Episode 129: Kaite Martin, WIPT!

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·14m 46s·analyzed·May 16, 2018

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Kate Martin announces Women's International Pinball Tournament at Replay FX with 64 players and $5k prize pool

Summary

Jeff Teolis interviews Kate Martin about the newly announced Women's International Pinball Tournament (WIPT), a 64-player women's pinball event launching at Replay FX with $5,050 in prizes. Martin discusses the tournament's origins, funding model, scheduling conflicts with Intergalactic playoffs, and her broader vision for growing women's participation in competitive pinball through initiatives like Bells and Chimes chapters and local league structures.

Key Claims

WIPT will be held at Replay FX on Sunday with 64 women competing for $5,050 in total prizes ($2,500 for first place)
high confidence · Kate Martin directly states tournament details; Jeff Teolis confirms the figures in conversation
The tournament was conceived from a phone conversation between Kate Martin and Jessica DiNardo about the lack of women's tournaments
high confidence · Kate Martin: 'i was on the phone with jessica dinardo once talking about i literally can't remember what and we were just saying how it kind of sucked that there weren't enough women's tournaments'
WIPT registration does not require Pinburgh registration; attendees can purchase a Replay FX day pass
high confidence · Kate Martin: 'you don't have to be registered in Pinberg to compete You can replay FX Day Pass'
The tournament conflicts with Intergalactic playoffs on Sunday and some women will have to choose between competing in both
high confidence · Kate Martin acknowledges this was unavoidable given Replay FX scheduling constraints and other fixed commitments
Kate Martin is organizing a fundraising tournament in New York at Jack Bar on Sunday, June 10th at 2 p.m. to support the WIPT
high confidence · Kate Martin directly announces the event
Funding for WIPT comes from approximately one-third personal funding, one-third ticket sales, and additional 50-50 fundraiser for Pass and Play
high confidence · Kate Martin explains funding model
Kate Martin has been playing pinball competitively for about 3.5 years and only knows approximately 30 women players outside NYC
high confidence · Kate Martin: 'I only been going to big tournaments for maybe three and a half years... I only know maybe 30 women outside of New York City'
Women's pinball participation is growing significantly with chapters of Bells and Chimes in New York, Portland, Chicago and possibly other cities
medium confidence · Kate Martin discusses growth of Bells and Chimes chapters; Jeff Teolis mentions seeing growth in Vegas women's finals

Notable Quotes

“i was on the phone with jessica dinardo once talking about i literally can't remember what and we were just saying how it kind of sucked that there weren't enough women's tournaments and that conversation kind of fell apart and i just never stopped thinking about it”
Kate Martin @ ~2:00-2:30 — Reveals the organic origin of WIPT idea and Martin's persistent commitment to addressing women's tournament gap
“i've found that a lot of pinball players talk to you when you're new or they think that you're not experienced, like you're dumb... it's just like, it's a game and it should be fun”
Kate Martin @ ~7:30 — Addresses condescension toward new/female players and advocates for inclusive community culture
“if you're a woman and you have a local Bells and Chimes chapter, I would absolutely recommend looking that up... New York and I believe Portland and Chicago and maybe one other city have the Bar League, which is like team pinball matches”
Kate Martin @ ~9:30 — Provides concrete recommendations for women entering pinball community with specific organization names and structures
“I only know maybe 30 women outside of New York City, and that's a shame, because I want to know more. I feel like this tournament might bring some more of us together who maybe haven't had the chance to meet each other”
Kate Martin @ ~6:00-6:30 — Explains the community-building motivation behind WIPT beyond competitive play
“I wanted someone to win a lot of money that wasn't on that first page when you click on ifca like i just wanted someone to have a shake at it”
Kate Martin @ ~18:30 — Clarifies prize distribution philosophy to give emerging women players meaningful prize money opportunity
“it's better to have this event than not have this event. This, this is a nice stepping stone for something that can be very, very big”
Jeff Teolis @ ~14:00 — Frames WIPT as positive despite scheduling conflicts, encouraging growth trajectory perspective
“I'll find some cookies”

Entities

Kate MartinpersonWomen's International Pinball Tournament (WIPT)eventJessica DiNardopersonElizabeth CromwellpersonBowen Kerinsperson Replay FXeventPAPA (Professional & Amateur Pinball Association)organizationBells and Chimesorganization

