Voyage to Victoria: QC National Championship 2017 Pool B Preview

The third iteration of Quidditch Canada’s national championship is back on the west coast in Victoria, British Columbia on April 1-2, 2017. In the second part of our coverage (click here for our Pool A preview), we preview Pool B, which consists of the following teams: 

Simon Fraser University Quidditch

University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Sports Club

University of Victoria Valkyries

Valhalla Quidditch

Voyage to Victoria: QC National Championship 2017 Pool A Preview

The third iteration of Quidditch Canada’s national championship is back on the west coast in Victoria, British Columbia on April 1-2, 2017. To kick off our coverage, we preview Pool A, which consists of the following teams:

Calgary Mavericks Quidditch Club

Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Club

Guelph Quidditch

University of British Columbia Quidditch Club (UBCQC)

Calgary Mavericks Quidditch Club

By Kayla Ross

Editor’s Note: Kayla Ross is a player for the Calgary Mavericks.

Recently rebranded, the Calgary Mavericks have consistently performed well in competition this season. Despite having a severely depleted roster at the 2016 Quidditch Canada National Championship, the Mavericks (at the time known as the Calgary Mudbloods) ranked at No. 11 after Day One, propelling them to bracket play. They have since been pushing themselves to catch up with their Albertan counterparts. The Mavericks have a strong corps of experienced players, including Rachel Malone, speaking captain for Team Canada at the IQA World Cup 2016. Their beater lines are also heavy on veterans, such as Allan Chan and Alex Lamoureux, who bolster the Mavericks’ defense and tip the odds in their favour with consistent retention of bludger control.

QCON March Recap

By Misha Whittingham

March 4 saw the last round of games for the Quidditch Conference of the Northwest (QCON) leading up to the conference’s playoff weekend on March 18-19. The series saw continued parity between the majority of the conference, with no team other earning more than two wins without the aid of a forfeiture. Low numbers for both University of British Columbia Quidditch Club (UBCQC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU) additionally required QCON to allow the use of USQ gender rules, while still maintaining the rest of the Quidditch Canada (QC) rulebook.

Coupe de Cinq Maisons: Analyse de Mi-saison | Five Houses Cup: Midseason Recap

By François Carabin

Editor’s Note: François Carabin plays for Quidditch Lionel-Groulx.

At the halfway point of the Five Houses Cup (La Coupe des Cinq Maisons), the standings are far from being set in stone. In fact, two teams have six points, while another has five, with one game back. The importance of the snitch catch in the points system accounts for this, as catching the snitch adds a very important bonus point in the standings.

So far, Quidditch Montmorency has used this rule to its full potential; the team has indeed caught four snitches out of the four games it has played. With a record of 1-3, one would expect Montmorency to be far from the top of the table, but the team’s four bonus points have kept it close.

The Frosty Broom Recap

By Courtney Butler

On February 25, seven eastern Quidditch Canada (QC) teams and one USQ team met at the University of Guelph for a one day, two-pool tournament, with the top team from each pool playing in the final. Due to the timing of this tournament, which landed during reading week, most teams in attendance were noticeably missing many players. Despite this, teams were still eager to attend because of the lack of tournaments in the winter season. As such, the tournament seemed to have more of a fun and relaxed vibe than many of the other competitive tournaments seen this season, though that may also have been because many of the teams in attendance will not be able to attend the National Championship. The pools for this tournament were as follows:

Dinos and Dragons: QCON February Recap

By Nathan Ross and Serena Cheong 

While not every set of scheduled Quidditch Conference of the Northwest (QCON) matches were able to take place over the February 18 weekend, the ones that did had lots of upsets and makes for a dramatic finish before the upcoming QCON playoff weekend on March 18-19, 2017.

Op-Ed: Quidditch Canada Takes a Moment to Congratulate Themselves as No One Watches

By Nathan Ross

For an organization that has 638 members, you’d think more than four percent (a maximum of 21 to be exact) of them would tune in to find out how they are doing.

Quidditch Canada (QC) had its annual general meeting on Jan. 22 (hashtagged as #QCAGM on Twitter), and the hour was split very much into two camps. There were presentations made by the members of Quidditch Canada, many of whom had legitimately encouraging things to say about the growth of quidditch in the Great White North. However, there were also growing frustrations with trying to get to the bottom of issues from audience members ― including myself and Quidditch Post Canada Director Serena Cheong.

Five Houses Cup | La Coupe des Cinq Maisons

By François Carabin

Traduction française plus bas.

Editor’s Note: François Carabin plays for Quidditch Lionel-Groulx.

The first part of a Montreal-based tournament known as the Five Houses Cup (Coupe des Cinq Maisons) will be happening this weekend. The Cup, which spans from the end of January to the end of March, consists of four Saturdays in which three games will take place. The last day of competition serves as a mini-tournament with semifinals and a final. Participating teams include two teams that played at the university level this season (Canada’s Finest Quidditch Club (CFQC) and Quidditch Lionel-Groulx(QLG)) as well as three CEGEP teams (Montmorency, Maisonneuve, and Vieux-Montreal/Saint-Laurent).

Portland Augureys Drop from QCON

By Jordan Kubichek

The Portland Augureys have announced this week that they will be removing themselves from Quidditch Conference of the Northwest (QCON) competition due to a dwindling player base.

“We regret that we cannot continue competing as our own team,” said Benji B’Shalom, co-captain of the Augureys. “With several of our players moving away, we no longer have enough people to even scrape together small rosters for events.”

