International Weekend Wrap-Up - January 21-22

Contributions by Chula Bruggeling, Lena Mandahus, TJ Goaley, Neha Korrapati, Kenny Stowe, and Nat Davis 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 Dutch EQC Qualifier; the Austrian EQC Qualifier; USQ Southwest’s Brooms on the Brazos; USQ South’s Old Money Classic IV and the Horns up for Harambe Memorial Championship; and USQ Great Lakes’ the Grindy Slam Winter Jam.

The Netherlands – Dutch EQC Qualifier

By Chula Bruggeling

Editor’s Note: Chula Bruggeling is the Quidditch Nederland President, and plays for the Wageningen Werewolves

1. Dom Tower Dementors
2. North Sea Nargles
3. Wageningen Werewolves

On Jan. 22, the Netherlands were supposed to hold their Dutch Quidditch Cup (DQC) 2017. Unfortunately, due to weather circumstances, organisation, volunteers, and teams arrived at the venue only to find they would not be allowed to play. Luckily, later that morning the field was officially cleared for use; Quidditch Nederland (QNL) decided together with the team captains to cancel DQC and instead hold only a simple set of games to determine the Dutch European Quidditch Cup (EQC) qualification. A proper national championship might be held later in the season. The Dom Tower Dementors played the first semifinal against the Rotterdam Ravens, ending the game with a decisive 160*-20 score. Meanwhile, the semifinal between the North Sea Nargles and the Wageningen Werewolves quickly turned in favour of the Nargles and ended with a surprise decision by the Werewolves to cold catch, ending the game 90-50* in favour of the Nargles. The Wageningen Werewolves won the third place game over the Rotterdam Ravens, 140*-90. The final between the Dom Tower Dementors and North Sea Nargles ended with a score of 130*-50 for the Dom Tower Dementors, after a snitch catch by Finn den Boeft, sending the Dementors onward to EQC2017.

Dom Tower Dementors qualify for EQC | Photo Credit: Bruggeling Quidditch Photography

Austria – Austrian EQC Qualifier

By Lena Mandahus

Editor’s Note: Lena Mandahus is a player for the Vienna Vanguards

1. Vienna Vanguards
2. Danube Direwolves

On Saturday, the two Austrian teams that are also both based in Vienna, the Danube Direwolves and the Vienna Vanguards, came together for the country’s first European Quidditch Cup (EQC) qualification match. Last season the Danube Direwolves dropped out of the EQC qualifier, and the season before that, the Vienna Vanguards were the only team in Austria. The Vienna Vanguards won 190*-70 against the Danube Direwolves, and will be attending EQC for the third year in a row.

Vienna Vanguards at the Austrian EQC Qualifier | Photo Credit: Vienna Vanguards

USQ Southwest – Brooms on the Brazos

By TJ Goaley

Editor’s Note: TJ Goaley is the captain of SHSU Quidditch

1. Texas Cavalry
2. SHSU Quidditch

Brooms on the Brazos went as expected. Texas Cavalry has now gone five for five in tournaments this year, and improved to 16-1 on the season. As predicted, nobody gave Cavalry a run for its money, with it beating SHSU Quidditch in the finals 150*-10. Brooms on the Brazos also had a consolation bracket for the bottom three teams of the tournament. With the North Texas Firebolts beating Tribe by a snitch grab; North Texas was sent to the semifinals of the winner’s bracket to play Cavalry, and Tribe was sent to the finals of the consolation bracket. Victoria Quidditch ended up beating Baylor’s B-team, Osos de Muerte, in order to qualify for the finals of the consolation bracket. The finals were extremely close, with neither team getting more than 20 points away from each other. In the end, Victoria Quidditch came out on top of Tribe after the snitch catch. This tournament was always going to be a chance to learn about Baylor Quidditch, given how few games the team has played this season. It went 2-2 on the day (1-2 in official games), losing two times to SHSU Quidditch. Baylor has a very young, athletic, and unaggressive team that is sitting in the lower mid-tier of the Southwest. Baylor has dropped two games now to each of SHSU and OSU, who are both contenders to return to US Quidditch Cup, and only in one of those was Baylor in range before the snitch catch (120*-60 loss to SHSU). Baylor did well against North Texas Quidditch, but was in range when snitch came on pitch against (a bolstered) Victoria Quidditch. While Baylor won the game, it was a shaky performance. It is now 2-5 on the season, and has dropped from this weekend’s Diamond Cup. The team’s next tournament will be Alamo Cup on February 4; hopefully it will be able to put some of the pieces together before then and give its record a boost before the Regional Championship.

