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Quadball in Australia

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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]

Organisations

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Quadball Australia
Formation2011 (13 years ago) (2011)
AffiliationsIQA
Websitequidditchaustralia.org

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]

National team

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Main article: Australia national quadball team

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.

Competition Position
  2012 Summer Games 3rd of 5[14]
  2014 Global Games 2nd of 7[15]
  2016 World Cup 1st of 21[16]
  2018 World Cup 5th of 29[17]
  2022 European Games 3rd of 20
  2023 World Cup † 7th of 15[18]

† The 2020 World Cup was initially postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19,[19] and further postponed to 2023.[20]

Competitions

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Australian Quadball Championships (QUAFL)

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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

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Note that an asterisk (*) signifies a snitch catch.

Year No. of teams Location National Champion Runner-up Grand Final score
2011 5 Kensington, NSW UNSW Snapes on a Plane University of Western Sydney Thestrals 90-60*
2012 10 Macquarie Park, NSW University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane Newcastle Fireballs 80*-30
2013 12 Parramatta, NSW Perth Phoenixes (WA) Macquarie Marauders 110*-70
2014 13 Macquarie Park, NSW Melbourne Manticores (VIC) UNSW Snapes on a Plane 110*-40
2015 19 Clayton, VIC Melbourne Manticores (VIC) UNSW Snapes on a Plane 100*-10
2016 23 Australian Institute of Sport, ACT Wrackspurts QC Western Sydney Spartans 120*-110
2017 25 Australian Institute of Sport, ACT Whomping Willows (VIC) Wrackspurts QC (VIC) 150*-100
2018 24 Sippy Downs, QLD Melbourne Manticores University of Sydney Unspeakables 120*-70
2019 20 Minto, NSW Monash Muggles Melbourne Manticores (VIC) 130*-120
2022 13 Bundoora, VIC North Sydney Nightmares Sunshine Coast Scorpions 150*-110

State Shield

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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]

Past State Shield results

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Year Winning Team Location
2016 Victorian Leadbeaters[27] Berry
2017 Victorian Leadbeaters[27] Brisbane
2018 New South Wales Bluetongues[34] Newcastle
2019 New South Wales Bluetongues Sandringham
2022 New South Wales Bluetongues Maroochydore

The 2020 and 2021 State Shields were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[25]

NSW Quidditch League (NQL)

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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]

Year Division 1 Winner Division 2 Winner
2014 University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane
2015 Western Sydney Spartans / UNSW Snapes on a Plane†
2016 University of Sydney Unspeakables
2017 Sydney City Serpents
2018 University of Sydney Unspeakables University of Sydney Unbreakables[37]
2019 Sydney City Serpents UNSW Snapes on a Plane
2020* –
2021* –
2022 Darlinghurst Dragons

† 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

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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

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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.

Year Winning Team
2012 Perth Phoenixes
2013 University of Western Sydney Thestrals
2014 University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane
2015 University of Newcastle (Australia) Fireballs
2016 Australian National University and University of the Sunshine Coast ANUSC Dement-Owls
2017 Sydney City Serpents
2018 University of Sydney Unspeakables
2019 Sydney City Serpents
2022 North Sydney Nightmares
2023 Sydney Stir Fries

Melbourne Mudbash

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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

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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)

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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

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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]

