EQC 2017 Group G Preview

With European Quidditch Cup (EQC) 2017 rapidly approaching, the Quidditch Post takes a look at each of the teams competing in this year’s tournament.

Group G

Titans Paris

By Hugues Ribayrol and Fraser Posford

As the two-time defending champions of Europe, the Titans Paris enter as the favorites to capture their third championship. The Parisians started the season by winning their first Barcelona Moustaches title, denying the Mighty and Amazing Quercs a historic threepeat in the process. They then went on to win their second consecutive French Cup, which serves as France’s EQC qualifier, with relative ease, beating local rivals Paris Frog 200*-100 in the final.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Catalonia | Copa Mundial 2016: Foco en Cataluña

By Bex McLaughlin (Team Catalonia, Barcelona Eagles)

Additional analysis and reporting by Alba Arrieta, Emeline Bosc, Marc Garganté, and Sílvia Fortuny

Texto traducido al español después de la versión inglesa, por Jaume Miró

History

Quidditch has been played in the autonomous Spanish region of Catalonia since 2013, when Alba Arrieta founded the Barcelona Eagles Quidditch Team. She discovered the sport after reading about World Cup VI online. Since then, the Eagles have competed at European Quidditch Cups (EQC) 2014, 2015, and 2016, where they fell short of making the upper bracket in the past two years, despite beating former UK champions Southampton Quidditch Club (SQC) at EQC 2016.

Clash of the Catalans: A Preview of Catalan Cup

 Written by Bex McLaughlin (Barcelona Eagles) with additional research by Alba Arrieta (Barcelona Eagles) and Paula Sorrosal (Imperius Zaragoza)

It is not just the teams of French Quidditch vying for EQC spots this weekend; a little south of Toulouse, in Tarragona, Catalonia, the four teams of the Associació de Quidditch de Catalunya (AQC) will be battling for one of two spots to represent their NGB in the international arena. The four teams will face off in a round-robin on Sunday, concluding with a final match and then a consolation game. For a small NGB, there is a lot of potential in Catalan Quidditch, even if the growth of the sport in the region has recently stagnated.

Barcelona Eagles Basque in Victory: A Review of Mangamore Kopa 2015

by Bex McLaughlin (Traducción española de Fraser Posford y Andrea de Alfonso)

The Barcelona Moustaches Time 2 tournament last month was mainly a competition among mercenary teams, so it was Mangamore Quidditch Kopa 2015 on Oct. 10 that truly kicked off the regular season on the Iberian Peninsula. The Basque Country was represented by the Bizkaia Boggarts and Gasteiz Gamusins, Catalonia shone with Barcelona teams the Barcelona Eagles and the relatively new Wyverns, the Madrid Wolves represented the Spanish capital, and a few brave Toulouse players journeyed down from France, bolstered by Spanish mercs. The one-day event concluded with an exciting final that ended too soon due to a score miscalculation, but the event was an enjoyable showdown with some exciting games.

Mangmore Kopa Preview

by Marc Garganté

On Oct. 10, the small Basque town of Amorebieta-Etxano, Spain will host the Mangamore Kopa. This Iberian-centric tournament will cement the rapid growth of Spanish teams – probably one of the fastest national growths to be seen in quidditch as of late. Some of the attending teams will face each other for the third time in roughly two months, the other two previous times being the first Transpyrenees Cup (Transpiriquove) in early August 2015, held in Tarragona, Spain by the Nightmare Grims, and the Barcelona Moustaches Time 2015 (BMT2).

Barcelona Moustaches Time 2: Event Review

by Jack Lennard

This is the first in a new series from the Quidditch Post, in which we review tournaments as events, disregarding gameplay factors, considering and reporting on the level of organisation, the measures taken to ensure the success of the tournament, and the innovations that made the tournament more or less successful.

Barcelona Moustaches Time 2: Team Previews

This weekend, Barcelona Moustaches Times 2: The Moustache Strikes Back (BMT2) Tournament will be held in Barcelona, Catalonia. This year, 14 teams from seven nations will compete in what will be the first international tournament in Europe this season. BMT2 will thus be an important arena for teams to prove themselves and show the rest of the continent what they are made of. For newer teams and players, it will be a chance to gain invaluable experience before their own national season’s start. Since the tournament is held in Barcelona, it will for many also simply be a good excuse to go on holiday and play at a fun quidditch tournament. However, with approximately only two international tournaments a year besides the European Quidditch Cup (EQC), winning will be highly regarded and put the winning team and the nation it’s from in the spotlight the coming season.

