With Perth’s relative isolation, a regular ranked format would be expensive for Eastern teams and provide an unfair advantage to the home team who would have a full squad of 21 ready to play. With a fantasy format, interested parties could register and participate as individuals. During registration, each individual filled in a form with various statistics such as their quidditch playing experience, physical fitness and weaknesses, etc. With this, 3 anonymous “general managers” took part in a snake draft (1 – 2 – 3, 3 – 2 – 1, repeat) where they drafted players to form their perfect team. As a rule set by the organizers, Perth locals were not allowed to register their interest to be a general manager as their knowledge of local players would provide an unfair advantage.

With the draft completed and last minute details seen to, teams Pure Blue (picked by Morgyn Benstead), Clockwork Peach (picked by Zach Bickhoff) and the White Wolves (picked by James Hosford) got down to business. Though there were only 3 teams, play was intense, the snitches were entertaining and for the Eastern players, there was definitely enough quidditch played to warrant the distance and costs.

With Pure Blue struck down by injuries, Clockwork Peach and the White Wolves battled it out for ultimate glory. Though team Peach, led by captains Cooper Gabriel and Ana Barciela, put up a strong fight, fatigue had begun to set in and they were no match for the powerful White Wolves led by captains James Hyder and Daniel Ormshaw. Once the elusive snitch (Cody Versteeg in his morph suit) was finally caught, the White Wolves had emerged victorious.

One player from each team was awarded the title of their Most Valuable Player, namely Andrew Kasimir from Clockwork Peach, Brandon Heldt from Pure Blue and John Owen from the White Wolves. Their contribution to the team and perseverance through the long day were well noticed and they were awarded accordingly.

With the attendance of the lovely Arfy Papadam, it was inevitable that wheelchair quidditch would be played. The basketball courts were booked out for the morning of the 7th and 10 wheelchairs were loaned from the Perth Wheelchair Sports Association. However, with only 10 wheelchairs, changes had to be made. Just for the day, keepers were on foot and stayed in their zones while one chaser from each team also doubled as a seeker. This arrangement worked out well as many players were down either with injuries or from a little too much fun the night before.

Games were long with very competent (though very very trolly) snitches on rollerblades and culminated in a final match between the White Wolves and Pure Blue, with Pure Blue clinching victory amidst yells from members of Clockwork Peach – “DON’T LET THEM WIN THIS ONE TOO!” Definitely sportsmanship at its best.

The organizers of the fantasy tournament worked hard to make this event a success but it wouldn’t have been such a success without the support and enthusiasm of the Eastern players. We hope that the success of the inaugural fantasy tournament will mean more to come and that more players will be willing to travel and enjoy all that Perth has to offer. In the meantime, the phoenixes take their leave and will see the rest of you at QUAFL.

Written by Eva Alexandra
Edited by James Hosford
Photography by Matt Hudson

More photos can be found here

Over the month of May, teams, groups of teams and state quidditch organisations will be able to submit bids to host QUAFL 2013 in their city. The successful bidder will be responsible for providing local organising assistance (for example, in selecting venues and making local media contacts), and in return will be able to use the event to promote quidditch in their area, as well as saving on travel costs for their players.

The winning bid will be selected by the AQA committee and department heads by the 15th of June. In the case that two bids are equally qualified, teams will be able to vote on which they prefer.

Anyone interested in putting forward a bid should see the bid package HERE before bids open on the 1st of May. Questions may be directed to president@quidditch.org.au.

At long last, as of last Saturday the 16^th of March, 2013 was here. Yes life has gone on to some extent through the sorry stinking sweaty excuses for months that are January and February, but it takes quidditch to truly inaugurate a new year.

The traditional domain of UNSW would be the host of our New Year’s Day festivities, as we welcomed in Year Three of Australian Quidditch.

After all the madness and dizzying progress of Year Two, it is so exciting to think where we could be at by Christmas time Year Three, in both quality and size terms. But before then, there was a first Triwizard to worry about. And before quality could be talked about, there was months of cobwebs for five teams to blow out, as well as a sixth team fresh out of their wrapping.

By QUAFL 2012, defence was the name of the game, as the top flight teams slowly developed sounder discipline and structures. But for the start of 2013, all that was out the window, such was the off-season rustiness of most defences, combined with the ever-growing prowess of UNSW and UWS’ quaffle offenses in particular.

Unexpected and frenzied such a high-scoring day may have been, but it certainly could not be called unexciting as a result.

Match One: UNSW vs Macquarie 

A curtain raiser needs to have a certain pizazz to it, so it was only appropriate that the most battled of all enmities open the new season. UNSW and Macquarie met seven times in 2012 and in many ways the progression of the derby can be seen as a microcosm of the whole quidditch year. For their first three clashes deep in the throes of winter, the teething Malaclaws were no match for the established force that was the 2011 QUAFL champions. But the second half of the season saw Macquarie’s meteoric rise, the most emphatically tasty icing of which was their newfound domination of what were suddenly their bunnies on a plane.

By QUAFL 2012, the ledger was three wins apiece with both teams topping their respective pools at the national championships, setting up a marquee clash for a spot in the QUAFL Grand Final. Inevitably, the encounter was a classic, with Macquarie slowly gaining the upper hand only for UNSW to snare twin snitch catches and sneak through in overtime on their way to a successful title defence.

It may seem that I am spending more time describing previous games than this one. That is because more than one 2012 encounter between these two great clubs were true classics. This contest was not.

Macquarie were the success story of 2012 and they arrived on the doorstep of 2013 with momentum at their back and a fresh new moniker, the Malaclaws having given way to the markedly more mischievous Marauders. But they also arrived without the services of their rousing bludging leader Kieran Tolley and arousing star keeper Carl Quitzau, both unavailable for this inaugural 2013 Triwizard for marginally disparate reasons.

The Marauders’ depth is stronger than it once was, so quality was still to be had from their half of the sloping pitch, but no team short of their absolute best can expect to truly stay with UNSW. The Snapes for their part were at their best and then some, with the core of their QUAFL winning squad re-boosted by the return of new captain Rajtilak Kapoor in goal.

So it was all UNSW from brooms up. Minh Diep in particular dominated the initial exchanges, taking on a critical role directing his troops as well as following up Andrew Culf’s opener with a speedy unanswered hat-trick of his own. Diep’s speed and diminution gave him space as the Macquarie defence justifiably focused their attention on the historically dominant pairing of Culf and Bethany Crane.

After the early UNSW flourish, Macquarie found their feet and the match settled down, with Edwin Nelson becoming the first Marauder to get on the scoresheet for 2013. The late infusion of captain Laura Bailey, as well as new recruit and former Snape Nick Allan, added further firepower to the resurgent Marauders attack, tightening the centre-field contest. Keeper Dan Phipps and beater Matthew Freier showed themselves to be admirably steadfast rookies in defence, frustrating the largely dominant but contained UNSW further as the match wore on.

But their advantage was never in danger.  UNSW had an answer to everything Macquarie could procure, including an eye-catching rookie of their own in Phil Vankerkoerle who relieved Diep of some of his workload, only to quickly establish himself and add a couple of crucial late goals of his own to keep UNSW out of snitch danger.

With the score at a safe and secure 100-40, the pressure was off Chris Rock, allowing him to dexterously and deftly swoop, narrowly beating Nick Wilkes to the snitch and finalising an impressive first-up victory for the national champions.

UNSW – 130: M.Diep 4,A.Culf 2, P.Vankerkoerle 2, B.Crane, R.Kapoor goals, C.Rock Snitch Catch

Macquarie – 40: E.Nelson, N.Allan, L.Bailey, D.Phipps goals

Match Two: UWS vs Newcastle

Newcastle and UWS have cultivated a slightly frustrating joint tradition as curious under-achievers over 2012. The Fireballs have failed to secure a major trophy despite being the national pace-setters on and off field for a majority of the season. The Thestrals of UWS meanwhile have relied on their top line stars but suffered from a dearth of squad depth sufficient to mute any chances of lasting impact on national tournaments or the topmost reaches of the national rankings.

It’s time for one or the other to step up emphatically or begin the hair tearing, and early evidence suggests it is UWS who have forcefully risen by that critical level necessary to seriously challenge the national landscape.

From the very opening seconds when Daniel Ormshaw opened the scoring almost unchallenged to the twentieth and final goal half an hour later, the UWS chaser display was nothing short of brutal.  The old quaffle guard of Ormshaw, captain Hannah Monty, Corey Ingold-Dawes and Chrystal Player  are adding buckets of experience to their always dripping loads of talent and will be a tough ask for any defensive unit to stop at any time this year.

But depth is finally coming as well, with Bianca Connell and Arfy Papadam holding up the tradition of devastating chasing, meanwhile the ever dependable Christian Barquin led the way from the start with bludger in hand, denying Newcastle’s beaters any consistent possession and slowly playing Stephen Butler into the game, so that after a slow start he too was an unbreakable beating force.