Two-Halves Snitching: A Postmortem

By Nathan Ross

Quidditch games have always ended when the snitch has been caught, but will that always be the way the game is played? The inaugural Vancouver Winter Fantasy tournament made history earlier this month by being the first tournament to ever test out a potential “two halves rule” where only one team’s seeker is active per half. 

The Rebirth of Fédération Québécoise de Quidditch | La Renaissance de la Fédération Québécoise de Quidditch

By François Carabin

Traduction française plus bas.

After sustaining rapid growth during its first three years of existence, the Fédération Québécoise de Quidditch (FQQ) slowly faded away in 2016 when it saw most of its activities disappear. With the arrival of 2017, the Federation is looking to revive and be more effective. Emmanuelle Rheault, FQQ President, will come back in 2017 after a brief absence, with the goal of modifying the mission of the FQQ in order to help revive it.

QCON December Recap

By Misha Whittingham

Editor’s Note: Misha Whittingham plays for the University of Victoria Valkyries.

The Quidditch Conference of the Northwest (QCON) continued its inaugural season with a pair of closely-fought series in Seattle, WA and Burnaby, BC, with six of the nine teams in the conference in action on Dec. 3. The absences were the incumbent powerhouses Rain City Raptors and University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Sports Club (UBC), both away attending other events for the weekend, while the Portland Augureys could not produce a full roster to participate.

Central Canada Comic Con with the Winnipeg Whomping Willows

By Jasmin Winter

Editor’s Note: Jasmin Winter is a player for the Winnipeg Whomping Willows.

The only redeeming part of having Halloween fall on a Monday this year was the fact that the Central Canada Comic Con (C4) in Winnipeg ran the entire weekend before. Alex Downey-Ging, conventions coordinator for Quidditch Canada, contacted the Winnipeg Whomping Willows back in September and asked if the team wanted to participate. In addition to promoting the team and introducing quidditch to enthusiastic fans, the Willows players were also offered free day passes, and were warmly welcomed upon their arrival at the RBC Convention Centre.

Eastern Canada Regionals Recap Roundtable - Part 3

For the Quidditch Post’s recap of Quidditch Canada’s Eastern Regional Championship on Nov. 12 and 13, we have put together a roundtable discussion to recap the weekend.

Joining Serena Cheong, QP’s Canada Director and moderator, are the following participants: Courtney Butler (University of Waterloo Ridgebacks), François Carabin (Quidditch Lionel-Groulx), Mathew Mcveigh (University of Guelph Gryphons), Edgard Ngalissamy (Canada’s Finest Quidditch Club), and Arjun Patel (UTSC Phoenix).

Our final installment takes a look at the tournament format (the “Naftel slide”), issues with early regionals, and will also look ahead to what the National Championship out west means for eastern teams.

Observations from the Eastern Canadian Regional Championship

By Claire Steckle

Editor’s Note: Claire Steckle currently plays for the University of Ottawa Quidditch, and was kind enough to guest write an article for the Quidditch Post about her thoughts on the Eastern Canadian Regional Championship that occurred on Nov. 12 and 13, 2016 in Mississauga, Ontario.

International Weekend Wrap-Up - November 11-13

Contributions by Chula Bruggeling, Kyle Carey, Serena Cheong, Rebekah Page, Arjun Patel, Ashara Peiris, Carrie Soukup, Cameron VomBaur, and Austin Wallace

There is a lot going on in the world of quidditch on any particular weekend, and most of us only see the stories immediately relevant to our regions. However, it can be very interesting to look outside of our own bubble every once in awhile and take a look at the rest of the global community. To that end, each week the Quidditch Post collects information about tournaments and events that happened during the weekend around the world.

This week we are covering the Eastern and Western Canada Regional Championships, Coupe de France, the UK’s Northern Cup, the US’s Midwest Regional Championship, Next Best West, Hub City Cup, and Officially BAQC At It.

QCON November Recap

By Serena Cheong and Austin Wallace

Editor’s Note: Serena Cheong is one of the co-commissioners of QCON and plays for Simon Fraser University Quidditch. Austin Wallace plays for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Sports Club.

QCON, or Quidditch Conference of the Northwest, kicked off its inaugural opening weekend on Nov. 5 and 6, with nine teams from the American and Canadian Pacific Northwest (PNW) competing in round robin games in one of three locatiosns: Seattle, Washington; Bellingham, Washington; and Victoria, British Columbia. Perhaps it is still early into this young season, but there are already signs of change in this region that can be seen from the results of QCON’s November games.

International Weekend Wrap-Up - November 5-6

Contributions by Chula Bruggeling, Serena Cheong, Neha Korrapati, Carrie Soukup, and Austin Wallace

This week we are publishing our fourth International Weekend Wrap-Up, providing you with information about tournaments and events around the world. This week we are covering events from Belgium, Canada, Germany, and the US.

March to Mississauga: Eastern Canada Regional Championship Preview

By Arjun Patel

Following our preview of Quidditch Canada’s Western Regional Championship, Arjun Patel previews Canada’s Eastern Regional Championship, which will be held on Nov. 12 and 13 at the Iceland Fields in Mississauga, Ontario.

International Weekend Wrap-Up - October 29-30

Contributions by Chula Bruggeling, François Carabin, Briana Earhart, Neha Korrapati, Jack Lennard, Lena Mandahus, and Carrie Soukup

Another week, another International Weekend Wrap-Up. There’s a lot going on in the world of quidditch on any particular weekend, and most of us only see the stories immediately relevant to our regions. However, it can be very interesting to look outside of our own bubble every once in awhile and take a look at the rest of the global community. This week we cover events from Canada, France, Turkey, the UK, and the US.