Portland is Starting a Women’s Pinball League For All Skill Levels

Bells and chimes are the sounds most people associate with pinball. Modern pinball machines may have abandoned those sounds long ago, but now there's a twist to the term Belles & Chimes coming to Portland in the form of a women's pinball league. 

Theresa Nessell and Sarah Demerest, both of Portland, are starting a local Belles & Chimes satellite women's pinball league at Arcadia National Bar. Notice the spelling of 'Belles." Clever, no?

The original Belles & Chimes pinball league began in Oakland California with a simple mission. "To provide a fun, social environment for women to play pinball together."

Pinball is experiencing another boom thanks to competitive play. Tournaments are held all over the world and players are ranked based on their performance. As more and more women discover the fun of a game where men playing outnumber women by a significant margin, Belles and Chimes offers a setting that might be more approachable for new pinball players.

All skill levels are welcome and encouraged to join. There are some very skilled pinball players here in Maine, with Theresa being one of them, currently ranked as the 29th best female player in the world. They'll be happy to show you that pinball is so much more than just making sure you don't lose the ball.

Belles and Chimes at Arcadia National Bar on Preble Street begins as an introductory session on Sunday, November 13 at 7PM and runs every Sunday for five weeks. Full rules are coming soon, so like Arcadia National Bar's Facebook page to keep up to date.