Cavalry seeker Freddy Salinas at Lone Star Cup | Photo Credit: Kris Lawton

SHSU Quidditch went 4-1 and played Cavalry in the finals. Ignoring the 150*-10 loss SHSU faced against the (now) 16-1 Cavalry, SHSU was only in snitch range once all day. That game came in pool play against Baylor, and SHSU was up 30 points before the quick snitch grab. However, SHSU more than made up for it by beating Baylor in the semifinals 120*-30. It should be interesting to see how SHSU does this weekend at Diamond Cup, since (as previously stated) the team does play its best in the second part of the year, which showed at Brooms on the Brazos. USQ South — Old Money Classic IV (hosted by College of Charleston)

By Neha Korrapati

Editor’s Note: Neha Korrapati is a player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Quidditch Old Money Classic IV was cancelled after three rounds of gameplay due to field conditions. The weather for this past Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina called for severe thunderstorms, and while the thunderstorms did not extensively delay gameplay, the rain proved to be a bigger problem. Notably, the College of Charleston (CofC) beat the  Appalachian Apparators 120*-90 in a close game before the cancellation, while the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Quidditch (UNC) handled the Southern Storm out of snitch range, 110-80* and beat CofC with a score of 150*-60. Before the rest of pool play could be completed, the fields deteriorated to the point of being almost mud pits, causing the rest of Old Money Classic IV to be cancelled. USQ South — Horns Up for Harambe Memorial Championship Recap

By Kenny Stowe

Editor’s Note: Kenny Stowe is a player for Florida’s Finest Quidditch Club and VP of the FQC

1. Florida’s Finest
2. Gainesville Siege

The Horns Up for Harambe Memorial Championship in Tampa, Florida this weekend got started early with the ironic passing of Harambe’s grandmother Josephine in Zoo Miami three days prior to this tournament. Florida’s Finest took home the title with its second win of the day over Gainesville Siege, 100-50*. The finale was a more sedate affair as both teams battled exhaustion; however, their match at the beginning of the day had a different vibe as Finest beat Siege 150*-60, in a match more competitive than the score might indicate. Although the chaser lineups were evenly matched, the Cranes were unable to outmuscle the Flamingos in beater play. Florida’s Finest jumped out to an early lead and  maintained a 30- to 40-point lead through much of the contest.

Florida's Finest playing at Flagler Cup | Photo Credit: Deanna Yates

Florida State and Siege played an entertaining contest that nearly resulted in an upset. The Noles began the match dominating the Cranes on both ends of the ball with their two male beater setup. Siege eventually responded with its superior endurance and chaser lines. The game was a toss up when the snitch emerged, and surprisingly neither team committed beaters to the snitch wholeheartedly. Siege eventually eked out the 100*-60 victory.

Despite only bringing a 10-person roster, the University of Miami advanced to the semifinals; however, they were knocked out by Siege 170*-90.

With the South Regional Championship less than a month away, this tournament provided a nice preview of events to come and what adjustments teams need to make to qualify for US Quidditch Cup 10.

USQ Great Lakes — Grindy Slam Winter Jam

By Nat Davis

1. Bowling Green State University
2. Lake Erie Elite

Grand Valley Quidditch’s first indoor winter tournament was rough before it began. Following a last-minute dropout from the Falcon Warriors, tournament director Katlyn Feley had to revamp the schedule on the morning of the event. The modified, strictly round robin Winter Jam continued smoothly from there.

As expected, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) won all of its matches, continuing its undefeated season. BGSU narrowly defeated the Lake Erie Elite (LEE), 120*-90 with a snitch catch in under a minute. LEE won its games against Grand Valley Grindylows (GV), Illinois State University (ISU), and Michigan State University (MSU) handily, earning second place.

BGSU playing in the Great Lakes Regional Championship | Photo Credit: Jessica Jiamin Lang Photography

ISU took third, saving itself from GV with a clutch snitch catch at 23:46 to win 100*-90.

In their third face-off this season, Grand Valley took a series lead on Michigan State 2-1 with a  200*-110 victory. International Weekend Wrap-Up is a roundup of quidditch tournaments our correspondents attended last weekend. Were you at a tournament and want to make sure it gets featured in International Weekend Wrap-Up? You can send in your short submissions to quidditchpost@gmail.com until Tuesday.