The IFPA is excited to announce that the following players have been now qualified for the $tern Rewards Program based on their December 2015 IFPA endorsed tournament performance! These players have until August 15th, 2016 to exercise their reward option.

TOP 1000 RANKED PLAYERS
Any eligible players that finished in the top 1000 for the end of the year World Pinball Player Rankings.

BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Brian Watson[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Otso Karhu[/player]
BIGGEST MOVER AWARD – [player]Thomas Reichenstein[/player]

Detailed rules for the $tern Rewards Program, including an updated list of qualifiers, and updated list of rewards available can be found HERE.

The IFPA is pleased to announce that the following players saw the biggest jump in their world ranking based on their December 2015 tournament performance.

The biggest movers for December 2015 included [player]Brian Watson[/player] from Portland, OR, who moved up 17,406 spots from the following results:

Brian moved up to a rank of 4189th in the world, and 96th in the Oregon SCS.

[player]Otso Karhu[/player] from Finland moved up 15,242 spots from the following results:

Otso moved up to a rank of 7437th in the world.

[player]Thomas Reichenstein[/player] from Switzerland moved up 11,442 spots from the following results:

Johnny moved up to a rank of 6707th in the world.

Congratulations to Brian, Otso and Thomas, as well as the other players that saw a jump in their ranking from their December tournament performance!

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Month for December 2015 is [player]Steven Bowden[/player] from Franklin Township, NJ. Steve earned a total of 114.80 WPPR points in December. This included the following results:

Steve is currently ranked 2nd in the world (for at least another day or two) and is in the top qualifying position for the 2015-16 New Jersey and New York SCS, 5th in Illinois and Pennsylvania, as well as 15th in Connecticut.

The rest of the top 5 for the month of December included [player]David Riel[/player] from Pittsburgh, PA with 110.78 WPPR points, [player]Dave Stewart[/player] from Carnation, WA with 109.08 WPPR points, [player]Francesco La Rocca[/player] from New York with 107.69 WPPR points, and [player]Per Schwarzenberger[/player] from San Francisco with 106.60 WPPR points.

Congratulations to Steven and the other top WPPR point earners of the month!

The IFPA is proud to announce that [player]Jorian Engelbrektsson[/player] has finished at #1 on the World Pinball Player Rankings, thus earning IFPA’s top honor as the 2015 “World’s Greatest Pinball Player”. No single tournament victory will ever secure this title for a given year. Only consistent play at the highest level over the course of multiple years leads to players reaching the pinnacle of the World Pinball Player Rankings. This is the 3rd time that Jorian has been crowned the World’s Greatest Pinball Player, having earned it back in 2009 and 2014.

Jorian’s greatest achievement of 2015 was being crowned European Pinball Champion at EPC2015 in Belgium, while finishing in the top 10 of all 4 Major Championships in 2015 (3rd at IFPA12, 5th at PAPA18 and 9th at Pinburgh 2015). Jorian held the #1 nearly wire to wire in 2015 minus a brief stint at #2 after Keith Elwin won PAPA18. Besides his win at EPC2015, Jorian won the 2015 PAPA Circuit and earned victories at the Swedish Pinball Open Classics Tournament and the Swiss Open Main Tournament.

Overall, Jorian won 23% of the 22 events he played in, while placing in the top 4 at 55% of his 2014 events, a truly remarkable achievement. Jorian will be given his award at the IFPA13 World Pinball Championship, scheduled for April 12-14, 2016 in Pittsburgh. Congratulations to Jorian, and best of luck to everyone on the upcoming 2016 season in the race for #1.

The IFPA is pleased to announce that our Player of the Year for 2015 is [player]Steven Bowden[/player] from Franklin Park, NJ. Steve racked up an incredible 1282.34 WPPR points during 2015 moving him from 13th to 2nd in the world during the year.

Steve was the IFPA Player of the Month in May, October and December of 2015 having won 36% of the 55 tournaments he played in during 2015, and finished in the top 4 in 64% of them.

Steve’s highlights during 2015 included 1st place finishes at Pinball Expo’s Flip Out Main Tournament, PPO’s Classics and Pin-Golf Tournaments, Pinfest and the 24 Hour Final Battle at The Sanctum. Steve also won 5 out the 12 Modern Pinball NYC Super League tournaments during 2015, racking up enough WPPR points (538.91) to actually change the course of the WPPR system forever!

Steve will be given his award at the IFPA13 World Pinball Championship, scheduled for April 12-14, 2016 in Pittsburgh. The IFPA wishes to congralute Steve on all of his success throughout 2015.

Lightning has struck AGAIN for Tim Sexton, as he picks up a Firepower 2 while playing for the NFC East (Giants)!

As you may remember, Tim won a Time Warp pinball during last year’s FWTG campaign.

Last week’s criteria to qualify for the Firepower 2 drawing was determined by the NFL Division with the highest collective scoring on week 17.

Thanks to a whopping 122 combined points scored by the NFC East, Tim now adds a Firepower 2 to his pinball collection!

