Quidditch in Malaysia

By Andrew Kasimir

The only active quidditch team in Malaysia is the Damansara Dementors. Since the team’s founding in July 2013 by a small group of friends, it has grown into a large community consisting of players from around Kuala Lumpur.

Before setting up the Damansara Dementors, I used to play with the Perth Phoenixes and the Murdoch Mandrakes when I was in Australia for university. During my time with these teams, I took part in the 2012 Midwinter Cup, the 2013 Perth Easter Fantasy, and QUAFL 2014. I returned to Malaysia in April 2013 and proposed the idea of a local quidditch team to a few of my friends. While a few shunned the idea, there were some who were willing to give it a go.

Photo Courtesy of Damansara Dementors Quidditch

The first six months saw many people coming and going with the level of quidditch reaching a low plateau. Initially, practice was held once every two weeks. The first quarter of 2014, however, saw more athletic and committed players come on board. Things started to take shape, and practice sessions were held more frequently on a weekly basis.

The Damansara Dementors hosted two fantasy tournaments in 2014. The first one was on Aug. 16 called the Malaysia Day Quidditch Tournament 2014, and the second was a Christmas-themed tournament on Dec. 20 called the Reindeer Quidditch Tournament 2014. These tournaments were organized to expose Malaysian players to the more competitive and organized side of quidditch.

Hosting fantasy tournaments also gave people who have never heard or played the game a peek into the fast-paced nature of quidditch. While a good few started to train with the Damansara Dementors regularly, there were some who just thought that quidditch was not their cup of tea.

I’m not sure about other countries, but I have noticed that after every fantasy tournament, the quality and standard of quidditch improves, and the team becomes closer. We also get to make new friends, which is a plus!

There are up-and-coming teams in the Philippines, Vietnam, China, and a second Malaysian team in Penang called the Georgetown Gryffins.

I personally cannot wait for the Georgetown Gryffins to start playing; since 2013, the Damansara Dementors have been the only team in Malaysia. Penang may be a few hours away from us, but we are more than willing to head over for a game one day.

Currently, there is very little opportunity for us to play against other teams. Even if we remain the only team in Kuala Lumpur, the best case scenario to play internationally would be with Singapore, seeing that it played quidditch once upon a time.

For the future of quidditch in Malaysia and Asia as a whole, I am looking forward to the existence of more teams and maybe one day a tournament similar to that of the 2015 European Games or European Quidditch Cup.