Springfield's new women's pinball league aims to create safe, supportive space for players

Melanie Tarrant has been playing pinball competitively for about 10 months and can vividly recall her first tournament.

"My very first tournament was against this guy who has his own pinball podcast and I played my first game against him and I think I got 100,000 points and he got 200 million," 50-year-old Tarrant said with a laugh. "That was a little intimidating."

Up until this year, Tarrant had been playing and competing in Springfield's open pinball league, Queen City Pinball, which is available to anyone and everyone. While the league provides a safe, supportive space for all players, Tarrant and a few of her friends were interested in starting a league that catered to women pinballers (in addition to just offering another space to play).

At the start of the year, Tarrant established Springfield Belles And Chimes, a local chapter of Belles And Chimes Pinball, an international network of women pinballers. Springfield Belles And Chimes held its first league on Monday night at 417 Taphouse. Seven women gathered in the pub's backroom to drink beer and play some of their favorite games, all with the hope of creating a supportive environment and of course, winning a few rounds.

Belles And Chimes hosts weekly leagues every Monday at 6 p.m. at 417 Taphouse. During leagues, participants are split into groups of three or four and each group plays a round of four games. At the end of the night, participants submit their scores to the International Flipper Pinball Association, or IFPA, to be ranked nationally, Tarrant explained. As of Tuesday, Tarrant was ranked No. 12,872 out of 111,518 active IFPA players, according to the IFPA website.

Belles And Chimes leagues are free and open to players of any skill level. Players must pay for their own games, which is referred to as a "coin drop."

Belles And Chimes also hosts monthly tournaments, which Tarrant described as "pinball parties." The structure of tournaments varies.

On Sunday, Belles And Chimes held its second tournament at 417 Taphouse, which was a "Progressive Strike" tournament. During the tournament, participants received a certain number of strikes, or balls lost. First place received zero strikes, second place got one, third place got two and fourth place got three, Tarrant explained. Participants were ranked based on the number of strikes they received.

Tarrant said her favorite tournament is "Flipper Frenzy," also known as "PINBALL PINBALL PINBALL." During a "Flipper Frenzy" tournament, participants are tasked with playing as many games as they can during an allotted timeframe.

During leagues and tournaments, participants utilize Stern Pinball accounts. With a free Stern Pinball insider account, a player is able to create custom gameplay usernames, track progress, view what games are available in their area and unlock virtual rewards. Before starting a game, pinballers scan a custom QR code — unique to their account — to "sign in" to a game. If you've played pinball recently and spotted a scanner on a game's playfield, this is what it is used for. Stern Pinball insiders are able to scan their accounts at any time, not just during leagues and tournaments.

"By women, for women"

On display screens, 43-year-old Robbie Holcomb plays as "321Outlane," her Stern Pinball username. She has been playing competitive pinball for about two years with her husband.

Holcomb expressed gratitude for Belles And Chimes, as over the years, she's had to travel a lot for different leagues and tournaments.

Most recently, Holcomb traveled to St. Louis where she competed in the IFPA Missouri State Women's Championship. She came in 11th place. According to the IFPA website, she is ranked No. 6,173 out of 111,518 active IFPA players.

Jessica McCoy, 48, was another one of the women at Monday's league. She began playing competitively last August and said she enjoys the sense of community.

"It's a great community of people. It's really welcoming, low-key," McCoy said. "You don't find that everywhere."

McCoy placed third in the Belles And Chimes "Progressive Strike" tournament on Sunday. She is ranked No. 17,419 out of 111,518 active IFPA players, according to the IFPA website.

The international Belles And Chimes network was founded in 2013 in Oakland, California. The Belles And Chimes website does not provide much background about the network, but its mission rings true to pinballers like Tarrant, Holcomb and McCoy: "Our mission is to provide a fun, social environment for women to play pinball together."

When is the next Belles And Chimes tournament?

Belles And Chimes' next tournament is a JAWS Launch Party at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 8 at 417 Taphouse. Participants are encouraged to arrive early to register. Trophies will be awarded to the top three players. Entry is $2 and participants must pay for their own games.

In addition to the upcoming Belles And Chimes JAWS Launch Party, here are other tournaments scheduled in Springfield:

• Queen City Pinball Monthly Strikeout at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 at Meta Games

• PTP Pin-Golf at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Perfect Tint Pinball

• JAWS Launch Party at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 3 at 417 Taphouse

• JAWS Launch Party at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 at Perfect Tint Pinball

• RetroZone Arcade 6th Annual Pinball Tournament at noon to Saturday, March 23

• Queen City Pinball Monthly Matchplay at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 30 at Meta Games

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Belles And Chimes pinball league welcomes women of all skill levels