The Newcastle chasers did little wrong in the early stages. With their beaters failing to gain any semblance of bludger control they were powerless to either penetrate the UWS defence or put up any of their own. It doesn’t matter how good you are, no isolated chaser defence will ever be to stop goal-scoring athletes of the UWS ilk from regularly troubling the scorers.

UWS’ main opponent looked to be the clock, not Newcastle, as their goal count began to overtake the minute count. After eight shell-shocking minutes of primarily Ormshaw-led destruction, the Fireballs were duly 80-0 down. From this point on, as so often happens in the competitive world of Australian quidditch, the match tightened, as Newcastle scrambled to stem the bleeding. They never really found an actual solution, as the UWS score continued to tick over. But the addition of Graham Wenmitt into the game restored some overdue beater presence for Newcastle, while Roy Velting, alternating between keeper and chaser, was a mighty force to behold.

The middle stage of the game was a competitive high-speed snake up and down the pronounced hill of UNSW’s Physics Lawn. Over a fifteen minute period, Newcastle in fact outscored UWS 50-40, on the back of Velting and new coach Darren Faulkner, with some quiet and clever support. Rachel Dawe ably covered for the crucial absence of Desany Phanoraj by putting in a marathon starting stint of her own, while Thomas Russell and Lora Wiggins found themselves in the unfamiliar and therefore perhaps surprisingly adept role of also playing chaser.

But 120-50 was not yet close, so as the Fireballs struggled to find a more emphatic solution and as UWS’ reinforced stars returned from brief off-pitch sabbaticals in the middle stages of this notably long game, the floodgates re-opened.

As the half an hour mark approached, so did the hoops at an increasingly regular rate for UWS. They put the boot in, swiftly killing off any thoughts of a trademark Newcastle comeback. The rare milestone of two hundred points was quickly forthcoming, before Barquin completed the steamroll with the embellishment of a final snitch catch.

UWS – 230: D.Ormshaw 9, H.Monty 5, C.Ingold-Dawes 5, B.Connell goals, C.Barquin Snitch Catch

Newcastle – 70: R.Velting 3, M.Hudson, R.Dawe, L.Wiggins, D.Faulkner goals

Match Three: UTS vs Wollongong

After the high intensity of the opening two matches involving four national powerhouses, now came an underrated contest of equal intrigue. The much-vaunted Opaleye rookies  of UTS finally made their long-awaited, albeit still unranked debut, against the perennial strugglers Wollongong, themselves intent on making a statement of intent early in 2013.

It was difficult to know what to expect out of this game. On paper, not much could be expected of either team, but UTS were an unknown quantity and Wollongong can surprise anyone at their best. Initial indications were that it was UTS who would dominate the contest, with Simon Blanckensee opening the scoring in mere seconds, quicker even than Daniel Ormshaw.

Wollongong’s defence was notably sturdier than at many times in 2012, but their attack struggled to penetrate the impressively structured young Opaleyes. By the time Blanckensee’s hat-trick had taken UTS 40-0 clear, the match looked dead, but Brandon Heldt had other ideas, swooping to an impressive solo opener and keeping the Warriors in range.

UTS had answers to everything that was thrown at them though, with John Ilacqua rallying, taking the Opaleyes clear 60-10.

But just when UTS looked to have it well under control, Wollongong pounced. It was a striking and shell-shocking sudden surge from what is generally a confidence team , who on their day can be competitive and stay in range, but usually struggle when falling behind.

There was newfound fight though in this 2013-spec Warriors side though. Daniel Lowe led the charge, viciously carving through the UTS defence to score a remarkable hat-trick within barely a minute.

Suddenly it was 60-50 and there was panic in the UTS camp. But they needn’t have worried, for Michael Lin showed himself to be a natural seeker, snatching up the vital snitch and seeing off the Wollongong fright.

UTS – 90* defeated Wollongong – 50

Match Four: UNSW vs UWS

Having both devastatingly swept aside quality opposition in their opening matches, it was time for the oldest of foes to face off once again. UNSW have always historically had the wood over their western counterparts, a trend established in Australian Quidditch’s inaugural match and the first QUAFL Grand Final. But UNSW could not have avoided noticing the UWS offensive power against Newcastle and must have known they’d have their work cut out.

But UNSW always step up when it matters. Rather than focusing on stopping the rampant UWS chasers, UNSW avoided what at times is a lost cause and instead took it directly to the Thestrals. Unlike Newcastle, UNSW clearly have witnessed death before, for they were easily a match for a suddenly limp looking UWS outfit. Andrew Culf and Minh Diep were once again the early destroyers, racing the Snapes to a 40-10 lead inside the first two minutes.

As so often happens in UWS matches, frenzied goal-scoring, flimsy defence and a general case of tennis neck for spectators was the order of the day. UWS’ attack was as potent as ever, with Ormshaw, Ingold-Dawes and Monty each scoring impressive goals to keep them in range, but only barely, for their forward approach left holes at the back which Culf in particular continued to exploit, racking up five early goals.

At 80-30, UNSW were in control. From there, it was all about consistency and consolidation, as the increasingly impenetrable Raj Kapoor and the always reliable understated and vastly underrated beating team of Lauren Spooner, Ewan Scott, Ashwin Tembe and rookie Emmanuel Berkowicz continually denied the UWS advances.

As the game slipped away from them, frustration took over for the always passionate UWS chasers and interrupted their structures further, allowing the stony-faced Snapesto continue their scoring unabated and run away with the contest.

Christian Barquin once again snapped up the snitch for UWS, after a long and intense wrestle, but seventeen goals had been racked up by then, so the catch only salvaged a still emphatic 170-90 scoreline.

UNSW: 170: A.Culf 6, M.Diep 5, B.Crane 3, P.Vankerkoerle 2, R.Kapoor goals

UWS: 90: D.Ormshaw 2, C.Ingold-Dawes 2, H.Monty 2 goals, C.Barquin Snitch Catch

Match Five: Newcastle vs Wollongong

Yet another of quidditch’s oldest rivalries reared its beautiful head once again here, but unusually, the Fireballs and Warriors found themselves meeting well into the day, rather than first up as is so often the case. It was crunch time for both teams in this must-win match. Wollongong had showed great promise against UTS but needed to take it to another level, while Newcastle were defensively flimsy against UWS and would need to watch their back.

The clear story of the day was turning out to be insane high-scoring, with this match further cultivating the trend.  But another trend that wasn’t continuing to plan so much was that of Newcastle dominance over Wollongong. Darren Faulkner only needed a few seconds to open the scoring, but from there, Wollongong had the upper hand in the quaffle contest. Daniel Lowe led the way once again with a quick fire hat-trick to take Wollongong into a decisive early lead. But Newcastle’s offense was at least firing even if their defence was faltering, so the Warriors never managed to pull out a conclusive advantage.

After six frantic minutes, it was 40-40 with Newcastle looking more on the back foot than their southern friends. But many of Newcastle’s best had been deliberately with-held from the start, perhaps to ensure an influx of quality well into the match, or perhaps as punishment for their scratchy starting efforts against UWS. Either way, it was Newcastle’s superior depth that shone through as they slowly but surely wrested control of the game away from Wollongong.

Joel Murphy was the star of the show this time, with his five goal haul taking Newcastle to a solid 120-70 lead after fifteen minutes, before a lengthy injury delay halted proceedings.

By now Wollongong were out of gas offensively. Their defence remained estimable, restricting the threatening looking Fireballs to no more than a goal a minute. But they could not muster any noteworthy attacks of their own, as the Fireballs slowly drew clear to a seven goal lead, before Murphy completed his man of the match performance by snatching the snitch.

Newcastle – 180: J.Murphy 5, R.Velting 3, T.Russell 3, D.Faulkner 2, R.Dawe 2 goals, J.Murphy Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 80: M.Krysa 4, D.Lowe 3, A.Nalli goals

Match Six: Macquarie vs UTS

It seems to have become really quite moot to hype the baggage attached to any game anymore.  Australian quidditch has already built itself such a rich history that any two teams seem to have some juicy story in the lead-up. In the case of this match, there was not quite such a ‘juicy story’, but certainly intrigue, as UTS captain and talisman John Ilacqua led the team his heart truly lies with against the team he became such a strong and decisive part of in 2012.

Macquarie needed a win after a reasonably flat opener against UNSW. The lack of Kieran Tolley and Carl Quitzau could not be easily overcome, but they are a classy side across the board and looked much more on their game in the opening stages this time.

Seeker Nick Wilkes took time out from his usual privileged role to do some early hard yards, scoring early and forming the backbone of Macquarie’s early ascendency.

But UTS are an impressive young unit, obviously lacking in experience and cutting edge, but ticking every basic skill box. Ilacqua’s  ever-present quaffle dominance, as well as a couple of darting goals from Poya Heidari, kept the Opaleyes within striking distance.

