Mexico at World Cup | México en el Torneo Mundial de Quidditch.

Mexico at World Cup
By David Mejía
Articulo original en español abajo

There are facts, events, and experiences one never forgets, and participating in the IQA World Cup 2016, an event of a magnitude that does not happen just anywhere on just any Sunday, is indisputably an experience that will stay in both the memory and the heart of each one of the 19 selected Mexican players.

World Cup From Their Perspective: Tournament Director Matthew Guenzel

My name is Matthew Guenzel, and I was the Tournament Director for this summer’s IQA Quidditch World Cup. This was my ninth tournament acting as director-level staff in some capacity, and by far the most challenging yet.

World Cup From Their Perspective: A View From Eastern Europe

By Kinga Robutka, with contributions from Marian Dziubiak (Poland), Martin “Hofi” Hofbauer (Slovakia), and Verena Deutsch and Borut Bezgovšek (Slovenia). 

In comparison to the 2014 IQA Global Games held in Burnaby, Canada, the 2016 World Cup expanded dramatically, with 21 teams competing in the tournament held in Frankfurt, Germany – a stark contrast to the seven teams of the previous event. Being invited to the tournament was a unique chance for smaller developing leagues from around the world to challenge themselves and have what remains their only chance to compete against such international powerhouses such as Team USA and Australia. However, a greater number of teams competing naturally results in greater diversity in the level of play across the tournament. To some commentators, this was one of the main drawbacks of the tournament as the stronger teams, presumably, felt less challenged, especially during the group stages of Day One.

World Cup from their Perspective: Volunteer Coordinator Bebe Ashley

By Bebe Ashley

My name is Bebe Ashley, and I was volunteer coordinator for the 2016 IQA World Cup. This was my first, but hopefully not last, tournament committee position.

Beginner's Guide to the IQA

By Lindsay Garten 

With Quidditch World Cup 2016 behind us, the Quidditch Post brings you a beginner’s guide to the International Quidditch Association (IQA), the organization responsible for planning this international event. If you would like to know more about the history of this marquee event, check out our Beginner’s Guide to World Cup.

World Cup From Their Perspective: Team Australia Coach Gen Gibson

Hello, friends. My name is Gen Gibson, and I was the coach for the Australian Quidditch team for the 2016 World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany. Before I start my story, it’s important to acknowledge that success is never achieved alone. I would like to take a moment to thank the players and reserves of the Dropbears, captain James Mortensen, assistant coach Liam McCoppin, team manager Carolyn Themel, Nic Hirst [President of Quidditch Australia] and Quidditch Australia, the Dropbears’ cheer squad and helpers, the Aussie quidditch community, the teams at World Cup, and the people who made it happen. You are all the real MVPs here.  

World Cup From Their Perspective: Team USA Head Coach James Hicks

My name is James Hicks, and I have been involved in quidditch since 2011. I was the head coach of the 2016 Team USA.

Team USA Head Coach James Hicks at the closing ceremonies for the 2016 Quidditch World Cup. | Photo Credit: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography

Before I get started, I would like to thank the Quidditch Post, and particularly the sections abroad. For the past year, I believe that your coverage of international teams and events has helped keep us updated on quidditch around the world, not just in America, and I’ve enjoyed following international quidditch because of it. I would also like to thank you for reaching out for a different kind of interview - for giving me a platform to share my personal experience and my feelings after a tough weekend for USA quidditch. Not many sporting media outlets do that after a tough loss, so it’s very much appreciated.

The World Turned Upside Down

By Andy Marmer

Dameon Osborn lunged for the snitch and then lay on his back for minutes hardly believing what he held in his hand. With his single moment of brilliance, Osborn grabbed Australia’s first gold medal in international play with a 150*-130 win over the United States, marking the United States’ first loss in international play.

World champions Team Australia after their expo match against Germany | Photo Credit: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography

World Cup Day One Reactions Roundtable

With Day One in the books, the Quidditch Post (QP) brings you our initial reactions from the first day of gameplay. Be sure to keep an eye out for our live tweets and video recaps.

Andy Marmer: Ok, so what are everyone’s thoughts after Day One?

Serena Cheong: The only unexpected result is Canada nabbing the No. 1 seed.

Matt O’Connor: Having watched all their games, I think if Australia can tighten up they’re on course for a medal at least.

Chula Bruggeling: Agreeing with Matt there. I’ve seen a little of everything today, with both being a referee and a live tweeter for QP, and Australia is definitely going strong.

World Cup 2016 Quidditch Post Roundtable

This special World Cup Roundtable brings together Quidditch Post staffers from multiple departments and across the globe. Their opinions are their own and may not be representative of their respective teams or NGBs. Their position within the Quidditch Post and their respective nationalities have been added to aid transparency. 

Andy Marmer (CEO) (USA): Welcome, everyone. The biggest international tournament the sport has ever seen is days away and I’m excited. What are you all most looking forward to?

