Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by wi ...

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.

Organisations

Quidditch in Australia is governed by Quidditch Australia (formerly the Australian Quidditch Association), 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. Quidditch Australia is affiliated with the

International Quidditch Association The International Quidditch Association (IQA), also known as the International Quadball Association, is the governing body for the sport of quidditch. It was founded as the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association in 2009 following the very first i ...

. Quidditch Australia uses the IQA rulebook for official gameplay, with some minor exceptions. Quidditch 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 Quidditch Championships and State Shield. Regular club seasons are managed by their respective state bodies: Quidditch

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

(which also mangages quidditch in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

), Victorian Quidditch Association,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Association of Quidditch,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n Quidditch Association and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n Quidditch Association.

National 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 quidditch competition where they came in third out of five teams. They defeated reigning champions

The United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2016 with a score of 150*–130. Despite being tipped to win the cup again in 2018, the Australian National Team competed in Italy finishing 5th, defeated by the United States in the early stages of the semifinals. ^† ''The 2020 World Cup was initially postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19, and further postponed to 2023.''

Competitions

Australian Quidditch Championships (QUAFL)

The Australian Quidditch Championships, previously and sometimes still colloquially known as QUAFL is the biggest quidditch tournament in Australia. It is held annually in November/December, crowning the Australian national club champion for that year. The first official name for the tournament was the Oceania Regional Championships, but was more affectionately known as "QUAFL" which was later given the

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

"Quidditch United Australian Federated League". The inaugural tournament was held in 2011 at the University of New South Wales, starting with just 5 teams. 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. 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 La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Australian Quidditch Championship results

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

State Shield

State Shield (previously ''Quidditch State of Origin'' after the football tournament of the same name), is an annual Australian quidditch competition established in 2016 as part of a skills camp training exercise at the annual Quid Camp. 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. Participating state teams include Victorian Leadbeaters (A), Victorian Honeybeaters (B), New South Wales Bluetongues (A), New South Wales Bluebottles (B), and the Queensland Thunderbirds.

Past State Shield results

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

NSW Quidditch League (NQL)

Organised by Quidditch New South Wales, the NQL (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. † Due to inclement weather and injuries, both teams agreed not to play the Grand Final and share the 2015 state title.

Victoria Cup

Organised by the Victorian Quidditch Association, the Victoria Cup is the year long state championship in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The inaugural cup in 2014 was won by the Monash Muggles, and followed on from other local tournaments.

Midwinter Cup

The Midwinter cup is held annually in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

featuring both teams from NSW and interstate. The 2014 winners were the UNSW Snapes on a Plane. In 2015, the tournament was won by the hosts, the Newcastle Fireballs. In 2016, a vastly outnumbered

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

and

University of the Sunshine Coast The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the ...

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, but is due to be held on the 9th and 10 July in 2022.

Melbourne Mudbash

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.

Fantasy Tournaments

Held outside of the regular seasons, various fantasy tournaments across the country include Valkyries Fantasy (November), Victorian Fantasy (February), Sunshine Coast Fantasy (April), Macarthur Fantasy (January), and Pink Up Campbelltown Charity Tournament (October).

Australian Wheelchair Quidditch Championships (QWAFL)

Wheelchair quidditch was first introduced into regular quidditch 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.

Teams

There are several teams/clubs registered with Quidditch Australia across all states and territories except Tasmania and Northern Territory. The following is a list of existing or past teams that have been registered with Quidditch Australia.

Australian Capital Territory

Owls (formerly ANU Nargles)

New South Wales

* Darlington Dragons * Eastern Sydney Universities (a merger of UTS Opaleyes and UNSW Snapes on a Plane) ** Dawnbreakers ** Nightbringers ** Daywalkers *

Hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

Hippogriffs^† *

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

Unregistered Animagi^† * Macarthur Weasleys^† * Macquarie Marauders *

Fireballs * North Sydney Nightmares * South West Horntails * Southern Snidgets^† * Sydney City Serpents *

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

Snapes on a Plane^† *

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

** Unforgivables ** Unbreakables ** Unspeakables *

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

Opaleyes^† *

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...

Thestrals^† * Valkyries *

Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

Spartans^† * Wollongong Warriors (

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

)^†

Queensland

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

City Bin Chickens *

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian ...

Grindylows^† * James Cook University Galleons^† *

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

Lycans *

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Dumblebees *

** Dementors ** Nifflers

South Australia

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Augureys *

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

Fantastic Beasts * Glenelg Gargoyles

Victoria

* Basilisks Quidditch Club *

Trolls^† *

Manticores * Melbourne Ravens *

Unicorns ** Blue **Orange *

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

** Muggles ** Mudbloods *

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at ...

Centaurs * Whomping Willows Quidditch Club

Western Australia

* Curtin Chimeras * ECU Centaurs *

Murdoch Murdoch ( , ) is an Irish/Scottish given name, as well as a surname. The name is derived from old Gaelic words ''mur'', meaning "sea" and ''murchadh'', meaning "sea warrior". The following is a list of notable people or entities with the name. ...

Mandrakes *

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Phoenixes (due to the geographical isolation of Western Australia, teams from WA form together under this name to at national tournaments) *

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

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

References

{{World topic, Quidditch in, noredlinks=yes Quidditch Sport in Australia