summer 2012

appropriate that that’s where the firstinternational match between differentcountries is happening.”A truly amazing experience for all nationsattending, the final matches on July9 will take place at the Olympic torchlighting festival in South Park.As for the competition, Crane has morethan one reason to be excited: “I’m going todie,” she says with a laugh. “I did athletics,but not team sports growing up. Runningwas my sport. [Playing] chaser, it’s reallyexciting. I’m looking forward to meetinga bunch of other people from the otherteams, and I think it’s appropriate playingin England.” Crane doesn’t let the smallnumber of her squad get her down either.“We have 11, so it’ll be interesting playingagainst the full 21 person USA roster. ButI’m excited.”PHYSICAL CONTACTThese Australians have been able to takethe cue from the IQA on how to play quidditch,but are apprehensive about adoptingthe level of physicality in American quidditch.The AQA recently voted to play bystricter physical contact rules that restricttackling more than the American varietybecause of safety issues.“We still have barging and shoving,which can lead to some down to theground,” explains Bickhoff. “The differenceis, without arm contact it doesn’t bring theother person down with you and avoids thebroom injuries.”James Hosford, of the University ofNewcastle, said he “tends to see an Americanfootball tackling technique, but withoutthe helmets and pads, whichis unreasonable. The technique is notdesigned for someone so unprotectedto get so smashed.”Does American quidditch rely toomuch on the fundamentals of a nationalsport with different physicality requirements?“If rugby were more prominent inAmerica, we could standardize the twoarmtackling technique to somethingrugby-based as an International standard,which would be much safer while still beingrough and tough,” says Hosford.Matt Hudson, also of the University ofNewcastle, notes that “the last Triwizard[Cup] was the first inter-varsity matchwhere we didn’t have to call an ambulance,and that’s a positive thing to say about aquidditch tournament.”All this is not to say that Australiansdon’t like their quidditch with a bite toit—Benstead contests that “Perth plays fullcontact, even though the rest of Australiadoesn’t. They’re always saying quidditch ismeant to be full contact, but we still playquite roughly.”Regardless of opinions on contact, all ofthe Australian administration is eager tosee the result of competition between thetwo countries.PLANS FOR THE FUTUREWhat’s next for Aussie quidditch? A Mid-Winter Cup in July, anofficial IQA regional tournamentin December, and theTriwizard Cup, which will become amonthly tournament in Sydney for any interestedteams to compete in.The AQA is also working on a comprehensivemembership plan, which will bereleased alongside the IQA’s membershipplan for North American teams. The AQAhopes to be a model for other internationalregions as quidditch grows there and localgoverning bodies begin working directlywith the IQA.“Some things are better Down Under,” saysBickhoff. Despite the immense distance,the AQA’s success advancing the sport ofquidditch on a different continent speaksvolumes about the impact and positivityof their league. The Summer Games andfuture World Cups will be sure to solidifythe relationship between Australia and therest of the world, showing everyone thatthe Aussies will show you a good time andmaybe even fight you for it. nQuidditch Quarterly • Summer 2012 25