Current Teams

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Club Moniker State Home venue Est. State League QUAFL
Championships Most Recent
ANU Owls Owls   Australian Capital Territory Fellows Oval, ANU 2011 NQL 0 —
Darlington Dragons Dragons   New South Wales — — NQL 0 —
Eastern Sydney Universities Dawnbreakers/ Nightbringers   New South Wales Physics Lawn, UNSW & Rowland Park 2020 NQL 2 2012
Macarthur Weasleys Weasleys   New South Wales Thomas Acres Reserve, Ambarvale 2013 — 0 —
Macquarie Marauders Marauders   New South Wales Sports Fields, Macquarie University 2012 NQL 0 —
North Sydney Nightmares Nightmares   New South Wales — 2019 NQL 1 2022
South West Horntails Horntails   New South Wales Victoria Park, Minto 2017 NQL 0 —
Sydney City Stirfries Stirfries   New South Wales — — NQL 0 —
University of Newcastle Fireballs   New South Wales Oval 4 UoN, Callaghan 2009 NQL 0 —
University of Sydney Unspeakables   New South Wales Victoria Park, Camperdown 2012 NQL 0 -
Valkyries Valkyries   New South Wales Queen Elizabeth Park, Concord 2019 NQL 0 —
QUT Lycans   Queensland Circle of Palms, City Botanic Gardens 2011 - 0 —
Sunshine Coast Scorpions Scorpions   Queensland Rugby Feild 2, USC 2022 QSL 0 —
University of Queensland Dumblebees Dumblebees   Queensland Guyatt Park, St Lucia 2016 QSL 0 -
UniSC Wraiths Wraiths   Queensland Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast 2024 QSL 0 —
Sunshine Coast Gorgons Gorgons   Queensland Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast 2024 QSL 0 —
Sunshine Coast Foxes Foxes   Queensland Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast 2024 QSL 0 —
Adelaide Augureys Augureys   South Australia Bonython Park 2015 - 0 —
Melbourne Ravens Ravens   Victoria — 2018 Vic Cup 0 —
Monash Muggles Muggles   Victoria Campus Park, Monash University, Clayton campus 2012 Vic Cup 1 2019
South Melbourne Centaurs Centaurs   Victoria Fawkner Park, South Yarra 2014 Vic Cup 0 —
Melbourne Manticores Manticores   Victoria — 2011 Vic Cup 3 2018
Curtin Chimeras Chimeras   Western Australia Gochean Park, Bentley 2012 — 0 —
Murdoch Mandrakes Mandrakes   Western Australia Lower Bush Court, Murdoch University 2012 — 0 —
Perth Phoenixes Pheonixes   Western Australia Kenwick 2011 — 1 2013
UWA Undesirables Undesirables   Western Australia Oak Lawn, UWA 2017 — 0 —

Past Teams

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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.

Australian Capital Territory

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New South Wales

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Queensland

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South Australia

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Victoria

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Western Australia

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† Developing team, non-official, not currently competing or defunct

