# IFPA Women's Advisory Board Resigns; Issues Statement **Source:** Kineticist **Type:** article **Published:** 2025-12-04 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.kineticist.com/news/ifpa-womens-advisory-board-resigns --- ## Analysis The IFPA Women's Advisory Board has resigned after six years of operation, issuing a joint statement expressing pride in accomplishments while calling for improved organizational structure, clarity, and genuine leadership inclusion. The board members cite recent support for trans and nonbinary players as a positive sign for competitive pinball's future. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The Women's Advisory Board has been operating for six years since founding — _Joint statement from Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe_ - [HIGH] The board outlined concrete recommendations in their resignation letter to support IFPA's transition — _Joint statement from board members_ - [HIGH] The board called for the IFPA to provide future staff with clarity, structure, and a true seat at the table — _Joint statement from board members_ - [MEDIUM] Recent support for trans and nonbinary players in competitive pinball has increased — _Joint statement noting 'seeing so much recent support for trans and nonbinary players'_ ### Notable Quotes > "We remain proud of what the Women's Advisory Board has accomplished in the six years since our founding, and we hope that the IFPA continues to build on that progress." > — **Women's Advisory Board (Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe)** > _Statement of pride in past work while expressing hopes for continuation_ > "In our resignation letter, we outlined concrete recommendations to support that transition, and we leave it in the hands of IFPA Leadership to provide future staff with clarity, structure, and a true seat at the table." > — **Women's Advisory Board (Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe)** > _Board calls for organizational improvements including clarity, structure, and meaningful inclusion_ > "seeing so much recent support for trans and nonbinary players gives us hope for the future of competitive pinball" > — **Women's Advisory Board (Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe)** > _Positive signal on community inclusion despite board resignation_ > "As ever, pinball is for everyone." > — **Women's Advisory Board (Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe)** > _Core value statement reaffirming inclusive philosophy_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; subject of Women's Advisory Board resignation | | Women's Advisory Board | organization | Six-year-old board within IFPA that has resigned; comprised of Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe | | Crystal | person | Member of IFPA Women's Advisory Board | | Karyn | person | Member of IFPA Women's Advisory Board | | Kim | person | Member of IFPA Women's Advisory Board | | Zoe | person | Member of IFPA Women's Advisory Board | | Colin | person | Chief pixel pusher at Kineticist; contributor to This Week in Pinball and New England Pinball League | | Kineticist | company | Media outlet publishing this article and monitoring IFPA developments | ### Topics - **Primary:** IFPA organizational governance and structure, Women's representation and inclusion in competitive pinball, Trans and nonbinary player inclusion in competitive pinball - **Secondary:** Competitive pinball community culture and diversity ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) ### Signals - **[community_signal]** IFPA Women's Advisory Board mass resignation after six years, signaling internal organizational tensions around structure, clarity, and meaningful inclusion in leadership (confidence: high) — Joint resignation statement from all four board members calling for 'clarity, structure, and a true seat at the table' - **[community_signal]** Despite board resignation, statement expresses optimism about growing support for trans and nonbinary players in competitive pinball (confidence: medium) — Statement: 'seeing so much recent support for trans and nonbinary players gives us hope for the future of competitive pinball' - **[industry_signal]** Resignation suggests broader structural issues within IFPA leadership regarding advisory board empowerment and operational clarity (confidence: medium) — Board's call for IFPA to provide future staff with 'clarity, structure, and a true seat at the table' implies these were lacking --- ## Transcript Like what you're reading? Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox. Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox. We remain proud of what the Women’s Advisory Board has accomplished in the six years since our founding, and we hope that the IFPA continues to build on that progress. In our resignation letter, we outlined concrete recommendations to support that transition, and we leave it in the hands of IFPA Leadership to provide future staff with clarity, structure, and a true seat at the table. There is still important work to be done in this space, but seeing so much recent support for trans and nonbinary players gives us hope for the future of competitive pinball. As ever, pinball is for everyone. With gratitude, Crystal, Karyn, Kim, and Zoe" We'll continue monitoring and sharing updates as this develops. Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New Robert Englunds Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New Robert Englunds. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director. _(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v4)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 93e7aa32-8e62-42c7-8d24-53c1b70c409c*