As the Marauders began to rotate out some of their top players, primarily the chasers Wilkes and Edwin Nelson, their stranglehold on their game slipped a fraction. It was only a little, but enough to give UTS a look in, and pressure does funny things to people.

As the match tightened, UTS found their discipline wavering, understandably considering their inexperience with the complex game of quidditch. Macquarie though, were themselves increasingly flustered by UTS’ fight, and at times by their pushing of the boundaries.

The Marauders always retained a slender lead, but it was slender enough for the snitch to make the decisive difference. It was 120-90 when Ilacqua, mere seconds after swapping into the seeker role, caught the snitch and sent the already spiteful match into the heady throes of overtime.

The prowess of mighty snitch Uber-Thane kept the match alive well into overtime, allowing an unprecedented further exchange of goals. Macquarie re-established themselves as the narrowly superior team, but once again, they weren’t safe. With UTS still just two goals adrift, Michael Lin snatched their snitch this time, to seal a dramatic 170-160 victory.

There may not have been any major baggage between these two teams before this first match-up, but there most certainly will be before the second.

UTS – 170* (120)  defeated Macquarie  – 160 (120)

Match Seven: UWS vs Wollongong

UWS and Wollongong met just once in 2012, with Wollongong sensationally stealing their only win of the season in a thriller. Early form suggested that the Warriors would have trouble repeating this result today, but you never know. Wollongong were clearly a more professional and structured unit these days while UNSW once again showed how easily UWS can be defensively exposed by a good attacking unit.

Michael Krysa slid immediately through those gaps at brooms up, opening the scoring for Wollongong. UWS were tentative early, unsure quite how to encounter the unorthodox and largely unfamiliar Wollongong threat. But a quick pair of goals to Corey Ingold-Dawes took them to the front for the first time and slowly charged up the momentum machine.

Wollongong’s efforts weren’t helped by an untimely yellow to rookie Jesse Farragher for striking Hannah Monty decidedly high with his arm. The challenge only fortified the UWS captain’s resolve further, as she dominated almost single-handedly on the scoresheet. Ingold-Dawes and Daniel Ormshaw were devastating as ever, but with attention focused on them, no-one could stop Monty’s nimble support work. Seven captains’ goals later it was 100-20 and the match was over as a contest.

Wollongong were a far tougher proposition in defence than Newcastle had been, dulling the impact of Ormshaw in particular and making UWS work for their goals. But penetration into the UWS half was difficult to manage. There was just a small but decisive difference in class between the two sides across the board.

A Wollongong snitch would have left the final score-line at 100-50, which would not be closer than they deserved. But alas, Christian Barquin is a tougher nut than that. His capture took the final score to 130-20, emphatically consigning the shock September loss to the realms of memory and reinforcing UWS’ superiority, as their players were only too quick to point out.

UWS – 130: H.Monty 7, C.Ingold-Dawes 2, C.Player goals, C.Barquin Snitch Catch

Wollongong – 20: M.Krysa, J.Seedoyal goals

Match Eight: Macquarie vs Newcastle

It is surely a miracle that in the violent, hate-filled and rancorous game that quidditch is, there actually could be one genuinely old and regularly renewed on-field rivalry which has no real titillating backstory or interesting resentment.  If there is any, this is it. Newcastle were 4-1 up head-to-head, but Macquarie of course grew at a rate of knuts throughout the season and by the opening contest of QUAFL 2012, categorically destroyed the Fireballs, then had the slight upper hand in the Preliminary Final re-match only to go down thanks to Julian Kirkby’s snitch catch.

But Kirkby was absent today, as were a few of Newcastle’s best, with the lack of bearded nuggety finisher Levi Weitenberg clearly being the most upsetting, on an aesthetic level at the very least.

With the Marauders’ own notable absentees well and truly being missed so far, it would be a case of the team with the best cover depth winning this match.

Macquarie needed a victory, having played reasonably but not yet tasted success after two games. Newcastle did have a win, but looked utterly unconvincing in both their matches and, with a mathematical chance of making the final still available, would have come into the match with a clear aim to improve and triumph.

But perhaps not, for the opening exchanges suggested that Newcastle’s primary aim was to be as generous as possible to their old friends and ensure they went home with a win in their day and smiles on their dials.

Edwin Nelson was the leading force, moving his side to a 50-10 advantage within the first five minutes.

As is so often the case, Newcastle started abjectly but quickly found solutions to compete in the middle stages. Tom Russell was once again proving a particularly penetrative chaser and after his quick pair of goals, Macquarie’s lead was back to 80-40.

Newcastle’s beating was somewhat back on form after the calamity that was the UWS game, but it was chaser defence which was even more alarmingly lacking on this occasion. Just as the match was starting to look competitive, Macquarie had found a second gear and found absolutely no resistance, with Nick Allan in particular regularly strolling to the goal face unchallenged for the easiest of scores.

Breakaway after baffling breakaway was the name of the second half of the game, as the Marauders unfurled their full parchment of tricks and ran away to a 190-50 pasting, punctuated by Nick Wilkes’ snitch catch.

Macquarie – 190: E.Nelson 6, M.Freier 4, N.Allan 4, D.Phipps, L.Bailey goals, N.Wilkes Snitch Catch

Newcastle – 50: T.Russell 2, R.Velting, L.Wiggins, D.Faulkner goals

Match Nine: UNSW vs UTS

In a masterful turn of scheduling fortuity, the final match of the competition saw the two remaining undefeated teams facing off in a top of the table blockbuster.

With two stunning closely fought wins , the Opaleyes had clearly proven themselves to be far tougher than their mascot would suggest they are. This does make sense really though, given that the Antipodean Opaleye is the Oceania region’s local dragon (ie: it will only gore and roast its prey, never tackle it). True, it may be from New Zealand, but the rule of antipodean relations is that anything awesome from New Zealand (which the Opaleye is, because it’s a dragon and dragons are awesome) immediately becomes an honorary Australian. Furthermore, Australian animals are known to be consistently dangerous on an absurd level. So it seems a baffling inaccuracy that Australia’s local dragon is one of the most timid of the ten known and legal breeds. It suggests crippling oversight in JK Rowling’s writing, more worrisome even than the lack of basic logical maths associated with Charlie Weasley, his quidditch career, and quidditch in general. Quidditch really is a ridiculous sport invented from a wholly literary and entirely unsporting mind. One wonders why we bother at all. We should go home.

But not quite yet, because first we have a Triwizard champion to finalise. Joint Triwizard champions never happen.  And to get a champion we need a final. And to get to a final we need two finalists, and that’s where things get juicy. The situation before this game was especially curious as UWS, despite presently sitting third on the ladder having lost a game (unlike these two teams), had a sufficiently impressive points percentage to be guaranteed second on the ladder behind the winner of this game. More importantly, those two would play in the decider. For the loser of this match, they would end up third and would travel home consumed by ignominious shame at their failure, despite having played consistently well and won two of three matches. Quidditch is a cruel game. Far crueler than the almost pacifistic Antipodean Opaleye. Quidditch at times can be veritably Horntailesque.

As for the game, it was good.

Rarely will you see an unranked match played with such fiery reserves of passion, even despite the biting lethargy that comes with being the ninth match in a single day on a single field. UTS, reinforced by some Canberran supersubs, were competitive early. Daniel Dupouy in particular impressed early, as UTS stayed vaguely in range.

But that was the best they could manage against a merciless UNSW side whose eye-catching early season form continued relentlessly.

As the game dragged on well beyond a typical length (aided by a reasonably ridiculous stoppage to remove the quaffle from an overhanging tree), the increasing grind played even further into UNSW’s hands. By the time the snitch was snapped up, sixteen goals had piled up against UTS, for whom this match was just one bridge too far in an otherwise promising first day out.

UNSW – 190* defeated UTS – 40

FINAL: UNSW vs UWS

Once again UNSW and UWS found themselves continuing their interminable rivalry.  This particular match would be unranked for a number of reasons, primarily player shortage and subsequent usage of mercenary subs, as well as everybody’s utter apathy following nine intense matches. But the pride of both teams overrode any need for rest. UNSW wanted to spread the icing on the cake and confirm themselves as the class of the field. UWS wanted revenge from earlier and with it, a first notable national tournament triumph.

The early exchanges belonged to UNSW, but it was an overall more frayed and scrappy game than the supersonic goal-fest of earlier. With fatigue set in and both teams so familiar with each other’s structures, goals were harder to come by. UWS worked hard to rectify their often leaky defence, but again found themselves frustrated by their inability to penetrate the brick wall that is UNSW.

UNSW remained peerless in their structure and discipline, as they slowly and methodically wore down the always slightly more stretched resources of UWS.