Signals

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business_signal: Multi-source fundraising model for women's tournament (personal funds, ticket sales, 50-50 raffle, external fundraising events) indicating grassroots/volunteer organization
high · Kate Martin's detailed explanation of one-third personal, one-third tickets, plus fundraiser model; mentions June 10th Jack Bar fundraising tournament
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community_signal: Ongoing sexism and condescension toward women players in pinball community despite progress
high · Kate Martin's anecdote about being mansplained about scoop mechanics; references to Elizabeth Cromwell's sexism thread; acknowledgment that 'horrible examples' of sexism still occur
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community_signal: Deliberate effort to expand women's tournament opportunities and create community-building events beyond competitive circuit
high · Kate Martin's emphasis on meeting other women players, multiple fundraising initiatives, female tournament directors, and accessibility without Pinburgh registration
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community_signal: Significant growth in women's pinball participation with Bells and Chimes chapters expanding to multiple cities and increasing tournament participation
medium · Jeff Teolis references Vegas women's finals, Pacific Northwest tournament, and mentions New York growth; Kate mentions chapters in NY, Portland, Chicago
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event_signal: Women's International Pinball Tournament (WIPT) announced for Replay FX with 64 players and $5,050 prize pool
high · Direct announcement by Kate Martin on Pinball Profile podcast; official event with PAPA/Replay FX support and structured prize distribution

Transcript

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0:00

it's time for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teals you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com and please subscribe you know where you can find us there you go all the guys who like to poke fun at where i am but You know, you got to know. I'm an old guy. I have to know these things. I have to have it laid out. You know what I like seeing is these big headlines, and I saw it on Mother's Day, which by the way is a perfect day to do it, that there's this new tournament that's going to be happening at Replay FX. I saw the press header and I thought, well, I got to talk to the source. Kate Martin joins us right now. Hi, Kate. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Good. I see the WIPT is now part of the schedule at Replay, a huge women's event. 64 women, $5,000 in prizes. Well done, Kate. And to everyone at PAPA and Replay and everyone who made this possible, how did this all start? well uh i was on the phone with jessica dinardo once talking about i literally can't remember what and we were just saying how it kind of sucked that there weren't enough women's tournaments and that conversation kind of fell apart and i just never stopped thinking about it and about four or five three a.m facebook message or conversations with bo and later planning a tournament it all started to go i pitched it to papa and they were so on board because elizabeth is the best and now we're here after a lot of work but we're here i'm so excited for you and that's great. I actually met Jessica at Pinberg last year and I assume she'll be back from Australia. Yeah, I hope so. I mean, she shouldn't want to. Australia is gorgeous, but hopefully she'll be back. Well, I know you're going to be talking with Jessica on the Pinball Podcast, so I recommend everyone to get more information with Jessica and Jeff on that show. But it's great to talk to you right now about this because this is a big, big thing. I saw at Indisc, one of the biggest women's tournaments I've ever seen. Northwest in June has that massive tournament where they're giving away the Hobbit machine. So this just, again, is more inviting for women to play pinball. Sex shouldn't matter. And you're seeing a big growth in New York. In fact, when I come there this weekend, I'm going to be wearing my bells and chimes pin that you gave me. I don't think that, oh yeah, for sure. Because we're seeing these chapters come up everywhere and these tournaments are growing and growing. Look at what just happened in Vegas for the women's finals, how big that was. So this is just another extension of that. And I'm really proud of you for doing this. Was it difficult to do? Was it difficult to get the funding for it? Well, I've got about a third of the funding and then ticket sales are about another third. And then after that, we're going to do a 50-50 fundraiser for like Pass and Play to try to get a little more. And I'm going to do a fundraising tournament here in New York at Jack Bar on Sunday, June 10th at 2 p.m. If anyone who is around would like to come to that, that would be cool. And it just, you know, I feel like most good people support women's events in anything that's a male-dominated community, and this is definitely a male-dominated community. And I just really wanted it to be a little bit fairer. Like, the same 10 guys are winning all the stuff, and I would like it if maybe someone like Helena could win a little more, because she's kind of amazing. Or anybody. Anyone can win. Well, I just saw Heliana or Helena in Denver, along with Snow and some other great women players there. And I play in a league with Julie Dorsters, who won Papa Women's Champion last time. Robin Lassonde. That was the first time I met her. I was blown away. Robin Lassonde is by far one of the greatest pinball players I ever seen And that the thing It just like I pretty new to the community I only been playing for about five years and I only been going to big tournaments for maybe three and a half years And I'm a woman player who's so invested in Bells and Chimes here, and I try to make it to other Bells and Chimes events if I travel. And I just like, I only know maybe 30 women outside of New York City, and that's a shame, because I want to know more. I feel like this tournament might bring some more of us together who maybe haven't had the chance to meet each other, and I think that would be great. the only fraction of relatability that I might have is just when I first started playing pinball, that intimidation factor in a competition, like, Oh, do I know what I'm doing? I don't want to embarrass myself. Is there some of that in this when new players play, whether they're men or female? I mean, there's just this, like, I've found that a lot of pinball players talk to you when you're new or they think that you're not experienced, like you're dumb. And, you know, maybe like this person doesn't know how to move the lights in the lanes or anything, but like, let them find out. Don't just talk up, like, walk up to someone and be like, you know, actually you can do this thing. It's just like, it's a game and it should be fun. And if people want to be skilled at it, they should pursue that. But if someone wants to just flip around and make mistakes, then they should be able to do that too. At least my opinion of it, it's a game still at the end of the day. You know what? That's a good point. That's the question you should ask any player. Are you having fun? Yeah. And there are a lot of people that don't have fun and I find them to be generally unpleasant. Well, what makes it fun for you playing pinball? You've been doing it for a long time. I'm just really competitive, honestly.