European Games 2015: Triumphs and Controversies

By Abby Whiteley

Introduction

On 25–26 July 2015, the inaugural European Games were held in Sarteano, Italy. Teams representing 12 European nations came together in the first tournament of its kind to play for the title of European champions. After a nail-biting final against the United Kingdom, France took the championship 80*-40, which followed its victory at the 2015 European Quidditch Cup (EQC) and established its position as the strongest quidditch nation in Europe. This tournament brought with it fantastic matches and exciting indications for the development of quidditch in Europe, as well as  a couple of controversies along the way. Here we will look at the performances of each national team and break down some of the conversations brought on by the tournament.

Barcelona Moustaches Time 2: Draw Reactions and Swiss Format Discussion

What follows are first reactions to the Barcelona Moustaches Time 2: The Moustache Strikes Back (BMT) group draw and Swiss format discussion. In the interest of full disclosure: Kai Haugen Shaw will be captaining the Norwegian Ridgebacks at this tournament.

France Captures European Games Over UK

by Andy Marmer (French translation by Sherrie Talgeri and Morgane Leclerc)

A new chapter was added to one of quidditch’s most intense rivalries as the United Kingdom and France met again in a major tournament and, in following recent trends, the latter once again emerged on top, overcoming its rival 90*-50 in the finals of the first ever IQA European Games.

Stampeding to Sarteano: Catalonia

by Sherrie Talgeri

Introduction

Quidditch in Catalonia is steadily growing; its NBG, Associació de Quidditch de Catalunya, was recognized in late 2014 by the IQA, and there are currently three official teams: the Barcelona Eagles and Wyverns Quidditch Team from Barcelona, and the Nightmare Grims from Tarragona. Catalan quidditch began in 2013 with the founding of the Barcelona Eagles by Alba Arrieta, and the team catalysed the creation of the Grims and Wyverns Quidditch.

The Eagles and the Grims have both attracted European attention at the Tournoi International de la Violette in Toulouse, France. In addition, the Eagles have attended the Brussels Muscles Invitational and represented Catalonia at the 2014 and 2015 European Quidditch Cup (EQC), placing seventh in 2014 and 21st in 2015. Tournaments organised by the region, such as the Barcelona Moustaches Time and the Catalan Cup, have consolidated growth, which has been consistent but not as rapid as that of other countries. This may be attributed to the small population of the region. Catalonia is looking to impress at the European Games, and we can expect to see great things from the region at this tournament and the coming season.

EQC Division 1 Team Reviews

On the 18 and 19 April, the 2015 European Quidditch Cup (EQC) was held in Oxford, UK. With 32 teams from 11 regions, it was the biggest quidditch tournament held outside North America to date. Now that the dust has settled, our writers review how each team performed, starting with the 16 teams who made it into Division 1.

Quidditch Coming to Camp Nou

By Jack Lennard, Quidditch Post COO 

Messi, Neymar, Xavi...Chema? The Barcelona Eagles have confirmed exclusively to the Quidditch Post that the famed Camp Nou, home of La Liga leaders FC Barcelona, will be the location of this September’s Barcelona Moustaches Time 2: The Moustache Strikes Back.

A Victory for all the Catalan Quidditch Teams

By Maria Lucea  

On March 1, 2015, the first Catalan Quidditch Cup took place in Barcelona, Spain. The competition was set up to decide which team would represent Catalonia at the next European Quidditch Cup (EQC) in 2015.

This season had the presence of three Catalan teams: the Barcelona Eagles, the Wyverns Quidditch Team, and the Nightmare Grims. The Bizkaia Boggarts, Toulouse Muggle Quidditch, and Imperius Zaragoza also played as guest teams. For some teams, this competition was their introduction to the quidditch world and they played in their first matches.

Catalan Teams Battle For EQC Spot

By Marc Garganté

On March 1, Catalonia will see its first national tournament in which all three teams within the territory will compete for the only spot in this year’s European Quidditch Cup (EQC).

This day marks a milestone for Catalonia’s quidditch scenario. For a year and a half, the only presence of quidditch in the area was the Barcelona Eagles, who, apart from the occasional friendly games with nearby Toulouse, had to pursue competition in various tournaments abroad. Since August of last year, however, this has changed. Now, Catalonia has two more teams actively contributing to the development of the league.