Ajantha Abey (Visuals) (Australia): Australia vs. Belgium for sure, and any other matches between the top six. Then seeing what smaller or unknown regions, such as Slovakia or Slovenia, can bring to the table, as well as which dark horses from tier two (the likes of Italy, Germany, or Turkey) go unexpectedly far.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Poland

By Kinga Robutka

History

Quidditch first came to Poland during a Harry Potter-themed LARPing camp in Czocha Castle, initiated by Jagoda Sadecka, a prominent figure throughout the development of quidditch in Poland. The first team, the Quidditch Hussars, were originally a community team centered around professors and students of the Summer School of Magic, and in 2015 were transformed into a community team based in Warsaw, with Sadecka as captain. For the 2015-16 season, all three teams registered with Polska Liga Quidditcha, the national governing body of Poland, were community teams based in two biggest cities in Poland – Warsaw and Kraków. The current national champions of Poland are the Kraków Dragons who won the National Cup in January 2016, which was a surprising victory for the new team, started and captained by Olga Krzywicka; the Quidditch Hussars placed second, and the other Warsaw-based team, the Warsaw Mermaids (captained by Marian Dziubiak), came last.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on the Netherlands | Nederland in de schijnwerpers

Spotlight on the Netherlands  

By Chula Bruggeling

Editor’s Note: Chula Bruggeling is President of Quidditch Nederland.

History

Quidditch in the Netherlands started, in true European fashion, in a very complicated and very international way. Jerona van der Gevel, having played for Norwich, UK once, missed playing quidditch and went to Brussels Muscles Invitational in Belgium in Nov. 2013, where she was a merc player for the French team Toulouse Muggle Quidditch. In Feb. 2014, both Van der Gevel and Bram Vries, who had learned of quidditch online, merced for Norwegian team NTNUI Rumpeldunk at European Quidditch Cup 2014.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Spain

By Jaume Miró

History

Although there was an attempt at creating a quidditch team in Madrid in 2012, quidditch was not actually played in Spain until the following year, first by the Barcelona Eagles and soon after by the Dementores de A Coruña. Up until a few months ago, there were only three teams in Spain, but since the Asociación Quidditch España (AQE) was founded in April 2015, several teams have appeared throughout the country. As of June 2016, there are 14 registered community teams, plus another three teams planning to join next season, all of them community teams.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Turkey | Dünya Kupası 2016: Türkiye İncelemesi

By Kaan Bolat and Can Kaytaz

Kaan Bolat tarafından yapılan Türkçe çeviri aşağıdadır.

History

Quidditch arrived in Turkey in March 2014. A group of students from Middle East Technical University (Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, ODTÜ) in the city of Ankara decided to bring the sport to their campus and formed two teams: METU Unicorns and ODTÜ Hippogriffs. Being the heart of quidditch, Ankara then gave birth to three more teams. The sport grew exponentially in a very short time and today Turkey has nine teams registered to Quidditch Derneği (QD), the national governing body for quidditch in the country; all the teams are community teams except Bilkent Foxes of Bilkent University, though all the teams are based around universities, able to use their facilities and talent base, and are also able to recruit players from the larger community. Currently there are over 200 players spread among these nine teams in the community. The teams compete in the Turkish Quidditch League throughout the year, where every team plays with each other twice during the season, and at the end of the season they compete for the Turkish Quidditch Cup ( TQK). Turkey came to the international stage for the first time in 2015, at Tournoi International de la Violette in Toulouse, France with a merc team composed of ODTÜ Hippogriffs and METU Unicorns players; they took third place and impressed everyone. That same year, the METU Unicorns — the undefeated winner of TQK — went to European Quidditch Cup (EQC) 2015 in Oxford and took 18th place. This year, Turkish quidditch has gotten even better; METU Unicorns, İTÜ Honeybees, and BOUN Centaurs took fourth, 13th and 25th place, respectively at EQC 2016.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on the United Kingdom

By Bex McLaughlin

History

The United Kingdom's quidditch scene is the most developed in Europe. The British have been wielding broomsticks since 2011 after Keele University student Megan Shaw started the then-named Avadakeeledavra Quidditch Team in the autumn of 2011. Shaw fell in love with the sport while studying abroad in the USA. Since then the sport has grown exponentially across England, Scotland, and Wales with over 30 active teams, a fully developed governing body, one European club champion, and medal success for the national team. The governing body of British quidditch, QuidditchUK (QUK), is well-organised with a large Executive Management Team of media, communications, leadership, gameplay, and human resource departments. While currently QUK is run by dedicated volunteers, there are plans to have at least the president's position financed in the coming years, gaining continued recognition for quidditch as a sport.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on the United States

By Danielle Lehmann and Bruce Donnelly  

History

The United States has the honor of saying that quidditch started here, at Middlebury College in Vermont (in the northeastern United States) by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe in 2005. As freshmen that year, Manshel and Benepe created the groundwork for quidditch, but it was quite different from the sport we know today.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Slovakia | Majstrovstvá sveta v metlobale 2016: Zamerané na Slovensko

By Martin “Hofi” Hofbauer

Slovenský preklad nižšie

History

Slovakia is one of the youngest nations to join the global quidditch community. Even though quidditch was played on various different occasions in the nation (the most notable one probably being fantasy convention SlavCon), the first time playing under the IQA set of rules happened in May at SlavCon 2015, where the Vienna Vanguards, an Austrian team, were invited as guests to promote quidditch as a real sport in Slovakia. One thing led to another, and there are now two teams in Slovakia: the Pressburg Phantoms from Bratislava, and the Cassovia Crows, based in Košice. Both teams are community-based, and together the Slovak quidditch community comprises about 50 players and volunteers.

World Cup 2016: Spotlight on Slovenia

By Vid Rotvejn Pajič

History

Quidditch was introduced to Slovenia in the summer of 2015, when a group of international exchange students gathered in Sežana. The formation of what remains the only team in Slovenia followed in October of the same year. At first it was mostly a leisure activity, but as more and more serious players joined, the squad began yearning for more competitive play.