5:09

Yeah, I really like playing and winning. But when you lose with your friends, it's fun. I've had terrible games, like laughably bad games, and they become the highlight of my night if that's something that happens. Because if you can laugh at it, then you never lose. You know, when I first joined a pinball league, I only knew maybe one person in the league. and obviously everyone was very, very welcoming and I got to know everyone in the league and joined a few other leagues too. So I guess what would you suggest for some new people, especially women who want to try pinball? Well, if you're a woman and you have a local Bells and Chimes chapter, I would absolutely recommend looking that up and you can probably find them on Facebook with Bells and Chimes in your city or Bells and Chimes Worldwide is a good place to ask questions and find something local or find out how to start something local. New York and I believe Portland and Chicago and maybe one other city have the Bar League, which is like team pinball matches. It's my favorite way to play pinball other than pinball. That's a really great way because at least in New York, our leagues are tiered into divisions. So if you're new, you can just go be on a lower tier team. Everyone has fun. Everyone's super welcoming. And I think that's great. And I think most places have a weird, like, if you find the awkwardly worded Facebook page for this one group that does an event once a month, that's usually a thing I've found in most cities. but that might be more intimidating because those people tend to be very serious. We've talked about this before with Elizabeth Cromwell, who's been on this program, and you mentioned her as well as setting up the WIPT at Replay. You know, she had that amazing thread from now, I guess a couple of years ago, that's grown and grown and people have added to it on Tilt forums about, you know, sexism and pinball. Is the community getting any better? And I know there are horrible, horrible examples of where they are not getting better. Oh, of course. And I like to, I'm weirdly optimistic, but I like to think that it will get better. And the more women that play and the more women that are loud and vocal and shut down people who say terrible things, like me and like Elizabeth, we don't say terrible things. Oh, Lord, we shut people down. But like the more that we do that, the more it becomes a little better for us. But not even a year ago, I was at Logan Arcade playing Tron and a guy walked up to me and was like you know that hole in the game it called a scoop and if you hit the ball in the scoop you get a multi and i just started screaming how many pinball machines do you own and he was like uh and he just walked away and it just like i didn't need that i knew what i was doing yeah but he wouldn't have done it too what's the if you wouldn't say it's a bow and don't say it to her yeah that's a good point so 64 people at the W-I-P-T on the Sunday. It was intentionally named that way. Well, I like it because of the poker aspect. When I first looked at it, it reminded me of the World Poker Tour. Oh, I didn't even, I don't play poker. Yeah.

