Woman Wins Australia's Top Pinball Title After 3 Years

Tash Anderson discovered pinball just three years ago when she moved to Townsville, and the retro game changed her life so completely that she turned down opportunities to move home because her old town doesn't have any machines.

Her dedication paid off big. Anderson just won the Women's Masters, Australia's largest women's pinball competition, a victory that puts her on track to qualify for the Women's World Pinball Championship next year.

"Once you get into a flow state, once you start doing really well and you're reading the machines and the ball correctly, it's a feeling unlike any other," Anderson said. She describes each machine as a book you have to read front to back.

The sport is experiencing a boom across Queensland, especially in Townsville and Brisbane. Alexander Henrickson, the state representative for the International Flipper Pinball Association, says new participants are flooding in, drawn by the social atmosphere of pizza and pinball nights.

Since pinball machines cost thousands of dollars, these community events give players their only chance to practice. That hasn't stopped the most passionate fans from going all in.

Chris Sommerville spent five years building his own custom pinball machine from scratch. He admits he could have bought three or four commercial machines with the money and time invested, but calls it a labor of love that will join his home collection.

New mom Sheridan Griffin competes with her two-and-a-half-month-old daughter strapped to her chest in a baby harness. "She's been enjoying all the pinball lights, and she's not been too grumpy," Griffin said of her tiny teammate.

The Ripple Effect

Anderson's success is doing more than rack up trophies. She's become a spokesperson for the sport, inspiring more women to compete in what was once an overwhelmingly male scene.

Women now make up about 25 percent of competitors, and players like Anderson and Natalie Dahl hope to see that reach 50 percent. Dahl, who was introduced to pinball three years ago at a friend's invitation, says it's "really good for the brain and the fine motor skills."

The Townsville scene has exploded from almost no tournaments to three or four different locations hosting regular events. Players say once you fall for pinball, you're hooked for life.