Governing body of the sport quidditch in Australia
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.[1]
Quadball in Australia is governed by Quadball Australia (formerly Quidditch Australia and the Australian Quidditch Association),[2] a non-profit organisation founded in 2011 as a Facebook group intended to act as a network for quidditch teams and players within Australia to communicate with one another. It is managed by a board of seven directors on a rotating 2-year term system with further volunteer staff, and currently chaired by Luke Derrick.[3][4] Quadball Australia is affiliated with the International Quadball Association.[5] Quadball Australia uses the IQA rulebook for official gameplay, with some minor exceptions.
Quadball Australia manages the membership and insurance of all players in the country, in addition to managing the country's most prolific tournaments such as the Australian Quadball Championships (previously QUAFL) and State Shield. Regular club seasons are managed by their respective state bodies: Quadball New South Wales (which also manages quidditch in the Australian Capital Territory),[6] Quadball Victoria,[7][8]Queensland Association of Quadball,[9]South Australian Quadball Association[citation needed] and Western Australian Quadball Association.[10]
The Drop Bears are the Australian national team, named after the folklorian koala-like species. The Drop Bears competed at the inaugural 2012 IQA Cup (then called the Summer Games), the first world-wide quadball competition[11] where they came in third out of five teams. They defeated reigning champions The United States in 2016 with a score of 150*–130.[12] Despite being tipped to win the cup again in 2018,[13] the Australian National Team competed in Italy finishing 5th, defeated by the United States in the early stages of the semifinals.
†The 2020 World Cup was initially postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19,[19] and further postponed to 2023.[20]
Competitions
Australian Quadball Championships (QUAFL)
The Australian Quadball Championships, previously and sometimes still colloquially known as QUAFL is the biggest quadballtournament in Australia.[21] It is held annually in November/December, crowning the Australian national club champion for that year.[22] The first official name for the tournament was the Oceania Regional Championships, but was more affectionately known as "QUAFL"[23] which was later given the backronym "Quidditch United Australian Federated League". The inaugural tournament was held in 2011 at the University of New South Wales, starting with just 5 teams.[24]
Clubs from across the country bid to host the tournament every year, and the tournament was hosted by Sydney-based clubs until 2015, when it was hosted by Melbourne's Monash Muggles. In 2016 and 2017, the tournament saw a move to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, hosting a record high of 25 teams in 2017. The championships were hosted in Queensland for the first time in 2018, and were last held at Kayess Park, Minto in 2019, before being cancelled both in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions at the time.[25]
The structure of the tournament traditionally changes each year depending on the number of registered teams and choices of organisers. More recently, teams have been randomly split into pools based on their respective end of season state rankings, with top teams from each pool progressing to elimination bracket play.
The 2020 Championship due to be hosted in the Gold Coast or USC, and the 2021 Championship due to be hosted at La Trobe University, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.[25][26]
Australian Quadball Club Championship (AQCC) results
Note that an asterisk (*) signifies a snitch catch.
State Shield (previously Quidditch State of Origin after the football tournament of the same name[27]), is an annual Australian quadball competition established in 2016 as part of a skills camp training exercise at the annual QuidCamp.[28] The tournament was created due to an increasing need for a state-based tournament, however as the majority of the players resided in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria (due to Australian geographical demographics) these are the only states to currently compete in the tournament.[27]
Participating state teams include Victorian Leadbeaters (A),[29] Victorian Honeybeaters (B),[30] New South Wales Bluetongues (A),[31] New South Wales Bluebottles (B),[32] and the Queensland Thunderbirds.[33]
The 2020 and 2021 State Shields were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[25]
NSW Quidditch League (NQL)
Organised by Quidditch New South Wales, the NQL[35] (previously known as Triwiz) is the year long state championship in Sydney and surrounding cities, which started in 2011 and was formalised when the Quidditch NSW state body was created. The competition was split into 2 divisions in 2018, and currently contains 14 teams across Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra.[36]
† Due to inclement weather and injuries, both teams agreed not to play the Grand Final and share the 2015 state title.
* Due to COVID-19, tournament did not proceed and only friendly matches were played.
Victoria Cup
Organised by the Quadball Victoria, the Victoria Cup is the year long state championship in Melbourne. The inaugural cup in 2014 was won by the Monash Muggles, and followed on from other local tournaments.[38][39]
Year
Division 1 Winner
Division 2 Winner
2013/14
Monash Muggles
2015
Melbourne Manticores
2016
Melbourne Manticores
2017
Whomping Willows
2018
Whomping Willows
2019
Monash Muggles
Monash Mudbloods
2020*
–
2021*
–
2022
Melbourne Manticores
* Due to COVID-19, tournament did not proceed and only friendly matches were played.
Midwinter Cup
The Midwinter cup is held annually in Newcastle featuring both teams from NSW and interstate. The 2014 winners were the UNSW Snapes on a Plane.[40] In 2015, the tournament was won by the hosts, the Newcastle Fireballs. In 2016, a vastly outnumbered Australian National University and University of the Sunshine Coast collaboration team, the ANUSC Dement-Owls, defeated the Newcastle Fireballs in the grand final to claim the Midwinter cup. In 2017, the winners were the newly formed Sydney City Serpents.
The Midwinter Cup was not held in the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 Midwinter Cup was delayed due to weather, but returned in September of that year.
The Melbourne Mudbash is held annually in the middle of the year in Melbourne. Local teams are joined by interstate teams and teams composed of mercenary players. In 2013, the Melbourne Manticores came out on top of the four local and two other teams competing, and in 2014 the Monash Muggles were the best of the six local and four other teams to compete.[41]
Fantasy Tournaments
Held outside of the regular seasons, various fantasy tournaments across the country include Valkyries Fantasy (November), Victorian Fantasy (February), Sunshine Coast Fantasy (April), Macarthur Fantasy[42] (January), and Pink Up Campbelltown Charity Tournament[35] (October).
Australian Wheelchair Quidditch Championships (QWAFL)
Wheelchair quadball was first introduced into regular quadball tournaments in 2012, and ran at the same time and venue as the regular championships. Due to the logistical difficulties and lack of interest, the competition has not run since 2016.
Year
Winner
Runner-Up
Grand Final score
2012
ANU Nargles
JCU Galleons
40* - 20
2013
UWS Thestrals
Newcastle Chariots of Fire
220* - 10
2014
UWS Thestrals
Perth Phoenixes
160* - 20
2015
Western Sydney Spartans
UTS Opaleyes
120* - 50
2016
Western Sydney Spartans
UTS Opaleyes
90* - 60
Teams
There are several teams/clubs registered with Quadball Australia across all states and territories except Northern Territory. As of May 28, 2023 there are 24 teams registered with Quadball Australia.[43]
Previously other teams/clubs were registered with Quadball Australia, Listed here are the teams that are no longer registered. Clubs with teams that are no longer registered are also listed.
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