FSPA has a league that meets on Monday nights near my office. I have never been in a league before and frankly not a very good player....I would have signed up for the league just to be around some other pinheads and learn, but I have my daughter on Monday nights so thats a no go...If I do get a night where I don't have her, I will definitely make stop by to just watch...

You can always stop by at league and play as a guest, so come on by if you ever get the chance.

Summer league starts 6/3.

I'm interested to hear how the Charlottesville guys have been doing so far.

Taylor i didnt know there was a Va beach league who is heading up that one? Also i still would like to come out and see you guys up in Richmond!

Might as well mention pingeek's site and his page of pinball on location in Richmond area:
http://www.pingeek.com/location.html

Also while not technically FSPA events, certain guys from the FSPA run the annual Fairfax Pinball Open Tournament each February, and sometimes a Tournament in the Fall. The FPO has been added to the PAPA circuit for Feb 2014.

www.virginiapinball.org

Burningman... don't be worried about skill level differences. The FSPA format is setup to welcome players of all skill (not just a slogan). The way people are organized into groups is the handicapping system.. where people will naturally settle into a group based on their performance. There are also multiple divisions, so that everyone has a chance to 'win'.

Loosely.. think of it this way.. if 30 people were to play.. there would be three divisions, A, B, and C. Everyone plays together, but you are only competing in the overall league standings with people in your division. The C division guys get the same shot at prizes that the A players get, etc.

We have all kinds of casual players. Some that are just interested in pinball and just want to socialize and play, wives, kids, new players, etc. The format is setup to encourage participation and enjoyment for all skill levels.. not just the hyper competitive ones.

The handicapping system has proven very effective over the years where people settle into playing people with a range of skill similar to theirs. Many also improve quickly once they get exposed to seeing lots of different styles of play. Others are always willing to share strategy, technique, etc.

For many.. its just a way to socialize. We like to keep the league at public locations so it is accessible to walk ups.

Playing as a guest is a great way to be introduced to playing in groups, etc.

I think we find the hardest thing for people to accept is when they don't play as well as they thought they would! Playing at home, by yourself, just start another game, etc.. is way different than playing one game, in a group, no mulligans, etc. But that is another skill people pickup and learn.

It has been going pretty well.
We have eight players currently. We play on location and meet every week for 10 weeks.
Our rules are based on the Free State Pinball Association's rules.

It would be nice to get some players from Pinside to come out.

We play at Durty Nellie's in Charlottesville, but might be switching to a different location in the near future.

http://dominion.league.tater.org/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/433799500050427/

The next quarterly Pinholics Anonymous tournament is coming up on June 22nd in McLean, Va. See more details at www.kevinsplanet.com or facebook.com/pinholicsanonymous. Was a lot of fun last time. The main tournament is IFPA and awards WPPR points as well.

If anyone is interested, PM me for address.