Woku
@wokuling.bsky.social
30+ // agender // neurodiverse // disabled // poly // non-Xian quaker // goalie appreciator // white // they/them
#booksky #takewarning
"defiant, [...] offensive" -- my mom
"a bad influence" -- my FIL
tell your pet i said hi
Married to @ashodin.com
#booksky #takewarning
"defiant, [...] offensive" -- my mom
"a bad influence" -- my FIL
tell your pet i said hi
Married to @ashodin.com
@erininthemorning.com I'm not sure if you(r colleagues) would be interested in this: www.kineticist.com/post/ifpa-ob...
November 15, 2025 at 12:17 AM
@erininthemorning.com I'm not sure if you(r colleagues) would be interested in this: www.kineticist.com/post/ifpa-ob...
November 15, 2025 at 12:12 AM
When you don't have friends to tell you to sybau 😔
November 14, 2025 at 3:09 PM
When you don't have friends to tell you to sybau 😔
Reposted by Woku
I might as well post the message I sent to the IFPA regarding this matter, asking that the pinball tournaments at OBX Flippers have heavily penalized or zero ranking points (which would make everyone reconsider the event and their actions).
Some names and details obscured or edited, just in case.
Some names and details obscured or edited, just in case.
![An email to the IFPA from November 10th, 11:55 AM that reads:
Hello,
I'm Trace Evans, player ID #101240, and I wanted to send along my thoughts regarding three OBX Flippers tournaments, #98531, #98531, and #101247. While I've read comments and calls to action from others who were at the event, this message is not at anyone else's request. That said, I'd like you to consider heavily penalizing or removing IFPA ranking points from these tournaments due to violations of player safety and gender inclusion.
I've heard that the IFPA, its board, and its directors are already aware of this issue, so hopefully you already understand that this concerns an incident where a transgender woman, at the beginning of main qualifying, was chased out of a bathroom and threatened by an employee of Flippers. Hopefully you've also heard that this employee was not forced to leave and, instead, continued to work until 3 PM, with no meaningful attempt made by tournament director Kevin Stone or Flippers ownership to remove her or suspend qualifying until the situation was resolved.
I was fortunate enough not to be at Flippers when the initial incident occurred, due to my group (myself and [intentionally blurred group names]) running behind on our morning routine. We discovered what happened when we received text messages from people on-site warning us that it was potentially unsafe at Flippers and that it would be best to stay away. About 30 minutes later, we received follow-up messages saying that it was safe enough for us to head to Flippers, and our presence would be helpful for resolving the issue, especially given the affected player from the initial incident was still in the midst of a panic attack outside the venue and in need of assistance.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zhqatadu7melyajqelvaowyd/bafkreih4dx5iaysj46mvg5adll7u7uzpwkk6qgy5y2iu4qrb2gtorcvqta@jpeg)
![That lack of action or willingness to stand up for the players concerns me the most. There is a chance, if we had arrived right before the start of the event as intended, that [name intentionally blurred] would have been the one chased out of the women's bathroom. Would the response have been any different if it had been her, someone more known in the community who was far more willing to stand up for herself? What if Kaylee Campbell had been the one threatened by this employee? What if it had been Sammie Bacon, and this employee had attempted to follow through on her threats to call the cops? These scenarios all pose the same concerning safety issues, and the affected player shouldn't matter.
This is clearly an uncomfortable incident and situation not only for this tournament, but for the pinball community in general. However, it's also the best time to send a message that this behavior is not OK per IFPA rules and its gender inclusion policy. A mere statement or a promise not to let this happen going forward won't erase the damage this incident caused any more than "thoughts and prayers," and hoping that folks will simply not attend based on word of mouth is essentially choosing to erase LGBT participation from a major event and nothing more. Heavily penalizing or excluding these tournaments from IFPA rankings would send a strong message that it is on tournament directors to ensure their events are safe for everyone, while also reminding players who turned a blind eye and continued to participate that it is just as much on them to make sure the community stays safe and that supporting each other is necessary if competitive pinball is to prosper.
I hope you'll give serious consideration to taking actions against these tournaments, for the sake of everyone affected. Thank you very much for taking your time to read this and your consideration.
-Trace Evans](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:zhqatadu7melyajqelvaowyd/bafkreidlt4wkiug72bwk7skujvhqlmw3gv4lnw5p4zitltlbtllak5pvfy@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 7:33 PM
I might as well post the message I sent to the IFPA regarding this matter, asking that the pinball tournaments at OBX Flippers have heavily penalized or zero ranking points (which would make everyone reconsider the event and their actions).
Some names and details obscured or edited, just in case.
Some names and details obscured or edited, just in case.