As they always do, UWS rallied late, a quick pair of goals closing the margin to forty as the snitch returned to the field. But ultimately, they could just find no way to remove those blasted snapes from their blessed plane.

Forty was as close as it got, for Andrew Culf pounced and sealed glory with a tight snitch catch, beating the exasperated Barquin by mere inches.

So, after a marathon day of frenetically paced bonkers quidditch, disappointingly few people scampered off to feast on barmy portions of german meat. But everybody else went home satisfied with their day’s quidditch playing quality, none more so than the increasingly nonpareil Snapes of UNSW.

UNSW – 120* defeated UWS – 50

Written by: James Hosford

Photography by: Matt Hudson

Here are some basic details on the schedules from both days, at Fellows Oval, ANU:

SATURDAY

Workshop List

• 2 x Official AQA/IQA Referee Training and Certification  with Chris Beesley
• 2 x ‘Even Kieran Tolley Can’t Do Everything Himself’ – Assistant referee training with Nic Radoll
• 3 x ‘How to Score in Quidditch’ – Chaser skills with Beth Crane
• 2 x ‘How to Avoid (Others) Scoring in Quidditch – Keeper skills with Matt Armstrong
• 3 x ‘How to Beat Off Quidkids – Beater skills with Alex Jackson
• 1 x ‘How to Avoid Others Snatching Your Ballsock’ – Seeker and snitch skills with Christian Barquin
• 1 x ‘How to Roll’ – Wheelchair quidditch skills with Arfy Papadam
• 2 x ‘Do You Even Lift?’ – Getting fit for quidditch with Desany Phanoraj
• 1 x ‘How to Run Quidditch Without Really Trying’ – Roundtable for club execs with Morgyn Benstead
• 1 x ‘Herding Cats on Broomstricks’ – Roundtable for team captains with Laura Bailey
• 4 x ‘How to Stay Alive in Quidditch’ – Safe contact with James Hosford

Workshop Schedule

9:00 – Arrival

9:10am – Session 1 (Chaser, Keeper, Executive, Assistant Referee)

10:20am – Session 2 (Beater, Captain, Safe Contact, Referee A starts)

11:30am – Session 3 (Keeper, Seeker, Safe Contact, Referee A continued)

12:40pm – Lunch, Referee A continued

1:20pm – Lunch, Referee B starts

2:00pm – Session 4 (Beater, Assistant Referee, Safe Contact, Referee B continued)

3:10pm – Session 5 (Chaser, Fitness, Safe Contact, Referee B continued)

4:20pm – Session 6 (Chaser, Beater, Fitness, Wheelchair)

5:30pm – End Of Workshops

SUNDAY

On Sunday, a social tournament will take place, involving six mercenary teams each consisting of players from all around the country. The six teams have been split into two pools of three.

Here are the full team rosters, listed in their respective pools:

Pool A

TEAM FABULOUS Feat POYA

Lora Wiggins (C)

Allison Hore (VC)

Liam Skeates-Udy

Amber Williams

Darren Faulkner

Tash Roberts

Jess Simpson

Poya Heidari-shahi

Graham Wenmitt

THE WHITE WIZARDS

Jean Claude Seedoyal (C)

Alex Jackson (VC)

Rajtilak Kapoor

Desany Phanoraj

Katie Filippello

Nicole Langridge

Nic Radoll

Julia Pearson

Lachlan Ford

TEAM BONDAGE

Hannah Monty (C)

Aman Nalli (VC)

John Ilacqua

Alice Beasley

Celeste Hollingsworth

James Hosford

Bec Armstrong

Andy Cruwys

Daniel Lowe

Pool B

COBALT DRAGONS

Mel Dodd (C)

Thomas Russell (VC)

Steph Jammu

Laura Smith

Nick Allan

Emma Morris

Kieran Tolley

Ayu Saraswati

Matt Armstrong

POISON IVY

Laura Bailey (C)

Minh Diep (VC)

Patrick McCawley

Brodie Smart

Maria Wizbicki

Ana Barciela

Matt Hudson

Rosanna Kellett

Michael Krysa

Arfy Papadam

THE BLACK DEATH

Beth Crane (C)

Andrew Gibson (VC)

Grisha Bogomiagkov

Katie Bailey

Thea Stoneman

Zach Bickhoff

Morgyn Benstead

Joshua Shepherd

Christian Barquin

Tournament Schedule

On the weekend of February 23 and 24, the second annual Quidditch Camp will take place in Canberra. bringing together experienced and beginner quidditch players and fans from all over the country for a mighty weekend of learning, socialising and intense matchplay.

The Australian National University will play host to all the festivities, from Friday February 22nd right through to Sunday the 24th. For those who attended last year, Quidditch Camp 2013 can be seen as much the same, but all on a much bigger scale. The focus will remain on quidditch education and building of quidditch relationships through Saturday workshops and Sunday social matches.

Saturday will see all manner of workshops across campus teaching all sorts of skills and knowledge, including:

• Official IQA referee training and certification
• Assistant refereeing
• Chasing
• Keeping
• Beating
• Seeking/Snitching
• Wheelchair quidditch
• Fitness
• ‘How to run quidditch’ roundtable discussion
• ‘Quidditch captaincy’ roundtable discussion
• Safe contact in quidditch

A social will then be held Saturday night at the Uni Pub, including a four-course dinner and drinks.

On Sunday attendees will participate in a social tournament involving new unique teams, with players from all around the country shuffled and mixed together.

Wide interest has already been expressed from every corner of the nation, so it is up to you to ensure none of your local quidditch friends are travelling isolated to Quidditch Camp 2013!

For more details on pricing and registration (which is open now!), check out the Facebook event!

2012 will always be a famously vintage year for Australian quidditch. We’ve come further than can really be fathomed or put into words. A year is a long time and quidditch development has moved at a frenetic pace, so it can be easy to forget that almost the entire breadth of Australian quidditch history exists within this calendar cycle.

For all those who were at Canberra’s quidditch camp, think how long ago it feels and how foreign and antiquated it seems. For those who weren’t there, think of what a ‘proto-quidditch’ event it feels like for many of you, as something which happened before you were involved.

Yet it occurred in February of the year 2012, the same year we are still living now for a few more short hours yet.

2011, on a national level, consisted wholly and solely of the inaugural QUAFL tournament, which saw 68 players represent five teams from around NSW and ACT. At the time, this was rightly considered a momentous event.

Yet as 2012 closes, Australian quidditch has now seen more than 270 players participate in official matches! These legends have represented fifteen different clubs from as far away as Cairns and Perth (not to mention the yet more unofficial teams and burgeoning communities popping up in every single state).

But the raw numbers of 2012 are for later in the week. What is more of note is just what a ubiquitous presence quidditch, both on and off the field, has become in the lives of so many of us.

Part 2 of this year in review will lay out some of the important, amazing and curious statistics that have come out of 2012, showing numerically just how far we really have come and what an immense amount of quidditch really has been played.

For now, here is a very incomplete reminder of some of the fantastic events we saw this year:

FEBRUARY

The weekend of February 12-13 saw Canberra host the first ever Quidditch Camp. Quidkids from all over New South Wales descended on the nation’s capital for an event of great creative enterprise and with an entirely social focus. After an exhibition showcase between the Nargles and Newcastle on Saturday morning, which saw the locals emphatically gain revenge on Newcastle’s dramatic QUAFL 2011 victory, the weekend was all about getting to know both each other and the game better.

Saturday was devoted to a variety of workshops in which groups came together to collectively learn all manner of skills, from playing all positions, to refereeing, snitching and administrating the game. On Sunday four mixed and matched teams socially integrated and played each other in a fun but spirited competition, putting many of the newly developed skills into practice.

But the legacy of quidditch camp was clearly its social impact, fostered by both the very format of the weekend, including a successful Saturday night dinner and dance, and the three night sleepover most visitors enjoyed at houses of their Canberran hosts.

After the overwhelming newness of QUAFL 2011 in every capacity, it was in Canberra that friendships, bonds and lord knows what else developed which could become the basis of the now fast expanding and tight-knit quidditch community.

February 2013 will see Quidditch Camp Mark II, bigger and better than before.

MARCH-APRIL

As ambitious plans were set in motion for the rest of the season, the University year began and so the established quidditch organisations in New South Wales and the ACT resumed their internal playing of quidditch and building of community strength.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country began to show their hand as well, with the strength of local organisations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns and Perth becoming quickly apparent. As NSW slowly sorted itself, delayed by the sheer speed of growth and breadth of interest, their distant cousins took up the slack.

By May, series’ of local derbies had been played between Brisbane and Melbourne’s respective pairs of teams.

MAY-JUNE

In May, Sydney’s Triwizard Tournament was inaugurated, initially involving the established QUAFL 2011 teams from UNSW and UWS, as well as new units from the Macquarie University setup, and from a Waterfall-based community in the southern suburbs.

