Quidditch, also known as quadball since 2022, is a team sport that was created in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont, United States, and was inspired by the fictional game of the same name in the Harry Potter books by the author J. K. Rowling. Two teams of seven players each, astride broomsticks and opposing each other on a rectangular pitch, compete with the primary objective of passing a ball through the defenders' hoops, while preventing their opponents from passing it through their own hoops. The real-world sport is sometimes referred to as "muggle quidditch" to distinguish it from the fictional game of the books, which involves magical elements such as flying broomsticks and enchanted balls—a muggle in the Harry Potter series being a person without magical abilities. The sport is played around the world.
The International Quadball Association (IQA), previously known as the International Quidditch Association, is the governing body for the sport of quidditch. It was founded as the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association in 2009 following the very first intercollegiate quidditch match. In 2010, the IQA added the "international" term to its name, and 2016 saw its induction as an international sports federation with its creation of the Congress. It now comprises more than ten national associations governing quidditch in their respective nations.
The British Quadball Cup, also British Quidditch Cup, is a quidditch tournament held in the United Kingdom that follows the rules laid out by the International Quidditch Association. It is organised by QuadballUK and is the largest UK tournament of the year.
QuadballUK is the official governing body of quadball in the United Kingdom and is affiliated with the International Quadball Association.
The US Quadball Cup, previously known as US Quidditch Cup, is a quadball tournament held in the United States and organized by US Quadball. The first US Quidditch Cup was held in 2007, and the tournament features collegiate and club teams from the United States. The tournament was formerly known as the IQA World Cup, but that name now refers to the international championship IQA World Cup.
The Belgium national quidditch team, also known as the Belgian Gryffins, is the national team of Belgium in quidditch. The team was founded in 2014 upon the announcement of the 2014 IQA Global Games, the International Quidditch Association's second international tournament featuring national teams.
Quidditch Canada is the governing body that oversees quidditch within Canada under its mother organization, the International Quidditch Association. In August 2022, QC announced plans to rebrand with the new name Quadball in 2023.
The United Kingdom National Quidditch Team, colloquially known as Team UK, was the official national Quidditch team of the United Kingdom. Team UK made its debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK where it placed 5th of 5 teams. The team then played in Canada at the 2014 IQA Global Games in Burnaby, BC on July 29, 2014 where it placed 4th of 7 teams and in the European Games in Sarteano, Italy in July 2015, placing 2nd of 12. Team UK gained its first medals at the IQA World Cup 2016 in Frankfurt on July 23–24, 2016, finishing 3rd out of 21 teams. In 2017 the team gained its first international trophy, winning the IQA European Games, beating France in the final. Team UK's final tournament appearance was a 3rd place medal at the 2019 IQA European Games in Bamberg.
US Quadball, previously known as US Quidditch, is a non-profit organization that governs the sport of quadball in the United States of America. Quadball is a sport that combines elements of basketball, dodgeball, and rugby. The sport is played at more than 100 colleges in the United States.
Quidditch, also known as Quadball, in Australia is played by a mixture of university and community teams. Due to the geographic demographics of the country, most major competitive tournaments are held in the eastern states. There are currently over 30 registered teams in the country.
The Canadian national quidditch team made its debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK, where it placed 4th of 5 teams. The team once again represented Canada at the 2014 IQA Global Games in Burnaby, BC on July 29, 2014 where it took third place, coming behind the United States and Australia, respectively.
Quidditch is a growing team sport in Canada. Due to its relative youth within the sports scene of Canada, adoption is not as widespread as other sports such as rugby or ultimate. However, adoption is picking up with additional university and community teams each year. As a result of its inclusivity and its many niche styles of play, a wider spectrum of individuals are drawn to this sport than other mainstream sports. For the moment, the majority of teams are based in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, but teams are rapidly starting up in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Quidditch Canada is the governing body for the sport across the country; there are no associations within Quidditch Canada that govern provincially/territorially.
The IQA European Games (EG) are the biennial games for the sport of quidditch held in Europe where national governing bodies send national teams to compete. The European Games were created in response to the IQA World Cup, the biennial tournament wherein nations from around the world compete in a similar style to the FIFA World Cup. Both Games alternate years so in the off years regional tournaments such as the European Games or the Asian Quidditch Cup can occur. These games are the highest level of championships in quidditch aside from Global Games. The 2015 champions were Team France, narrowly beating Team UK.
The 2015 IQA European Games, also known simply as the European Games, was the inaugural European championship for the sport of quidditch organized jointly by Sarteano2015, Quidditch Europe and the International Quidditch Association. The tournament was held the weekend of the 24–26 July 2015 in the city of Sarteano, Italy. France took first against the United Kingdom with a final score of 90*–50, and Norway came in third winning 150*–80 against Belgium.
The 2016 IQA World Cup is the third edition of the IQA World Cup, the international quidditch championship organized by the International Quidditch Association. It was held in Frankfurt, Germany on 23–24 July 2016. Australia won the cup 150*–130 against the United States; the latter team had won all the previous editions. 21 nations competed, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A crowdfunding campaign aimed to send the Ugandan team as the first-ever African nation to compete internationally. However, the team members failed to obtain a German visa and withdrew from the competition. The Peruvian team also withdrew before the competition due to a lack of funds. A documentary entitled Fly the Movie: Journey to Frankfurt followed the British team in their preparation before the cup.
The Australian national quidditch team is the official quidditch team of Australia. The team is regulated by Australian Quidditch Association and is a national member of the International Quidditch Association. Australia made its debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK.
The United States national quidditch team is the official quidditch team of the United States. The team is regulated by US Quidditch and is a national member of the International Quidditch Association. The team has won the most IQA World Cup titles, winning the 2012, 2014, and 2018 titles. The USNT only competes in events once every two years; at the IQA World Cup, as it is geographically ineligible for the only other current international Quidditch event; the IQA European Games.
The 2018 IQA World Cup was the fourth edition of the IQA World Cup, the international quidditch championship organized by the International Quidditch Association, the sport's global governing body. It was held in Florence, Italy between 27 June and 2 July 2018. Australia were the defending champions. The United States won their third championship after beating Belgium in the final. Over 800 athletes participated in competition.
The English national quadball team is the official national quadball team of England. The team, which is organised by QuadballUK, was founded in 2021 after the splitting of Team UK into separate teams for each of the individual Home Nations. They made their debut at the 2022 IQA European Games in Limerick, winning the tournament.
The Scottish national quadball team is the official national quadball team of Scotland. The team, which is organised by QuadballUK, was founded in 2018 and made its tournament debut at the 2019 IQA European Games in Bamberg.
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