Thank you to everyone who attended & supported the 3rd Annual John Breen Memorial Charity Pinball Tournament on April 27 & 28! This was the first year we made it a 2-day event, with Charlottesville’s first ever Classics Tournament. This was also the first time we had a brewery partner with us to make sure you could sip a beer while you attended – thank you to Patch Brewing for joining us.
We raised $1,130 for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville!
Saturday was the Main IFPA Tournament, with a whopping *40* pinball machines ranging from 1957-2024! 39 competitors battled it out for 5 hours, and the winners were:
Honorable mention to Dan, who got 4th!
Sunday began with the UVA Exhibition Games, where 7 University of Virginia Student Athletes from the Virginia Wrestling Team, Virginia Volleyball Team, Virginia Football Team & Virginia Men’s Basketball Team played pinball against members of the Public. We had 5 groups competing, and the public won over the athletes in every group – what a throwdown! In their defense…. in each group, a DOMINION PINBALL LEAGUE member was the victor…maybe the deck was a little stacked! Thank you to the kind athletes and Cav Futures Foundation for supporting this event!
Next was the IFPA Classics Tournament with 20 pinball machines from 1957-1990. As a special treat, we even brought in 3 machines from the 60s only for this event, on loan from our EM tech Paul. 30 competitors played pinball for 4.5 hours, and the winners were:
Honorable mention to our very own Bailey, who competed incredibly well and tied for 4th!
The prize packs this year were made possible by generous small businesses who share in our mission to do good in our community. Thank you to Patch Brewing, Reclaim Arcade (Fredericksburg), Cville Escape Room, Alakazam Toys and Gifts, Marco Pinball, FIREFLY Charlottesville, Random Row Brewing Co., Cinema Skateshop, Richmond Pinball Collective and Tip Top Pinball (Richmond at Final Gravity Brewing Co., Stone Brewing Richmond, Center of the Universe Brewing & Crazy Rooster Brewing)
Thanks again to the players, the attendees, the businesses who partnered with us and donated, and all our friends and family who supported this event!
The 3rd Annual John Breen Memorial Charity Pinball Tournament will be a 2-day event on the Downtown Mall at Decades Arcade: 418 East Main St, Charlottesville VA 22902! All proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House Charlottesville.
John Breen was a lifelong pinball player, a resident of Waynesboro, a member of Dominion Pinball League and regular at Decades Arcade. He found out in January 2021 that he had terminal cancer. In his last few months, John contacted Arcade Manager Lindsey and Dominion Pinball League Director Dan, asking us to keep his name alive with a charity pinball tournament. We were honored to do so.
The Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville provides affordable housing, community resources & meals for families of children undergoing treatment at the University of Virginia Health System. With stays ranging from one night to multiple months, their always-open facility offers a home-away-from-home with 19 rooms, 4 kitchens, laundry facilities and a recreational area.
Decades Arcade placed our pinball machine “Comet” in the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville in John’s memory for the benefit of the patients staying there in 2023, in partnership with Project Pinball who also placed the pinball machine “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” John loved kids and talked about how they were much braver than him – he said had been blessed to live a full life, and his wish was to help them face hard diagnoses and treatments via his love of pinball. One of the pinball machines will go into the RMHC’s new isolation unit for immunocompromised children while the other stays in the Rec Room used by all who stay at RMHC. Both machines are maintained by Decades & DPL technicians.
1:30 – 4pm: Practice / Free Play during Public Hours if desired
4pm – until: Total Decades Collection IFPA Tournament
12 – 1pm: Practice / Free Play
1 – 2:30pm: The UVA Exhibition Games
Our amazing University of Virginia athletes from CavFutures Foundation are going to take you on in a game of pinball! They may be able to beat you on the field, but you might take home the win in a game of pinball. In an effort to raise more awareness and donations for the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville, these athletes have donated their afternoon to this event to play pinball with you and regale their recent experiences as NCAA athletes.
If you choose not to play in the Exhibition Games, you may enjoy the video games in the rest of the arcade at this time.
3pm – until: Decades Classics IFPA Tournament
You may register for both days together at $45 Entry ($30 donated to RMHC)
OR
You may register for one day only at $25 Entry ($10 donated to RMHC)
You can choose to not participate in 1 or more events and just spectate or play video games. Entry fee is the same regardless. Select when checking out what you are competing in or not, or if you’re doing donation only and not attending.
First 70 attendees receive a commemorative T-shirt! Select your shirt size at check out, or select if you do not want a shirt.
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