The tournament was conceived as an avenue for regular competition between the local Sydney teams, taking place every month. The first two in May and June were held at UNSW. The hosts and national champions showed themselves to still be the undisputed dominant on-field force in Australian quidditch, consistently bringing far greater player numbers and easily casting aside their rivals in both official and unofficial matches.

As the Malaclaws and Snidgets slowly mastered the basics and learned the tools of the trade, and as UWS fought desperately to find much-needed depth in numbers beneath their dedicated core, UNSW comfortably had their measure, taking honours in both the May and June tournaments.

JULY

In the middle of July, deep in the recesses of many players’ mid-year University recesses, Newcastle hosted the ostentatious and impressive elite tournament-meets-social quidditch extravaganza-meets wild slumber party that was the Midwinter Cup weekend.

Combining the epic drama of QUAFL’s on field histrionics with the tightly organised social weekend nature of Quidditch Camp, the venture was an unparalleled success.

Saturday’s Midwinter Cup tournament itself saw a thrilling three-way tussle for glory between the dominant but depleted hosts, the athletic prowess of a deeply impressive Perth Phoenixes outfit, and an assorted unofficial band of merry mercenary Sydneysiders banding together for this one-off occasion.

The day’s highlight was the Newcastle Fireballs’ astonishing victory over Perth in a game which could not mathematically have been more tightly fought, swayed to and fro any further, or contained as much dramatic controversy.

But despite this, it was the Phoenixes who would take the trophy out west, achieving the amazing feat of flying out to their first national tournament and duly winning it.

Already in six short months, the quality of quidditch had shot upwards to an astounding level, as had the quality of snitching, from the pettiness of mere roof climbing to an opus of flying Weet Bix and Hungry Jack’s.

JULY-AUGUST

Midyear was all about consolidation and growth. With the Australian Quidditch Association now incorporated, teams and players popping up everywhere, and interest burgeoning spectacularly; it was an amazing time for Australian quidditch.

We showed the world just how strong Australian quidditch and its quidkids are with a courageous bronze medal performance in London at the IQA Summer Games spectacular.

Meanwhile, Triwizard continued and grew anew, with the August tournament moving out to Campbelltown to be hosted by UWS, and involving an official intercity contingent for the first time as a full Nargles team made their way up from Canberra to participate.

The only thing soaring quicker than the overall quidditch quality was the competitiveness. As the top teams slowly built on their foundations, the newer teams climbed tenfold, meeting them at a juicy and intense bottleneck.

The Macquarie Malaclaws were the most dramatic improvers, dominating the August Triwizard and going home as the clear theoretical champion.

SEPTEMBER

In what was to unknowingly become a QUAFL dress-rehearsal, September saw Triwizard reach the peak of its unforeseen gigantitude.

The Triwizard tournament itself functions as an apt personification of Australian quidditch as a whole in the sheer speed and intensity of its exponential growth. Whatever may become of the event in 2013 and whatever opinions may be on the wisdom of Sydney’s local suburban tournament suddenly including Newcastle, Wollongong and Canberra, few could argue that a day like that of September Triwizard was not outstandingly memorable.

It is a sign of how far we’ve come that an event with more teams than QUAFL 2011 could pass with such little fuss in many ways, as if almost routine.

Six teams played three games each at Macquarie University that special Saturday which saw many new quidditch careers started and many quidcestuous and quidulterous vows reaffirmed.

The Newcastle Fireballs were the dominant force, topping the table as the only undefeated team. But they fell at the final hurdle, as the Nargles took glory in the year’s biggest and best Triwizard.

OCTOBER

With the focus of both teams and administrators alike distinctly fixed on QUAFL, October was a quieter on-field month in many respects. But quiet is a relative term. No other month saw a bicycling intruder spoked to kingdom come, and the Triwizard that did take place was amazing.

October Triwizard, back at its spiritual home of UNSW, featured possibly the six greatest quidditch matches yet played, consecutively and uninterrupted.

Newcastle were champions on the day, by barely a goal over Macquarie, but the quality and closeness of every single match was amazing to behold.

Meanwhile, as teams from all around the country tried their utmost to get themselves to QUAFL 2012, Melbourne showed their willingness to travel by making their way up north for October’s signature tournament, the Cairns Classic.

The Cairns Classic marked the first major quidditch weekend event outside NSW and therefore an important step in the continued growth of the game nation-wide. On field, the Melbourne Manticores sent off a perhaps dangerously under-heard warning to the rest of the nation, peerlessly sweeping all before them to win the inaugural Cairns Classic tournament.

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

And so we came to QUAFL once again. Ten teams, 150 players, twenty six games. 2012’s national championships took place at Macquarie University, one year and one week after 2011’s with twice as many teams, players and games and a general sense of unrecognizability from its distant quaint cousin from the past.

But sometimes things come full circle. 2011 was the year of the Snape. 2012 in many respects, on and off the field, had been defined and led by Newcastle. After a winding narrative which saw Melbourne, Macquarie, UWS and the rookies of Sydney University at different times look likely to take the title; it was the two old girls who ended up fighting for glory.

UNSW won the tense struggle, successfully defending their title. Glory remains where it once was. So it can be asked, even though everything has changed, has anything really changed? The answer is yes and no.

Quidditch today is a different beast to what it was twelve months ago. Off the field everything is more difficult and serious, as is the nature of a growing organisation. To be the genuine sport we all know we are involves genuine administration. But it is consequently more rewarding for the successes are more spectacular.

The essence of quidditch has not changed. It remains an ever-so-slightly absurd pastime of amazing people with brooms between their legs destroying each other intensely on the field then kissing and making up off the pitch afterwards. All that is really different is that more of us do those same things together.

Written by James Hosford

Lora Wiggins, of the Newcastle Fireballs, was elected as secretary for 2013. Congratulations Lora, and thank you to all of our other nominees!

After much considered discussion, the original motion regarding tackling was revised to the following, which was passed unanimously:

The AQA will consult with a panel of experts (to be determined, but to include qualified rugby coaches, sports medicine experts, etc.) on how to make quidditch contact rules safer, and will take that information and use it to inform further decisions from Quidditch Camp onwards. Quidditch Camp will definitely include a module on how to fall safely, and possibly on how to tackle or use contact safely depending on the outcome of the consultation.

The full minutes are available for discussion here.

It must surely be nearly impossible for anyone to find one single indelible highlight nestled within a weekend of such magnitude as QUAFL 2012. Furthermore, I am not a man of sensitive sensibilities. Yet the image of ten teams of assorted quidkids spontaneously sharing an immense and circular group hug is not one that will depart easily. After all the politics, all the planning, all the on-field intensity, here we all were, still as one. And it was no small level of intensity these sturdy friendships had to endure. With the weather blessedly balmier (perhaps the second happiest memory of the weekend), the games longer and more endurable and the top teams left to fight each other for glory, the quality and veracity of play grew conspicuously.

With the two group winners, UNSW and Macquarie, earning themselves a nice late start through their Saturday performances, the morning opened with a pair of elimination finals. Each match saw the second placed team from one group playing against (and theoretically expected to beat) the third placed team from the other. But it’s never that simple. The last three months of Triwizard form has suggested the top New South Wales teams are almost un-differentiable, and that’s without throwing the two newbies, Melbourne and Sydney, into the mix. It was those two (somewhat) surprise packages who would face first up.

1^st Elimination Final: Melbourne – 120* vs Sydney – 20

The University of Sydney Unspeakables and Melbourne Manticores had been the two supreme revelations of QUAFL 2012. Both came within a lucky break of peerlessly topping their groups undefeated. Sydney’s only loss resulted from their gallant overtime struggle against Macquarie, decided by the fortunate lottery that is the overtime snitch, which Edwin Nelson snatched. Melbourne were undefeated until their tight and controversial late afternoon loss to UWS.

It is a reflection on the the harsh nature of the tournament that those two defeats left the Unspeakables second in Pool A and the Manticores third in Pool B. So they faced off earlier than many the day before would have predicted.

The clash was an intriguing one though, because an unlucky single Saturday loss wasn’t all these two teams had in common. This match also marked the meeting of an unstoppable force against an immovable object, as the tournament’s two most individually styled and tactically aggressive teams faced off.

At brooms up, Sydney captain Declan Waddell got to the quaffle first and duly scored possibly the quickest goal of the tournament. By the time a minute had passed, Waddell had already scored a spectacular opener and gotten himself a yellow card. Star Manticore chasers Katherine Hunter and Michael Butera drew the bulk of Sydney attention, allowing Kat Young  into open space to equalise, before Butera and captain Hunter took total control of the contest themselves. A pair of goals each later and Melbourne were 50-10 clear and well on their way to the minor semi-final.

