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Episode 270: Juana Summers

PodcastAnalysis updated 2d ago33 min listen
From the creator

As a member of the IFPA Women's Advisory Board, Juana is helping making our hobby better for everyone. Enjoy this conversation with one of pinball's finest.

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Highlights

  • Juana started playing pinball in 2015 in the DMV mega league, finished 72nd out of 79 players in her first league, and was DQ'd for playing someone else's ball on her first day but persisted to become a league organizer.
  • Bells and Chimes Baltimore chapter started right before the pandemic and grew to ~30 players compared to 50 players in the main Holy for Holies league.
  • The Women's Advisory Board is working on creating resources and guides for TDs and event organizers to recognize diversity issues and create accessible, welcoming environments.
  • Holy for Holies Pinball League implemented a visible, printed code of conduct that all players and guests must read and agree to in order to participate.
  • Juana has experienced gender bias and misattribution as a female TD: people often assume she is married to a TD, not a TD herself, and ask white male co-TDs for rulings instead of her.
  • Pin Baltimore is primarily run by Jake Peterson and Jeff Danik (Holy for Holies owner) with Howard Dobson as head TD; it combines pinball, arts, entertainment, and Mexican food.
  • Pinball events like Pinball Bergenbäck are expensive and exclusive due to travel costs, time off work, lodging, and physical endurance requirements: not everyone can afford or access them.
  • As a Black woman entering pinball tournaments, Juana felt intimidated because there were few people who looked like her; she jokes that there are often more men named David than women or people of color in the tournaments she runs.

Notable quotes

“I committed the worst pinball faux pas ever and played someone else's ball during, I think, my first game of my first day of league ever and ended up getting yelled at, got really upset and ended up almost in tears, actually in tears, and still came back five years later.”
Juana Summers
“If you go to a foreign country and you don't speak the language, you can't expect someone to speak the language the first time they encounter it. So acting with grace and a little bit of understanding helps.”
Juana Summers
“There are often more men named David than women or people of color in the tournaments that I run. And I say that as somebody who's married to a person named David.”
Juana Summers
“Making sure if your goal is to make your community more diverse, you have to prioritize access and safety. And that tone starts at the top.”
Juana Summers
“You have to enforce your rules across the board. Just because your buddy is acting up or doing something inappropriate that violates your rules, they can't get a free pass.”
Juana Summers
“Often people assume I'm not a TD and that I'm married to a TD or I'm dating a TD or I've never played pinball before. That sucks. Yeah, it does. And it happens a lot. And it's really funny that it's still happening five years later.”
Juana Summers
“I would urge those people, if you're experiencing that kind of situation, to reach out to Josh or to reach out to the Women's Board. That's what we exist for, is to make sure that these problematic behaviors aren't continuing.”
Juana Summers
“Something that I might have shrugged off and just let one of my co-TDs answer, that's just, that's no longer going to be what's happened. It's calling that person in and being like, hey, actually, you know, I'm a tournament director.”
Juana Summers

Entities

  • Pin Baltimore· event
  • Pinball Bergenbäck· event
  • Backbox Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Bells and Chimes· organization
  • Final Round Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Holy for Holies· organization
  • IFPA· organization
  • NPR· organization
  • Women's Advisory Board· organization
  • Anna Walk· person
  • Eka Schneider· person
  • Howard Dobson· person
  • Jake Peterson· person
  • Jeff Danik· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Josh· person
  • Juana Summers· person
  • Julie Dorsers· person
  • Kevin Stone· person
  • Kim Martinez· person
  • Lauren Gray· person
  • Tony· person
  • Trent Augusteyn· person

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