EQC 2017 Group A 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 A

Warwick Quidditch Club

By Dina Caruso and Hannah Dignum

Editor’s Note: both Dina Caruso and Hannah Dignum are affiliated with the team.

After their early exit at the 2017 British Quidditch Cup, Warwick Quidditch Club will be entering the tournament with a renewed vigour.

Belfast Team Heads to Cottonopolis III

By Niamh Ennis

Although quidditch was founded more than a decade ago, the sport has been around in Ireland for considerably less time. NUI Galway University, who sent the Galway Grindylows to the inaugural British Quidditch Cup in 2013, and some of the Dublin universities and IT colleges are responsible for getting the ball rolling in the Republic of Ireland. Nowadays, the Dublin Draíochta Dragons and Queen’s University Belfast Quidditch Club (QUBQC) are continuing the story as the only two active teams in the Emerald Isle. Although Ireland had a national team at last year’s World Cup and at the 2015 European Games, these versions of the national team were largely comprised of players from the UK with Irish heritage. Ahead of European Games 2017 in Oslo, Norway this July, players in the Republic and Northern Ireland are coming together to create an all-Ireland national team with Quidditch Ireland being set up to get Team Ireland ready for Oslo.

International Weekend Wrap-Up - November 26-27

Contributions by Chula Bruggeling, Can Kaytaz, Fraser Posford, and Stefan Scheurer

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 Ireland’s first game between Dublin and Belfast, Spain’s II Copa de España (Spanish Cup II), some Turkish Quidditch League games, and the UK’s Christmas Cup 3.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Ireland

By Bex McLaughlin. Additional reporting by Thomas Newton, Aine Kilbane, Abby Whiteley, and Matt O’Connor. History

Irish quidditch started with a highly spirited, albeit unsuccessful, international debut back in Nov. 2013 when the small but plucky squad of the Galway Grindylows competed at the first British Quidditch Cup (BQC). The second and third BQCs were only open to teams in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), with no teams from the Irish Republic permitted; the Grindylows remain the only foreign team to compete at the event. Since then, the Grindylows have become less active and are currently on hiatus. However, there is a new community team emerging in Dublin, and four other university teams are in the pipeline. A tournament for these teams in autumn of the coming academic year is in the works; the details are still to be confirmed.

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.

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: Ireland

by Sherrie Talgeri and Jack Lennard

Introduction

The Galway Grindylows and MDI Misfits are currently the only active teams in Ireland after a concerted effort in 2012 to set up teams. The nascent Quidditch Ireland will be looking to promote growth going forward and finally begin to set up regular matches between multiple Irish teams. The only previous interaction between Quidditch Ireland and the rest of the world was a match at the inaugural British Quidditch Cup in 2013, where the Galway Grindylows proved a fan favourite, managing to seize a victory against the Norwich Nifflers. Quidditch Ireland will be hoping to bounce back from the dissolution of the one of the only other teams in Ireland, Dublin City University (DCU), and the lack of interest in the All Ireland Quidditch League (a regular competitive event, previously between the Grindylows and DCU, though not played with IQA-recognised rules). The birth of a third team, the MDI Misfits (so named after Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin) has allowed them to form a mixed team to represent the Emerald Isle in Sarteano this summer, and this could be the much-needed spark for quidditch in Ireland.