Melbourne keeper Robbie Tucknott proved himself to be the ultimate immovable object, in the process rendering Sydney’s Regan Pullen a well and truly stopped force, as the Unspeakable chaser careened front-on into Tucknott and was suitably floored. Pullen was uninjured though, continuing this weekend’s fortunate and trend-breaking streak of luck as far as major injuries are concerned.

It took until the eighth minute for Andrew Bell to get a second score on the board for the Unspeakables. But it was scant relief for Melbourne well and truly had their measure.

It took a team as equally physical as the Manticores to take it to Unspeakables and beat them at their own game. The scoring rate only increased as Butera and Hunter ran amok, drawing Melbourne miles clear of snitch danger.

With his team leading 90-20, the pressure was off Sam Washington and he had no trouble putting the icing on the cake, snapping up the snitch and completing a veritable thrashing as far as finals matches go.

It would prove to be the first and last game of the day not decided by the snitch catch.

2^nd Elimination Final: Newcastle – 80* vs UWS – 50

The second elimination final of the day pitted 2011 runners-up and Pool B runners-up UWS against the struggling top seeds Newcastle, who were scratchy all day Saturday and had scraped through Pool A by the skin of their teeth.

In October, these two played out a frenzied high-scoring classic in which Newcastle came from behind to triumph. At least initially, as so often happens, this rematch went a completely different direction. It was a defensive struggle from the off, with neither team able to score in the opening exchanges. Not only that, but the usually chaser-dominant UWS found themselves controlling the bludger contest, while the famously strong Fireball beaters offered little resistance. The absence of the injured Thomas Russell and Newcastle’s lack of female depth were showing themselves to be decisive hardships to overcome. Gender ratio forced Captain Lora Wiggins to start with Matt Ingram, a pair of the highest individual quality, but not a partnership in which either were familiar or comfortable.

With Christian Barquin and Thomas Tan dominating the beater contest, it was left to the veteran UWS chaser trio of Daniel Ormshaw, Corey Ingold-Dawes and Chrystal Player to put the finishing touches onto the performance. There is no chaser unit more equipped at clinical finishing. It was only Newcastle’s spirited defence, led by indomitable keeper Roy Velting, which limited UWS to two goals in the first eight minutes.

But everything was going wrong for Newcastle. They could maintain no sustained pressure, then lost the talismanic figure of Celeste Hollingsworth to a knee injury. UWS slowly ground down the fireballs and there would be no stopping Ingold-Dawes in particular as he completed a hat-trick which took his team to a crucial 50-10 lead.

It took the introduction of Darren Faulkner into the game to turn the tide in Newcastle’s favour. Faulkner scored twice in thirty seconds to hand his side momentum. But the Fireballs had more than just momentum over their old rivals, they also had an advantage in depth of both numbers and quality, as well as tactical adaptability. By the twentieth minute Newcastle had wrested the upper hand from UWS against the odds, eventually evening the score up at 50-50.

So it would come down to the snitch, and Darren Faulkner cemented himself as undisputed man of the match, relieving Julian Kirkby and making the catch neither Kirkby nor Barquin could to seal another amazing comeback win for Newcastle.

Once again, UWS found themselves out of a tournament surprisingly and perhaps undeservedly early considering their performance.

For the Fireballs, much more work would still need to be done if they were to be any chance of taking home the trophy at the end of the day.

With these first two results, both second placed teams had been knocked out by both third placed teams, highlighting the closeness of competition.

Major Semi Final: University Of New South Wales – 110*(80*) vs Macquarie – 90(80)

UNSW and the Mac Malaclaws both managed to fight through adversity and top their respective pools, leaving the two great rivals to face off for an astonishing seventh time in 2012. The head to head of three apiece tells you all you need to know about the closeness of these two great clubs. But recent form, both head to head and from QUAFL Saturday, suggested the hosts should go in as slightly favourites. But nobody told UNSW.

Early on it was a tough and rugged contest, confined largely to centre-field as each team’s impressive beater units dominated proceedings. Kieran Tolley and Ben Chau in particular were stellar, ensuring neither team could build a string of genuine chances.

Macquarie were having to adjust to life without Carl Quitzau for Sunday and appeared slightly tentative in their quaffle play, allowing UNSW to have the run of play. Minh Diep led the way with a pair of goals, split by a solitary score from Andrew Culf before he went off to seek. But Macquarie’s renowned defence, as well as an Amber Williams goal, kept UNSW in check, restricting them to a 30-10 lead after ten minutes despite their ruthlessly impressive quidditch.

Alex Hood and Liam Skeates-Udy had the unenviable task of collectively filling Quitzau’s keeping boots, but they showed themselves to be a snug fit, particularly in attack. A pair of goals from Hood levelled the scores and shifted the momentum towards the Malaclaws. Skeates-Udy then relieved Hood after his hard work and duly added an equally speedy brace of his own to take Macquarie 50-30 clear.

The Malaclaws’ momentum was broken however, when their seeker pursued the misbehaving snitch onto an ill-advised roof, inevitably leading to a disastrous fall and time out while the full St John Ambulance contingent attended to the snitch.

Upon the resumption of play, Beth Crane made her experienced presence felt, levelling the scores with a quick pair. But once again Macquarie showed themselves to have the stronger staying power, slowly grinding their opponents down and creeping clear again.

But with the match running well and truly beyond its allotted time and a replacement snitch flitting back towards the field with Andrew Culf in pursuit, time was not on the Malaclaws’ side. Culf did the job, snapping the snitch for UNSW, but a hasty pair of goals from Hood and captain Laura Bailey had taken Macquarie 30 clear just in time and out of jail.

With the score finishing at 80-80, onwards to overtime both teams went, with a place in the Grand Final the prize. Skeates-Udy scored quickly to re-establish Macquarie’s ascendancy, but Culf could not be stopped, making a second snatch and booking a second consecutive Grand Final berth for UNSW.

 Minor Semi Final: Newcastle – 60* vs Melbourne – 20

With UNSW safely through to the Grand Final, Macquarie awaited the winner of this game to see who would join the reigning champions in the decider. Melbourne was an ominous challenge for the out of form Newcastle, but things were slowly starting to come together for the Fireballs. The Manticores fronted up with their usual intimidating line-up. But Newcastle chose not to try and match this, instead opting for the speed of Desany Phanoraj and Levi Weitenberg as chasers and relying on their beater game.

Once again Melbourne showed a weakness straight off the start, with Weitenberg snapping up the quaffle and opening the scoring. But that was not where the similarities with their last game ended, for Melbourne quickly took control of the quaffle contest. But they found Newcastle’s beater defence an altogether harder proposition to penetrate than Sydney’s had been. Matt Ingram and Lora Wiggins kept the Manticores out, while the Manticore defence was less effective at dealing with Newcastle’s small nimble chasers.

Melbourne use their muscle to dominate a contest, but rather than fighting what is likely an unwinnable fight, Newcastle ran rings around the opposition instead. Phanoraj’s fleet-footedness kept her clear of the physical contest, while Weitenberg was the perfect nuggety finisher, adding a second goal five minutes in.

Melbourne were far from beaten though, fighting back with goals to Robbie Tucknott and Mick Butera to level the scores. But Newcastle had their measure in a way no other team had managed and the frustration eventually showed with Tucknott red-carded for an aggressive and unsighted off-the-ball challenge.

Newcastle’s subsequent numerical advantage opened the game up further, allowing the stellar Dameon Osborn to finally get on the board and re-establish Newcastle’s lead in the twelfth minute. But such a tight defensive game was always going to come down to the snitch.

Sam Washington was well positioned as ever, but Julian Kirkby sprung from nowhere to take a spectacular diving catch and seal what could ironically, considering the pre-tournament odds, be considered an upset victory.

Preliminary Final: Newcastle – 80* vs Macquarie – 50

The Preliminary final saw our first (and only) Saturday rematch of the tournament. Considering the controversy, passion and surprise of Macquarie’s first up demolition of Newcastle, it was anyone’s guess what could happen this time.

The start of the match was certainly no less physical, with the decidedly kamikaze duo of Liam Skeates-Udy and Levi Weitenberg in particular meeting bodies regularly. But Skeates-Udy was the difference initially, taking Macquarie to an early 20-0 lead. Desany Phanoraj then hit back with an amazing winding deflecting solo run, but the Malaclaws were opening up space in the Fireball defence which Laura Bailey slid herself into to add a third goal.

It took until after this opening frenzy for both teams to get a hold on the match defensively, through courageous chaser and keeper walls more than beater play. Macquarie took the controversial decision of not starting star beater Kieran Tolley, but the new pairing of Daniel Claxton and Roman Penna proved curiously effective in an uncomplicated way.

For Newcastle, injury was the primary concern. With Russell and Hollingsworth already lost, Emily Roberts also went down, stretching the female Fireball contingent distressingly thin. But Newcastle have carved a niche for themselves as the comeback kings, so a two goal advantage was never going to be enough. Phanoraj added her second in the eighth minute before late reinforcement Dameon Osborn came into the match with immediate effect.

