclusion Code now mandatory for tournament directors (checkbox requirement on submission form) (confidence: high) — Updated the tournament submission form to include a checkbox requiring the TD to agree to the Code of Conduct & Diversity and Inclusion Code
- **[organizational_signal]** Expansion of IFPA advisory structure with 7 new private advisors suggests pipeline for future public staff and organizational scaling (confidence: high) — Have added 7 additional community members to the IFPA in private Advisor roles, with the potential to become public Staff in the future
- **[personnel_signal]** 3 new staff members announced; represents organizational growth and expanded capacity (confidence: high) — Announced 3 new IFPA staff members (announcement)
- **[competitive_signal]** Removal of WPPR opt-outs and discussion of Pingolf rule changes indicate evolution of ranking and tournament format standards (confidence: high) — Removed opt-outs from the IFPA WPPR Rules (announcement); WPPR rule changes for Pingolf listed under discussion
- **[event_signal]** Planning underway for 2027 IFPA championship venues (WNAPC, WWC, IFPA22, WEPC) with venue requirement discussions (confidence: medium) — Possible venues for 2027 IFPA championship events (WNAPC, WWC, IFPA22, WEPC); IFPA requirements and rules for venues
- **[business_signal]** Punk Rock Pinball sponsorship withdrawal raises questions about sponsor alignment or operational issues, though reason not specified (confidence: medium) — Added Punk Rock Pinball as a Silver Level Sponsor – Punk Rock Pinball has since decided to be pulled from our list of sponsors

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## Transcript

Welcome to the IFPA Quarter Drop
This is the first edition of the IFPA Quarter Drop, a new quarterly update intended to give the community more visibility into the work happening behind the scenes at 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 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, Ryan Policky 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.
- Changes we’ve made
- Added a Code of Conduct (announcement)
- Expanded the Diversity and Inclusion Code (announcement)
- Updated the IFPA Mission Statement
- Announced 3 new IFPA staff members (announcement)
- Updated the tournament submission form to include a checkbox requiring the TD to agree to the Code of Conduct & Diversity and Inclusion Code
- Removed opt-outs from the IFPA WPPR Rules (announcement)
- Other discussions and activities
- Answered interview questions from Kineticist (article)
- Answered interview questions from NBC News (article)
- Provided guidance to TDs and players on the 24 incidents officially reported during the last 3 months.
- Added Punk Rock Pinball as a Silver Level Sponsor – Punk Rock Pinball has since decided to be pulled from our list of sponsors
- Have added 7 additional community members to the IFPA in private Advisor roles, with the potential to become public Staff in the future.
- Held first live Q&A session on Discord with IFPA Staff member Ashley Weaver answering community questions, more of these will occur in the future.
- Changes and other plans we’re discussing
- Possible venues for 2027 IFPA championship events (WNAPC, WWC, IFPA22, WEPC)
- IFPA requirements and rules for venues
- IFPA website navigation reorganization
- FAQ page cleanup
- Incident reporting web form
- WPPR rule changes for Pingolf
- Discord role cleanup for state reps
- Changes to the NACS/WNACS 3rd/4th place match rules to make them consistent
- Resources and guidelines for NACS/WNACS State/Province/District Representatives

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8245735e-d27f-4282-ace1-fae73c2eb18f*