By Marcus Toomey
In an official statement released today The Boise State Abraxans have announced that they will not be attending USQ World Cup 8. Amongst the reasons cited were, financial concerns, scheduling difficulties, and injury to a number of players.
In the official statement released through the team’s social media platforms; The Abraxans thanked their supporters and assured that money raised through their Indiegogo campaign would be set aside for next season’s travel.
The Abraxans’ decision follows that of Marquette Quidditch, Florida Gulf Coast and the Grand Valley Grindylows, who have all made the choice not to attend based on similar factors.
Abraxans Coach Kym Couch expressed personal upset on her Facebook page. Couch asked for sympathy for her and her team, stating that negativity would be unwelcome and that the decision was difficult for many BSA players to hear.
The Facebook post ended with an expression by Couch about recent backlash other teams that have decided to drop from the World Cup have faced; “Shaming teams for not being able to go is not a great response to a trying situation.”
Per USQ policy the bid will be offered to Northwest teams in order of their placement at the Regional Championship. British Columbia Quidditch Club (BCQC) finished fourth, followed by the Boise State Thestrals, the Moscow Manticores at the University of Idaho, and the Portland Augureys. BCQC's captain, Taylor Attrill, thinks it is unlikely the team will be able to attend but will wait until tomorrow to make an official decision with the rest of the University of British Columbia Quidditch’s (UBC) executive team.
As of publication, representatives from the Boise State Thestrals and Moscow Manticores were unable to confirm that their teams would not accept the bids. However, the Thestrals are under the same umbrella as the Abraxans and the Manticores struggled to raise enough funds to attend the Regional Championship.
Portland Augureys Captain Benji B’Shalom confirmed that his team would not accept the bid if offered.
Any Northwest team offered the bid would require a waiver from the USQ Gameplay department. To attend World Cup all teams must have played eight games against four teams at three different events. These events must have occurred by March 28 and all official games must be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the event with rosters submitted one week prior. Games played at the regional championship do not count.
BCQC has played in just six games excluding the regional championship and only attended Clash in the Cascades and Komrade Kup. The Thestrals attended the Top of Utah Classic and Komrade Kup, and have played just five games this year outside of the regional championship. The Manticores have played in just six games at Clash in the Cascades and Komrade Kup. The Augureys have also played in just six games across the same two tournaments.
If no Northwest team is able to accept the bid, it will be offered to a team from the Mid-Atlantic, based on the results of the Huntington-Hill method used to determine World Cup bid allocation. QC Pittsburgh is the highest placing Mid-Atlantic team. Its Coach, Tyler Norton, confirmed the team would not accept the bid if offered. It would then fall to Lock Haven University Quidditch. As of publication no representative from Lock Haven was available for comment.
Lock Haven has not yet satisfied the requisite gameplay policies, but is slated to attend its third tournament of the year this coming weekend when it travels to the Founders Cup at the University of Virginia. Lock Haven currently boasts a 3-11 record in official matches and finished 12th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in November.
The Quidditch Post will continue to follow this story as more information becomes available. Check back for updates.
Update: 10:10 a.m. EDT: Lock Haven Coach Jonyull Kosinski confirms that his team will accept the bid if offered. "LHU is more than ready to accept the bid for WC8. You say the word and we're there"
Update: 1:00 p.m. EDT: Lock Haven has officially accepted a World Cup bid.
Austin Wallace and Andy Marmer contributed reporting.
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