When a loose quaffle fell fortuitously to keeper Roy Velting, leaving him to score almost unchallenged, Newcastle had hit the front.

But if there’s one team that can match Newcastle for depth, it’s Macquarie.  Chasers as talented as John Ilacqua and Edwin Nelson had been largely unfeatured in the early stages and when they both scored crucial goals, only for yet another second wave Fireball to score in Darren Faulkner, it was all square.

Desany Phanoraj then became Newcastle’s latest injury concern, forcing the heroic former captain Hollingsworth to hobble on field to retain gender ratio. Thankfully, the end was near.

Predictably and appropriately, Mr snitch had final say again. On this occasion the snitch was trying particularly hard to be bedevilling, shielding himself amidst spectators and team-mates to try and deftly sneak back towards the field. But Julian Kirkby was not fooled, pouncing and continuing the unlikely Fireball miracle.

The Malaclaws can consider themselves supremely unlucky, having gone through Saturday undefeated then overcome the lack of Carl Quitzau admirably on Sunday. But two high quality performances weren’t quite enough, because they came against the seeking juggernauts that are Andrew Culf and Julian Kirkby.

Now we would wait with bated breath for these to come face to face, for ultimate glory.

Grand Final: UNSW – 80* vs Newcastle – 30

On November 26 2011, UNSW became the inaugural national quidditch champions when they defeated UWS in the QUAFL 2011 Grand Final. Since then they have been up and down, doing just enough to retain top seed in their pool for QUAFL 2012.

Newcastle disappointed in 2011, falling to fourth after two disastrous losses to UNSW and UWS. But in 2012 they have ascended to the very top of the game, emphatically earning their own status as a top seed.

So coming to Saturday December 1 2012, UNSW and Newcastle were our two mathematical favourites. Yet after their respective first matches, both had been defeated and the balance of power seemed to be decisively shifting. But thirty six hours and twenty five matches later here we were with the two old favourites, having come full circle.

After much pretentious pre-match fanfare and grandiosity, including an inspiring multi-verse performance of the national anthem by Laura Bailey, it was show time.

If the tension wasn’t palpable enough, these two teams had gone to overtime in both their previous encounters. In September, UNSW dominated only for Newcastle to steal it with consecutive snitch catches. In October, roles were reversed as UNSW came from 30 behind to win with twin-snatches.

There is nothing about each other that these two teams don’t well and truly know, as was clear from the intense early exchanges. For all the flaws in both teams’ performances this QUAFL and for all the theoretical quality of teams like Macquarie and Melbourne in comparison, there should no doubting that both these teams were deserving Grand Finalists. The quality of quidditch was immediately taken to a new level hitherto unseen over the duration of the tournament.

It was UNSW in particular who were responsible for such flawlessly textbook and efficient attacking quidditch. Ben Chau was extraordinary as ever with the bludgers, including an incredible pot-shot at the quaffle as it fired towards the goal, striking it in mid-air from below as it passed over his head. Chau was admirably supported by the nimble, pestery and underrated Ena Luis. With defence well and truly taken care of, Chris Rock, Beth Crane, Andrew Culf and Minh Diep, four names that speak for themselves, were left to dominate quaffle proceedings.

UNSW were playing all the quidditch, clearly feeling the advantage of having played two less matches than their wounded opponents. In any other circumstance, UNSW would have ran amok, but not against the quaffle defensive courage and dexterous beater annoyance of Newcastle. After ten minutes, UNSW could only manage a pair of goals, both to Culf. When he left to seek, there was surely cause for concern.

But Ashwin Tembe proved an adequate replacement, scoring quickly, then setting up Beth Crane for one of her trademark wrestling twisting short range goals. At 40-0 now, things were officially getting dire for Newcastle. But they can never be discounted. Four goals was the margin against UWS at one stage, and like that game early in the morning, it was a sudden pair of spectacular goals which shifted the momentum, this time from Dameon Osborn.

Desany Phanoraj quickly added to Newcastle’s column and suddenly it was 40-30 and tension filled the air. Chris Rock added a fifth for UNSW, but it was now palpably clear to everyone that the final snitch catch would decide QUAFL 2012. However no-one could have expected the kind of anti-climactic yet in its own way, curiously dramatic conclusion.

As quaffle play continued unabated, of the highest intensity and quality, a humble snitch ref came panting up the hill, with vital news from afar.

“The Green guys caught it.”

And with that highly official sounding pronouncement, UNSW had done it again.

Andrew Culf was the hero, diving fearlessly into a murky lake to follow the enterprising snitch and coming up with the tournament-winning catch.

Against the odds, UNSW had once again risen to the occasion when it really mattered, successfully defending their title.

Written by James Hosford
Photography by Matt Hudson

The duties of the AQA secretary, as in the constitution, are as follows:

i. be responsible for all correspondence and documentation for the operation of the Association;

ii. issue notice of all meetings;

iii. keep a membership ledger of all member teams, including contact information for their team representative;

iv. ensure that all records are kept up to date and available to all member of the executive.

Anyone interested in running for secretary should fill out the following nomination form by midnight on the 20th of December. Candidates will be asked to speak briefly at the meeting about why they are suitable for the job; any candidate unable to attend may send in a written blurb instead.

The meeting will also include a discussion on tackling policy (see here for details). Team representatives will be voting on both issues, so if you’re a player on an official member team and have an opinion, please let your team representative know!

You probably haven’t heard of a man named Alton Brown.  As far as international celebrities go, he is small fry. Brown is a prominent television chef from the United States. He is notable for two primary reasons:

• The fabulousness of his current moustache.
• His revolutionary thoughts and writings on ‘heat’ as the common ingredient to all cooking processes.

To ponder the Saturday of QUAFL 2012 brings to mind a certain Brown-esque philosophy; that heat is a pervasive and all-consuming presence, a constant within which all else operates. Quidditch, with its wide variety of athletes and necessary compact aggressiveness of tournament schedules, is not a sport invented with the intention of being played in 37 degree Celsius heat, especially when humidity adds another five degrees. Four games within a seven hour period is never easy, particularly for skeleton squads from faraway lands. The challenge is only amplified in such extreme heat.

Heat really did inform and influence everything on Saturday at QUAFL 2012: Preparation, setup, gameplay, strategy, recovery, first aid, communication, lunch, dinner, Sunday. Every facet of the weekend came to be how it was in no small part due to the stifling and tortuous heat of Saturday.

But in many ways this perspective is an injustice to the assorted quidkids of Australia. Heat may have been a common ingredient, but it did not define the day. Heat was the enemy over which the spirit of quidditch triumphed. The irony is, that for all the pain of the day, we wouldn’t have it any other way. QUAFL 2011 lives on in the collective folklore of Australian quidditch history in no small part due to the memorable monsoon of biblical proportions that greeted us. In much the same way, QUAFL 2012 will be remembered forever by those who were there, and it will be Saturday’s weather which sticks with us as one of the towering icons of the weekend.

But do not let this melodrama deceive you were you stupid enough to not be there. It was hot, as is summer’s wont in Australia. But above anything, the weekend will be remembered for the on and off field triumph it was, as ten teams from the furthest corners of the nation gathered for Australia’s biggest and best quidditch tournament yet.

Preparation

After all the fearful anticipation of searing sun suffering, Saturday dawned ironically drizzly. Assorted Phoenixes set up shop first of all, as the noble hosts from Macquarie University worked to transfer themselves from construction site to open grass field, and transform open grass field to sweeping dominion of sporting magnificence.

As the sun showed its frying face and already began to sap energy, hours pre-game, it was immediately and happily clear that QUAFL 2012 would follow the honourable quidditch tradition of running unfathomably late.

Yet through all the stress, one could not help but be impressed by the human rainbow cascading across the sloped green landscape. Ten teams of every geographical background and wildly varying levels of experience stood resplendent and waiting to display their quidditch wares, old or new.

The reigning champion University Of New South Wales (UNSW), the perpetual impressive underdog University Of Western Sydney (UWS), the nation-topping powerhouse Newcastle Fireballs, the forgotten pioneer Australian National Nargles and everybody’s favourite adorable Warriors of Wollongong reconvened. Twelve months had passed and the five teams who inaugurated Australian quidditch at QUAFL 2011 returned, much improved and advanced but with unchanged spirit.

Joining the fray for 2012 were the hosts, the Macquarie Malaclaws, looking to complete their meteoric rise with a very plausibly possible QUAFL triumph. The Melbourne Manticores and James Cook University Galleons of far North Queensland flew in, ready to resume their Cairns Classic rivalry. From faraway Western Australia came the Perth Phoenixes, as they had for July’s Midwinter Cup, once again acting as a talisman of growth and dedication. Completing the ten were the mysterious rookies, the Unspeakables, fresh out of the University of Sydney and ready to impress.