Tim also wins an entry to the 2^nd Annual IFPA/FWTG Alice Cooper’stown Pinball Showdown (Jan 28-31) to play for a brand new pinball machine.

Additionally, a Cooper’stown “Classics” side tournament has been added to win a 1969 Gottlieb “Spin A Card” pinball machine AND a CD copy of Alice Cooper’s first album (1969) release “Pretties For You”.

For Up To Date info on the Cooper’stown Pinball Showdown, including how to participate in this Rockin’ Pinball Party,  go to – bit.ly/1Zxp6Ec

For More Information, please call Vicki @ 612-999-FWTG (3984)

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin’ With the Greats campaign:

1) The FANTASY LEAGUE – A “League” where IFPA members can support their favorite NFL team (and win cool stuff) by simply buying an IFPA medallion Personalized with the Player’s name, IFPA #, and the NFL team they support.  Great prizes will be distributed to League Participants throughout the season. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – A Nationwide series of tournaments to be scheduled throughout the NFL season culminating in the SUPER BOWL Pinball Party at Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, Az. Click HERE for more details.

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF) is a non-stock, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, providing financial grants and “pro bono” medical assistance to retired NFL players in dire need.  The organization focuses on the humanitarian side of post-football related issues, which include coordination of social services to retired players who are in need due to a variety of reasons including inadequate disability and/or pensions.

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also. Solid Rock’s primary mission is to make an everlasting difference in the lives of teens by helping them meet their spiritual, economical, physical, and social need.  Alice Cooper’s Rock Teen Center offers a safe, engaging environment during non-school hours –a time when they are most vulnerable to drugs, violence, and gangs. Maintaining a teen’s worst enemy is too much time on their hands Solid Rock provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, self-expression, and creativity. Learn more at www.alicecoopersolidrock.com.

Support and Follow our 2015 Flippin’ With the Greats Pinball Campaign and “Like” Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org

[player]Greg Siegele[/player] has put together some interviews from the IFPA12 World Pinball Championship that were featured on the Pinheadz Pinball Podcast.

It includes:

New for 2016, the IFPA is more clearly defining the differences between what we consider an endorsed “IFPA Tournament” and an endorsed “IFPA League”.

The IFPA will be managing two separate registration processes, one for “Tournaments” and one for “Leagues”. The IFPA Calendar will continue to only display “Tournaments”, while our IFPA Leagues page will show a list of all the active IFPA Leagues and the dates of their current season.

IFPA Leagues (Registration found HERE / Active season listing found HERE):

• Can be private or require membership.
• Involves the concept of a “season” where multiple sessions are held and results are tallied.
• League season must be registered to the IFPA prior to the start of the season or it will not be endorsed.
• When registering your league season, please include the Start Date and End Date in the submission, with all meeting dates in the comments of the submission.
• Leagues CANNOT hold separate private tournaments for just their members.
• Leagues have the option to submit season results based on the regular season standings OR standings after any Finals/Playoff, but not both (assuming the regular season has direct play – if it doesn’t then it has to use the finals standings).
• Leagues can no longer submit results after each session, because that defeats the purpose of what a “league season” is all about. Any league that’s interested in doing that is welcome to submit these sessions as TOURNAMENTS on the tournament calendar, and must be open for anyone to participate (see tournament rules below).

IFPA Tournaments (Registration found HERE / Calendar found HERE):

• Single Competitive Event.  Can be a single day, or over a period of time.
• Open to anyone who wishes to attend, but no special treatment of players. Only limitations allowed:
  • Age restrictions due to legal requirements.
  • Number of Competitors – Due to tournament space,  length of tournament, etc.
• Must be submitted to the IFPA Calendar 30 days prior to the event.
• Can be held at private locations, but limited to 4 events per year.
  • Only events over 16 people will be eligible for points if they are listed as private.

*Please note that any ‘Circuit/Series’ with a final tournament that consists of a predetermined closed group of players must be approved by the IFPA. This includes events like the State Championship Series, PAPA Circuit, IFPA World Pinball Championship, etc.

David Thell, Playing for the NFC North (Vikings) scored the new Alice Cooper CD “Hollywood Vampires” and a Flippin’ With the Greats – Cooper/Ditka commemorative hat.

David was also awarded an entry to the 2^nd Annual IFPA/FWTG Pinball Showdown (Jan 28-31) at Alice Cooper’stown – Phoenix.

The next giveaway scheduled (Jan 5^th) for the Final NFL regular season weekend will be for a Firepower 2 Pinball Machine!

The Firepower 2 Prize winner will be selected from the “Fantasy League” NFL Division whose teams score the MOST total (collective) points on the final weekend of the NFL regular season.

As noted in the FWTG rules, winners of large prizes are responsible for any shipping charges (we will help line up a wholesale freight carrier), or the Firepower 2 can be picked up in the Minneapolis area.

