US Quidditch

Last updated
US Quidditch
US Quidditch Logo.png
AbbreviationUSQ
Formation2005
Legal statusNon-profit organization
Location
  • United States
Executive Director
Mary Kimball [1]
Director of Events & Partnerships
Laura Porth [1]
Events & Member Services Manager
Olivia Caughey [1]
Director of Gameplay & Member Services
Eric Schnier [1]
Phil Andrews [2]

Andrew Canto [2]
Badal Chandra [2]
Jeni Craswell [2]
Amanda Dallas [2]
Nathan Digmann [2]
Nghiem Doan [2]
Hank Dugie [2]

Alicia Radford

Contents

[2]
Website www.usquidditch.org

US Quidditch is a non-profit organization that governs the sport of quidditch in the United States of America. Quidditch is a sport that combines elements of lacrosse, dodgeball, and rugby, and is derived from the fictional sport of the same name from the Harry Potter series. Quidditch was founded in 2005 at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The sport is played at more than 100 colleges in the United States.

History

Quidditch was founded in 2005 by Xander Manshel, a then-freshman at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, Alex Benepe, and several of their friends. [3] They combined rules derived from lacrosse, dodgeball, and rugby in order to create a rule book containing the guidelines followed in Quidditch matches today.

In October 2005, the first quidditch game was played at Battell Beach in Middlebury, Vermont. Around 30 players showed up to play the game. In 2007, the first Quidditch World Cup was played between Middlebury College and Vassar College. By this time, quidditch had become the most popular club on campus at Middlebury College. In 2008, students took a spring break road trip to see quidditch played at six college campuses in the Mid-Atlantic. This trip was aired on MTV, increasing interest in the game. The third World Cup took place in October 2009 with 2,000 spectators and 21 teams which made it the biggest tournament to date.

In March 2010, US Quidditch or USQ was made into a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. [4] The first meeting of the United States Quidditch Association was held in May with the directors of the organization. In November, the first away game was held in Manhattan. The fourth Quidditch World Cup was held here as well, and 46 teams competed. This event lasted two days, attracting media attention and 15,000 spectators. In February 2011, the first Trans-Continental game was played between students of Vassar College in New York and University of Vaasa in Finland. In March 2011, the USQ held its first regional tournament called the Swamp Cup in Gainesville, Florida[ clarification needed ]. In November 2011, 96 teams competed in the fifth World Cup on Randall's Island in New York. In 2012, hundreds of teams began to establish at other universities and colleges all over the United States. Now over 110 teams are members of the USQ. In July 2012 the International Quidditch Association hosted the Summer Games in Oxford, United Kingdom; these games were won by the United States. In September 2012, the United States Quidditch Association formed a referee development team which trains individuals to become referees in the sport. In 2013, quidditch was televised for the first time in history in Toledo, OH featured on Buckeye Cable Sports Network. The televised match pitted Bowling Green State University against in-state rivals the University of Toledo, where BGSU swept Toledo in a best of three series.

Rules

Rulebook

As the sport has grown nationally, and globally, USQ has issued a number of rule books which have formed the basis of many other national leagues rules, with some using the USQ rules exactly whilst others, like Quidditch Canada and QuidditchUK, have alteredHOI their rules to best suit their leagues' play style. [5] [6] The current rulebook is the thirteenth edition. [7]

Summary

A quidditch arena consists of 3 hoops at each of the two shorter ends of the field. A team requires three chasers, one keeper, two beaters, and one seeker. Using the quaffle (volleyball) while riding broomsticks, the chasers are in charge of scoring points by passing, running, or kicking the ball to their teammates or into the hoops. The keeper guards the hoops and acts as a fourth chaser, while the beaters use bludgers (dodgeballs) to move players out of the way as a means of pushing and blocking. Beaters may also throw the bludgers at the opposing team as a means to "knock them out," causing them to have to tag their own hoop before rejoining play. The seeker must catch the snitch, a neutral person who has attached a Golden Snitch (a yellow velcro tail) to the back of their waist; catching the snitch is worth 30 points. The match ends once the snitch is caught by a seeker. If the snitch is caught and the score is tied, the game goes into overtime. [8] Quidditch is a uniquely gender-inclusive contact sport - following the "four maximum" rule. This means that there can be no more than four players of the same gender on the field at the same time; when the seekers are released, this number increases to five. [9]

Teams in the US

Teams are either collegiate- or community-based. Teams registered with the USQ are divided into eight regions: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Great Lakes, West, South, Southwest, and Northwest.

National team

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup</i> 2003 video game

Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a 2003 sports action video game that features the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise. The game was developed by two teams, EA UK and Magic Pockets, and was published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. The game bears no relation to the abandoned Nintendo 64 project.