As the morning burned on and each team reported for duty, the QUAFL precinct took spectacular shape, complete with two immaculate pitches, marquees aplenty, dedicated commentary, customised scoreboards and the two sure-fire heroes of the scorching day, St John Ambulance and the table of never-ending water.

The intense weather of the day even necessitated a controversial extreme heat policy, involving the implementation of a drinks break at the ten minute point in each match. Although this would prove to be a clearly justified and popular step and made little difference to the grand scheme of the game, it was nevertheless an interesting new tactical curio for teams to ponder.

Morning Matches

For the first time ever, Australian quidditch saw play on two simultaneous fields, set up side-by-side. Both matches kicked off within mere seconds of each other and it was truly a sight to behold. Two pairs of rivals started the tournament in two very different matches. UWS and the Nargles, twice opponents at QUAFL 2011, were straight to the top of their game. They tussled in a rugged defensive encounter, defined early by the beater contest and by the clear level of experience on show.

Meanwhile, it was a different story on the lower field. In the much-vaunted Pool A opener, hosts Macquarie once again faced off against the top seed Newcastle Fireballs. But from the offset it was a curious and ill-tempered game. Macquarie were ruthless from the start, taking an unexpected dominance over proceedings. Newcastle seemed to struggle to come to terms with anything, be it the opposition, the officiating, or themselves, in a turgid opening few moments. The Fireballs eventually got their act together, but it was a day late and a dollar short, as the Malaclaws comfortably triumphed from the weight of fourteen goals.

The other first-up winner was UWS, who slowly took slim but sufficient enough control of the match to take victory despite a Nargle snitch catch.

The day’s second pair of games was all about the welcoming of new and unfamiliar adversaries. In Pool A it was Perth, largely unrecognisable from their Midwinter iteration, who faced the debutant Unspeakables. This lack of experience showed early in some amateurish ill-discipline, but it certainly proved to be no barrier to quality. In an impressive display, the University of Sydney easily dulled the Phoenix threat, winning 70-60 despite failing to capture the snitch. Such competitiveness from the uncapped bottom seeds threw off the entire balance of the group, leaving teams like Newcastle and Macquarie with much to ponder over.

In Pool B, the reigning champions UNSW faced a Melbourne side full of experience and athleticism, but lacking familiarity with the dominant New South Wales arm of the Australian game and its on-field culture and nuance. The Manticores were a clear force to be reckoned with however, rattling UNSW with their aggressive physical game and going out to an early lead. The Snapes on a Plane rallied back into the contest and took it down to the snitch catch, but not for the first time this weekend, Sam Washington triumphed for Melbourne.

With both Sydney and Melbourne pulling off opening upset victories, the tournament was already showing itself to be full of unpredictable intrigue. Which six teams might work their way through to the finals was anyone’s guess.

Until lunch though, there was at least some stability in performance. Macquarie continued to impress, making it two wins from two and inflicting a second defeat on Perth.

UNSW and the Nargles, both struggling former powerhouses, faced off in a must-win game after difficult starts to their day. UNSW upped their game after such a scratchy opener, firing out to a 40-0 lead in quick time. The Nargles fought back to a degree, but the match always felt gone and not even yet another Matt Armstrong snitch catch could deny UNSW a first victory.

Which team would function as each Pool’s cellar dweller also became apparent, with Wollongong and JCU both suffering a pair of big losses. However JCU impressed many, Cooper Gabriel and Brodie Smart leading the way in a fighting performance against Melbourne which saw them lead 30-20 early and only trail by a single goal at the drinks break. But Melbourne effortlessly found another gear and overran their old rivals for a second successive win. The University of Sydney Unspeakables likewise made it two from two, mercilessly casting aside a flat and uncompetitive Wollongong.

Amazingly, these two emphatic wins left the Manticores and the Unspeakables, the two most unknown and consequently unfancied new kids on the block (JCU aside), sitting on top of their respective Pools. Both teams were full of quality and it was clear upon observing their huddles first thing in the morning that they would be competitive, but for the whole tournament to be so swept off its feet by the rookies and the visitors sent shockwaves through the established competitors.

Other than these surprise results, it was the heat which began to be the big story of the day, with players increasingly requiring medical attention as the hottest portion of the day dangerously approached. But through the interminable morning everyone fought, with an admirable lack of decay in the quality of quidditch. It was 1:30pm before the morning session slowly lumbered itself across the finish line and to the sweet sweet relief of lunch.

Afternoon Matches

After an extended break, as demanded by the folks at St John, play resumed at 3pm. The afternoon opened with two epic marquee matches. In Pool B, UNSW and UWS played off in the much- anticipated rematch of last year’s decider. Like at QUAFL 2011, but unlike recent Triwizard encounters, the two great rivals played out an intense defensive struggle.  UNSW went clear early with a quick pair, but from there goals were hard to come by. Fifteen minutes later, UWS had clawed their way back to 30-30, but Andrew Culf put them to bed with a tree-side snitch catch to get UNSW over the line.

In Pool A, mere metres away, even more drama was brewing. Midwinter rivals Newcastle and Perth did battle once again in an emotion-charged game following a controversial build-up. The Fireballs had control early, but Perth fired into action, motivated by the increasingly bitter contest. All of a sudden, the Phoenixes had total momentum and sped into the lead with clutch of goals over a frenzied few minutes either side of the drinks break. From there, the match was an exercise in discipline, or lack thereof, as each team lost both the ability to score goals and a number of wounded players. Newcastle snuck back to a narrow lead, but the snitch would decide everything. However the snitch himself would add to the controversy, dangerously branding a pair of sizeable tree branches, with which he accidentally punctured the unfortunate Phoenix seeker Shane Young’s hand.

After further minutes of drama as the stubborn snitch kept himself alive, the Fireballs reacted to seeker Julian Kirkby’s frustration, timing their swap for Dameon Osborn perfectly. The bustling Fireball rookie quickly snapped up the snitch for himself to end the theatre and break Perth hearts, confining the Phoenixes to their tournament-ending third loss of the day, despite clearly rising to a whole new level to face their arch rivals.

The drama continued unabated in group A, with the undefeated Malaclaws and Unspeakables facing off in what was arguably the best, and unarguably the longest, game of the day. In hindsight, it was fortunate for the health of all involved that these were the two largest squads for the tournament.

Macquarie started majestically, absolutely annihilating the Sydney defence with five goals in the first three minutes. From there the Unspeakables were always playing catch-up, but they got their act together and slowly but surely closed down the early advantage. By the drinks break Macquarie had done just enough to hold their lead at 70-50. By the twenty minute mark, it was all square at 100 apiece.

The Malaclaws then found their second wind and pulled three goals clear, just in time for Alyssa Halbe to snatch the snitch for Sydney and take us to overtime for the first time in the tournament. After two agitating minutes, in which both teams traded a goal and remained wholly inseparable, it was Edwin Nelson who rose to the occasion, taking the match’s second snitch to hand Macquarie a spectacular victory.

With the Malaclaws’ triumph over the Unspeakables, they locked themselves in as undisputed top dog in Pool A, topping the group undefeated. Perth consoled themselves with a lazy win over Wollongong in the basement clash, then Sydney recovered from their epic to dull Newcastle’s charge, surviving a late comeback to upset the Fireballs and confirm second place in the group.

The fate of Pool B would be decided by Melbourne’s final two games. First up they ended the tournament of the unlucky Nargles, who had the better of much of the contest but for once lacked the snitch catch when it was really necessary. With UNSW easily casting aside JCU to finish with three wins, it left the previously undefeated Manticores and UWS joining them in the finals, but still to face each other.

There was nothing between the two essentially spent teams, playing their final games of what had been such a devastatingly hot day and with squads a bit smaller than would be optimal for such conditions. Goals were traded back and forth early on, before Melbourne threatened to take the ascendency only for UWS to duly pacify the danger. After a frenetic and high scoring opening which saw UWS lead 50-40 at drinks, the game rather petered away as each team fought just to stay on their feet and thinking clearly. It became a contest of pure attrition; with no team ever getting near the kind of decisive edge needed to pull clear of the snitch margin. So in many ways it was no surprise that the match came down to a controversial snitch catch, which saw the Manticores denied a marginal capture due to interference and a dropped tag, only for Christian Barquin to pick up the pieces for UWS.

The result left all three powerhouse teams in Pool B with identical records of three wins and one loss, but it was the superior points percentage of UNSW, largely thanks to their ruthless whitewashing of JCU, which saw them top the table.

Pool A Results 

Pool A Table

Pool B Results

Pool B Table

So after twenty games of the highest intensity, quality and courage, six teams waded through the heat haze to fight another day; the day that really matters, Sunday. Six teams, six games. Serious business time.

 Written by James Hosford
Photography by Matt Hudson & Sam Washington