7:53

But, so 64 people, that's going to be gobbled up like that. 64 women, easily. When we first were going through it, I was like, maybe just do like 32. Like, I don't know what it's going to sell out. I was so nervous. And now it seems like it's not enough. But I think for the first year, at least, it would be good to start at that number and gauge kind of where we can move with it, like what kind of mobility we have. This is the first time I've ever directed a tournament without, like, honestly, Elizabeth and Bowen's help. And I've got a few other TDs. And on Crystal Gemnitz is probably going to come down and help me out. Jade Ang, who runs Self and Chimes in New York, is. And obviously, Jessica DiNardo has been in since the beginning. And so I wanted to get as many women to officiate as possible without asking women to not compete. And I think all of us are going to do our best and I hope we do a great job. And then next year, maybe we go up a few numbers and we'll see what happens. The question that I do have to ask is this looks like it conflicts with the playoffs for the intergalactic. And I know there's only so much time and space. There's going to be a lot of women who are going to qualify for the intergalactic. Is this a matter where they're going to have to choose between the two? That unfortunately, I believe is true because the WIPS tournament takes place all day on Sunday and women obviously have their choice opt out. Unfortunately it was the only day we could do it at replay without conflicting with Tinder the final and so yeah, unfortunately that is the case and I know Intergalactic donates to charity but... But so does this. So does this. You mentioned Path of Play it's, you know what, I'm not saying this is a negative thing at all because I'm very, very excited. I wouldn't have you on if I wasn't excited to see this event coming on. I've just heard some people saying it's unfortunate, but I have a feeling that again, my gut feeling, and this is what are we talking about early May? This is the day after it's announced. It's better to have this event than not have this event. This, this is a nice stepping stone for something that can be very, very big. And I would rather see this happen than not happen. Yes. Right now there's a conflict, but again, the other things were set in stone. You only have so much availability to wiggle this in. And maybe solutions can happen between now and the end of July. But again, it's better to have this. Look at the prize pool you've got. Look at the excitement you've built. So I think this is a good thing. It's just a matter of let's see how we are the first year. Like you said, maybe 32. I'm telling you, this is going to do very, very well. Oh, God, I hope so. I would also just like the Intergalactic Tournament, like I really hope does well and gets everything that they want. But, yeah, I've been very passionate about this for a long time, and I feel like women have been getting more of a place in the community as far as pinball is concerned. But I think that this is big. Like, I can't go to Pacific Northwest. It's very far away, and it's just, I can't go. And I would love to, because I know that that's the best, as far as I've been told, women's tournament. So at least this, like, is here. It's in Pittsburgh, which is, like, mildly centrally located. But my favorite part is that you don't have to be registered in Pinberg to compete You can replay FX Day Pass but if you live within driving distance of pittsburgh and you feel like going you should go like i think a bunch of women who are not going to pinberg from new york are going to carpool to pittsburgh compete in this and then drive back which i think is awesome well let me give you a positive spin and really it's a reality because as tournaments are right now let's say there's a main and there's a classics so a lot of the players that want to compete in both sometimes can't even do that they're eligible to do both but because of lineups because of the way am i going to sacrifice one tournament to make another tournament this happens all the time so in a way it's very similar to that and again as this grows and grows and it's already huge in your first year kudos to you this is not uncommon what you're seeing here so i think this is great good on you and elizabeth and jessica and bowen for doing this uh my goodness a five thousand dollar prize what is it twenty five hundred dollars for the first place over five thousand dollars right now uh five thousand and fifty to be exact because bowen and his mathematical skills that was the best number to divide equally amongst the amount of payouts we're doing yeah twenty five hundred dollars was the top prize i wanted someone to win a lot of money that wasn't on that first page when you click on ifca like i just wanted someone to have a shake at it. Well, I know that myself and many other people donated to the women's event in Vegas, perhaps, and there's still time. Maybe you can have a donation page for this too. I'll be the first to sign up. I think that is the plan down the road to do some sort of GoFundMe with the Path of Play stuff. Yeah, that's great. Path of Play was just April 28th and I know my league participated. It was great to see all the different teams that helped out there and they exceeded their goal by a lot. So congratulations to Mike Primo and everybody involved in Path of Play. And this is just another one of those great things too. They'll be there too. This is going to be a lot of fun. Now also, oh, I have to think about this. There's that trash talker thing going on. I think that's on, I don't know if that's Saturday. I don't even know when that thing is on. Boy, there's so many different events. I'm not allowed to trash talk in public anymore, I think. Oh my God. You should be on somebody's trash talkers team. You can, you can dish it. Come on. I've got two older brothers. I have too much experience. It's like asking Jordan to play in a college basketball game. It's just not fair. Well, you've got your hands full for Pittsburgh, and I look forward to seeing you this weekend in New York City for the New York City Pinball Championships. Maybe I'll have to make a trek out to Buttermilk and see what this great bar is all about. Yeah, if you go out anywhere in New York, let me know. I'm a good liaison for the city. Because you're busy, I am going to be a little bummed out in Pittsburgh because maybe my favorite thing last year, and it certainly wasn't my play, It was something that Deb Tallman told me about. She said, go find Kate. She's got these amazing cookies. Is that going to happen again? She gave me the cookies. Oh, it was her that gave them to you? She gave me the cookies and they were delicious. And then I just gifted everybody cookies all day. If you could find a way to squeeze that in your schedule, it would personally make me feel better. I'll find some cookies.