As an alternative prize (if the winner declines the Firepower 2), Gridiron Support will provide a nice package of Alice Cooper/Solid Rock and Coach Ditka/Gridiron Greats collectibles.

Reminder – The Fantasy League “Division” with the highest combined player WPPR point total will receive a bonus round of prize giveaways to its players at the conclusion of the 2015 FWTG Campaign.

For more information or questions, please call Vicki @ 612-999-FWTG (3984)

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin’ With the Greats campaign:

1) The FANTASY LEAGUE – A “League” where IFPA members can support their favorite NFL team (and win cool stuff) by simply buying an IFPA medallion Personalized with the Player’s name, IFPA #, and the NFL team they support.  Great prizes will be distributed to League Participants throughout the season. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – A Nationwide series of tournaments to be scheduled throughout the NFL season culminating in the SUPER BOWL Pinball Party at Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, Az. Click HERE for more details.

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF) is a non-stock, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, providing financial grants and “pro bono” medical assistance to retired NFL players in dire need.  The organization focuses on the humanitarian side of post-football related issues, which include coordination of social services to retired players who are in need due to a variety of reasons including inadequate disability and/or pensions.

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also. Solid Rock’s primary mission is to make an everlasting difference in the lives of teens by helping them meet their spiritual, economical, physical, and social need.  Alice Cooper’s Rock Teen Center offers a safe, engaging environment during non-school hours –a time when they are most vulnerable to drugs, violence, and gangs. Maintaining a teen’s worst enemy is too much time on their hands Solid Rock provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, self-expression, and creativity. Learn more at www.alicecoopersolidrock.com.

Support and Follow our 2015 Flippin’ With the Greats Pinball Campaign and “Like” Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org

Brian Barnum, playing for the NFC North (Vikings), won a nice collection of Alice Cooper collectibles, including an autographed Poster and Photo, enameled “Fender” guitar pin, and guitar pick collection.

Brian also received an entry to the 2^nd Annual FWTG Pinball Showdown at Cooper’stown, Jan 28-31, in Phoenix Az., to compete for a brand new pinball.

Next week’s giveaway drawing (Dec 29^th) will be for a FWTG / GGAF / Solid Rock hat AND a copy of Alice Cooper’s awesome new music release – “Hollywood Vampires”.

The Hollywood Vampires Project features legends Johnny Depp, Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl, Joe Walsh, Slash, Joe Perry and more, performing classic tracks from Led Zepplin, The Who, Badfinger, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, T Rex and more.

The Final NFL Regular Season Giveaway drawing (Jan 5^th) will be for a Firepower 2 Pinball Machine!

The Firepower 2 Winner will be selected from the “Fantasy League” NFL Division whose teams score the MOST total (collective) points on the final weekend of the NFL Regular season.

As noted in the FWTG rules, winners of large items are responsible for any shipping charges (we will help line up a wholesale freight carrier), or the Firepower 2 can be picked up in the Minneapolis area.

As an alternative prize (if the winner declines the Firepower 2), Gridiron Support will provide a nice package of Alice Cooper/Solid Rock and Coach Ditka/Gridiron Greats collectibles.

Join the FWTG Fantasy League NOW, to get a shot at the Firepower 2 Pinball…The Odds are Good!

Reminder – The Fantasy League “Division” with the highest combined player WPPR Point total will receive a bonus round of prize giveaways to its players at the conclusion of the 2015 FWTG Campaign.

For more information or questions, please call Vicki @ 612-999-FWTG (3984)

A quick reminder that there are TWO components of the Flippin’ With the Greats campaign:

1) The FANTASY LEAGUE – A “League” where IFPA members can support their favorite NFL team (and win cool stuff) by simply buying an IFPA medallion Personalized with the Player’s name, IFPA #, and the NFL team they support.  Great prizes will be distributed to League Participants throughout the season. Click HERE for more details.

2) The TOURNAMENT SERIES – A Nationwide series of tournaments to be scheduled throughout the NFL season culminating in the SUPER BOWL Pinball Party at Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, Az. Click HERE for more details.

The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF) is a non-stock, non-profit 501(c)3 organization, providing financial grants and “pro bono” medical assistance to retired NFL players in dire need.  The organization focuses on the humanitarian side of post-football related issues, which include coordination of social services to retired players who are in need due to a variety of reasons including inadequate disability and/or pensions.

Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, also. Solid Rock’s primary mission is to make an everlasting difference in the lives of teens by helping them meet their spiritual, economical, physical, and social need.  Alice Cooper’s Rock Teen Center offers a safe, engaging environment during non-school hours –a time when they are most vulnerable to drugs, violence, and gangs. Maintaining a teen’s worst enemy is too much time on their hands Solid Rock provides the music, arts, vocational programs and fellowship that challenge teens to discover their passion through music, dance, self-expression, and creativity. Learn more at www.alicecoopersolidrock.com.

Support and Follow our 2015 Flippin’ With the Greats Pinball Campaign and “Like” Gridiron Support on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gridironsupport.org