References

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  1. ^ a b "Find A Team". Quidditch Australia. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  2. ^ Australia, Quadball (15 November 2022). "Quidditch Australia Club Representative and Board Recommends Name Change to Quadball". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Board of Directors". Quidditch Australia. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Volunteer with Quidditch Australia". Quidditch Australia. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Members". International Quidditch Association. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Quidditch Through The Ages". University of Sydney Quidditch Club. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  7. ^ Webb, Carolyn (29 July 2014). "Harry Potter's quidditch takes off in Melbourne". The Age. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Association History". Quadball Victoria. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  9. ^ "About Us". Queensland Association of Quidditch. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  10. ^ Chan, Jade. "Burning passion for a magical game of Quidditch". The Star Online. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Harry Potter game Quidditch marks Olympic torch relay". BBC News. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Aussie Dropbears crowned world quidditch champions". ABC News. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  13. ^ Sam Langford. "Australia's About To Defend Its Title In The Quidditch World Cup, Because Who Needs FIFA?". Junkee. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  14. ^ "Students represent Canada at Quidditch Summer Games". McGill Reporter. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  15. ^ Marmer, Andy (20 July 2014). "Team USA Secure Gold in Shutout Against Australia". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  16. ^ ABC News. "Australia's Dropbears win Quidditch World Cup, inspired by Harry Potter game". ABC News. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  17. ^ Caccamo, Cameron. "Australia Places Fifth at Quidditch World Cup". Quidditch Australia. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  18. ^ "The US National Team takes home the trophy at IQA World Cup 2023". International Quadball Association. IQA. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  19. ^ Turbet, Jamie (15 April 2020). "IQA World Cup 2020 postponed to 2021". International Quidditch Association. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  20. ^ "IQA World Cup and IQA BIPOC Committee Findings". International Quidditch Association. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  21. ^ Wakwella, Ruwendi. "Canberra to host Australian Quidditch Championship for the second time". RiotACT. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Canberra to host national quidditch tournament". 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Players Potter about on the quidditch field". Daily Mercury. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  24. ^ Hawk, Keith (2 December 2011). "Quidditch Round-up: University of New South Wales wins first QUAFL Cup in Australia". MuggleNet. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  25. ^ a b c Kohoutová, Veronika (28 September 2020). "Quidditch Australia National Championship Canceled". MuggleNet. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  26. ^ Kohoutová, Veronika (29 September 2021). "QUAFL 2021 Canceled". MuggleNet. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  27. ^ a b c d Abey, Ajantha (2019). "State Shield - An Overview". Quidditch Australia. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  28. ^ Huntsdale, Justin (4 February 2016). "Quidditch state of origin debuts on NSW South Coast as part of annual skills camp". ABC News. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  29. ^ Abey, Ajantha (29 September 2019). "Team Previews - The Victorian Leadbeaters". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  30. ^ Abey, Ajantha (3 October 2019). "Team Previews - Victorian Honeyeaters". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  31. ^ Abey, Ajantha (30 September 2019). "Team Previews - The NSW Blue Tongues". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  32. ^ Abey, Ajantha (2 October 2019). "Team Preview - NSW Bluebottles". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  33. ^ Abey, Ajantha (1 October 2019). "Team Previews - Queensland Thunderbirds". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  34. ^ Cronshaw, Damon. "Quidditch Australia's State Shield took place at Magic Park in Broadmeadow". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  35. ^ a b Osborne, Kayla. "Macarthur quidditch team to host magical charity day". Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Announcing the NSW Cup!". Australian Quidditch Association. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  37. ^ a b c d e "Our Clubs & Societies". University of Sydney Union. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  38. ^ "Monash Muggles take the Victoria Cup". Victorian Quidditch Association. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  39. ^ "Our History". Quadball Victoria. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  40. ^ "Midwinter Cup 2014". Australian Quidditch Association. 28 July 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  41. ^ "Melbourne Mudbash Quidditch Tournament coming to Clayton's Monash University". Waverley Leader. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  42. ^ "Macarthur Weasleys host a successful new quidditch tournament". Macarthur Advertiser. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  43. ^ "Teams". Quadball Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  44. ^ Groch, Sherryn. "We tried: playing Quidditch with the ANU Owls - and it was terrifying". Canberra Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  45. ^ Way, Shirley. "Aussies fly on their broomsticks to England for wizard games". Newsbytes. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  46. ^ Gorrey, Megan. "Macarthur's Muggle Quidditch team for every Tom, Dick and Harry". Macarthur Advertiser. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  47. ^ Drinkwater, Dale. "Fantasy becomes reality for local quidditch club". Western Weekender. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  48. ^ Lennard, Kimberly. "Quidditch Warriors dodging foes on brooms". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  49. ^ Simonot, Suzanne. "QPOW: Quidditch players go potty for Gold Coast". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  50. ^ Clarke, Harry. "James Cook University students get a taste of uni life with the annual O-Week market day". Cairns Post. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  51. ^ "USC quidditch players eye off national squad places". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  52. ^ Champion, Gail. "USC to host national quidditch championship". My Sunshine Coast. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  53. ^ Jeynes, Bronnie. "Quidditch team triumph". Monash Student Association. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  54. ^ Banister, Jack. "It's quidditch finals season, and the big men – and women – fly". The Citizen. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  55. ^ Jess Hast & Ayche Allouche. "Muggles Playing Quidditch". Farrago Magazine. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  56. ^ Rabar, Julia. "Melbourne Mudbash Quidditch Tournament coming to Clayton's Monash University". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
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