United Federation of Competitive Pinball

Welcome to the home of the United Federation of Competitive Pinball. The goal of the UFCP is to promote friendly, competitive pinball to the masses. Founded on the principles of fair, balanced, friendly, and (most importantly) FUN competition, our goal is to offer and create new ways for pinball players to enjoy playing a favorite pastime of many!

Established in 2021, we are originally offering sanctioning in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. We have also begun our expansion pilot program with Texas!

We are going to be calling our first year  a “beta test”. This means a few things:

• Rules and rankings are going to be started as a “Version 0.1” when we launch on March 5th, 2021, and will be left “unlocked”. Our council involved in developing the UFCP will make changes as we see fit “on the fly”. We are not perfect and know that while we have sat down and done a lot of consideration for how to lay out rules and points for ranking, we may have overlooked something. If the advising board sees fit, a change may be announced. Beginning with the next season, (January 1, 2022) we plan to lock rules and guidelines in ahead of the start the season with the expectation that those rules are VERY unlikely to change (if an emergency rule is needed as deemed by UFCP then an announcement will made, otherwise the rule book is generally expected to stay the same).
• This first “beta test” season will be limited in a few ways. For specifics and a comprehensive understanding, please check the official rule book. Some of the major points are:
  1. 2021 Season will begin on March 5th, 2021 and run until December 31st, 2021. Future seasons are expected to run for the entire calendar year.
  2. For this initial season, we will only be sanctioning tournaments in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and The District of Columbia. With the 2022 Season we are expecting to expand further to include more players. Beginning July 1st, sanctioning will begin in all 50 states!
  3. UFCP has not currently made a decision as to if (and how) points for ranking earned in the 2021 season will roll over going forward. A tracking of points will include a multitude of years to gain a better picture of skill, but we recognize that we have region-locked where players are able to compete, and that we may need to adjust how formats are calculated. A decision will be made before the end of the 2021 season. We want to be transparent that those points may not count beyond the initial year so that no one feels “cheated”. THIS IS A BETA SEASON, PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK KNOWING THINGS ARE FLUID.
  4. Tournament formats are limited this year, and will not include leagues. As part of the development of the final version 1.0 rulebook for 2022 season we are planning add provisions for additional formats including how to properly factor in leagues in a balanced manner. UFCP has begun adding new formats for play for this year!

As we work on our expansion plans for the 2022 season, we want to hear from YOU about your interest! Simply filling out this form will help us gain a better idea of where interest is. We will also be able to reach out to potential tournament directors and players in those areas as we work to include them in our expansion plans!