Quidditch (real-life sport) Sport based on the fictional game from Harry Potter

Quidditch is a sport of two teams of seven players each mounted on a broomstick, and is played on a hockey rink-sized pitch. The sport was created in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont, and was loosely inspired by the fictional game Quidditch in the Harry Potter books by author J. K. Rowling.[3] This game is sometimes referred to as "muggle quidditch" to distinguish it from the books-based fictional game that involves magical elements such as flying broomsticks and enchanted balls. In the Harry Potter universe, a Muggle is a person without the power to use magic. It is played around the world.[5] In December 2021, it was reported that the main leagues involved in the sport, US Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, were planning to change the name of the sport they engage in. The leagues had stated that this was in order to distance themselves from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's views on transgender people and related civil rights, that have been criticized as transphobic, as well as the fact that the film studio Warner Bros holds the trademark to the word "Quidditch". Names suggested include Quickball, Quicker, Quidstrike and Quadraball.

International Quidditch Association Governing body for the sport of quidditch

The International Quidditch Association (IQA) 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 took its current 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.

IQA World Cup IV

The IQA World Cup IV was the 2010 edition of the IQA World Cup, a quidditch club tournament then organized by the International Quidditch Association.

IQA World Cup VI

The IQA World Cup VI was the 2013 edition of the IQA World Cup, a quidditch club tournament then organized by the International Quidditch Association. The tournament was hosted in Kissimmee, Florida from April 13–14, 2013.

The 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 QuidditchUK, currently led by President Matt Bateman.

IQA World Cup III

The IQA World Cup III was the 2009 edition of the IQA World Cup, a quidditch club tournament then organized by the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association. It was held on Sunday, October 25, 2009, at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.

IQA World Cup V

The IQA World Cup V was the 2011 edition of the IQA World Cup, a quidditch club tournament then organized by the International Quidditch Association. It was hosted at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island in New York City on November 12–13.

US Quidditch Cup

The US Quidditch Cup, is a quidditch tournament held in the United States and organized by US Quidditch. Held every year since 2007, it features collegiate and community clubs primarily from the United States. The tournament was formerly known as Quidditch World Cup, but that name now refers to the international championship IQA World Cup.

Oxford University Quidditch Club

Oxford Universities Quidditch Club (OUQC) is the quidditch club of both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. It is composed of two teams: a first team, the Radcliffe Chimeras, and a reserve second team, the Quidlings. Both teams are official QuidditchUK (QUK) teams. QUK is the UK quidditch governing body, and is a constituent part of the International Quidditch Association (IQA).

United Kingdom national quidditch team

The United Kingdom National Quidditch Team, colloquially known as Team UK, is 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.

Canada national quidditch team

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.

IQA World Cup International quidditch tournament

The IQA World Cup is an international quidditch tournament contested by the national teams of the members of the International Quidditch Association, the sport's global governing organisation. The championship, which was named Summer Games and Global Games in its first two editions, has been awarded every two years since 2012. The current champions are the United States, who defeated Belgium in 2018.

Quidditch in Canada

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.

Major League Quidditch Semipro quidditch league

Major League Quidditch (MLQ) is a quidditch league based in the United States and Canada. Major League Quidditch is the highest level of quidditch competition in North America. The league is composed of 15 city-based teams—13 in the U.S. and 2 in Canada. The MLQ season runs from June to August, with each team playing twelve games in the regular season. The playoffs includes the top 12 teams competing in the MLQ Championship in late August, culminating in the championship series. The winning team is awarded the Benepe Cup.

US Quidditch Cup 9

The US Quidditch Cup 9 was the 2016 edition of the US Quidditch Cup, a quidditch club tournament organized by US Quidditch. The tournament was held in Columbia, South Carolina from April 16–17, 2016.

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.

2018 IQA World Cup

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.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Board of Directors, US Quidditch". www.usquidditch.org. US Quidditch, Inc.
  3. "History of US Quidditch | US Quidditch". www.usquidditch.org. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  4. "About US Quidditch | US Quidditch". www.usquidditch.org. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  5. "Rules - Quidditch Canada". www.quidditchcanada.com. Archived from the original on 2014-12-02.
  6. "QuidditchUK - QUK endorse IQA Rule Amendments for 2015-16 Season". www.quidditchuk.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  7. "US Quidditch Rulebook, Twelfth Edition" (PDF). US Quidditch, Inc.
  8. "Rules | US Quidditch".
  9. "Title 9 3/4 | US Quidditch". www.usquidditch.org. Retrieved 2017-10-27.