What is the most popular competitive sport in the wizarding realm since 1997 and growing vastly across campuses internationally? Quidditch! As many of you know, over the past couple of years, the Gee Gees Quidditch team has grown and become more competitive on an international level. This week’s campus celebrities are none other than the co-presidents of the magical uOttawa Quidditch team, Erin And Tegan.
Left: Tegan working as Regional Director at last year’s Canadian Cup
Right: Erin playing and World Cup VI
The Co-Presidents:
Both Erin and Tegan have been involved with the Quidditch club from the beginning of their university careers. As a third year Conflict Studies and Human Rights student, Erin has been a member of the club and a competitive team player since her first semester at uOttawa. She initially got involved with the club due to her Harry Potter fan status, but shortly after fell in love with the sport as its own separate entity. Being a part of this club has been one of the definitive aspects of her university experience. As a member of the team, “[she has] had the opportunity to stay active while travelling all over North America with some of [her] best friends.” “What else can you ask for?” says Erin. Erin also has her very own international Quidditch Association trading card! She lives and breathes Quidditch as she manages the team, plays competitively and also writes occasionally for The Coach’s Oval (A Canadian Quidditch Blog).
Tegan is finishing her last year studying English and Classical Studies at the U of O. This is her fourth year being part of the club on campus as she is one of the founding members. The club started with three students and has now developed into a competitive team and a large community. She first joined while writing for The Fulcrum, discovering Carleton had a team going to the World Cup. Tegan set out to start a team and enter into the next World Cup. After a long year of hard work she achieved her goal! Tegan also played for Team Canada in Oxford, England two summers ago, in the International Quidditch Association’s Summer Games. She competed against teams from France, the UK and the United States. In addition to her involvement with uOttawa Quidditch, Tegan is involved in other aspects of campus life. She was previously the VP Social for Undergraduate English Students’ Associations (UESA) and a former writer of The Fulcrum. She is also currently the Canadian Regional Director of the International Quidditch Association, planning this year’s Canadian Cup and the regional qualifier for World Cup VII.
The History of UOttawa Quidditch:
“Our team first formed in November of 2010 and initially, there were three of us. We didn’t have a team, or equipment, or any idea, really, what we were doing. Carleton Quidditch invited us to their practices for the next semester and taught us how to play the game. Our first practice was January 9th, 2011. I’m really grateful to Carleton Quidditch for everything they’ve done for us. The next September, we hosted our own first practice on Tabaret Lawn and 60 people came to learn how to play quidditch. That year, we went to our first Canadian Cup, hosted by Carleton Quidditch, where we placed 3rd, and our first World Cup. We also hosted our first small tournament. Our last year was an amazing jump, we placed 2nd at the Canadian Cup and qualified for World Cup VI. It was a small miracle that we were able to go, as it was in the middle of uOttawa’s exam period and in Florida. We outperformed everyone’s expectations for our team and I’m very proud of all of our players. This year, we have so many people interested in playing for our team that we have two competitive teams, which I’m really excited about. It’s a great opportunity to get more people involved” – Tegan.
World Cup VI Participation:
Erin explains the experience first hand: “I will forever be in grateful awe of Tegan and her last-year’s-co-president Clare Hutchinson for the ridiculous amount of organization that went into that. We found out in the summer of 2012 that World Cup VI, the biggest quidditch tournament of the season, would be April 13th and 14th 2013 in Kissimmee, Florida. The trip would be far and costly and, perhaps more importantly, the dates fell right in the middle of winter semester exams. We were disappointed, but we didn’t see it as realistic that we would be able to attend the tournament. We began our season trying to put WCVI out of our heads- but after placing 2nd at the Canadian Cup in Kingston, ON, and earning ourselves one of the coveted 80 spots at the tournament, we decided to at least try. ‘At least trying’ turned into a full-on campaign! We met with the deans of every faculty to obtain exam deferral approval, we talked to professors, we coordinated dozens of flights to Orlando, fundraised thousands of dollars and battled a freak snowstorm to get all 21 of our competitive team athletes (plus bonus leadership staff and other club members) to the World Cup. But, of the three spots reserved for Canadian teams, we were the only ones who had initially qualified. This left us with the awkward duty of proving how tough Canada can play, and we did it! After a grueling first day of pool play, we emerged the international team (‘international’ here meaning ‘not American’ and including Canada, France, and Mexico) to make it to the Top 32 bracket. We ended up conceding a well-deserved win to Baylor Quidditch, a team that would go on to take the top 4, but we managed to make a name for uOttawa as one of the Top 25 teams in the world.”
Current and Future Status on Campus:
Gee Gee Quidditch is an official SFUO club, with a great balance of community as well as competition. There are two competitive teams that compete against other universities and a recreational league as well. One of the competitive teams has also been granted the Gee Gees brand by Sports Services which is usually only reserved for varsity sports and competitive clubs. Beyond the teams there is a strong community on campus that includes players as well as non-players that get involved through social events throughout the year.
For future plans, although Tegan is in her final year, she believes that the Quidditch community will remain very strong on campus but would enjoy seeing an office on campus. As for Erin, she has a year and a half remaining and she wishes to see uOttawa leave an impact on Canadian Quidditch, since American teams dominate the sport internationally. Though recently uOttawa has shown perseverance and strength against several highly ranked teams. She is excited to see the team grow in competitiveness as well as maintain the community aspect of the club.
Team photo from The Canadian Cup
Finally, the team is hosting a tournament called Trial By Fire on October 5th at Immaculata High School on Main Street! Games will commence at 10:00 am and will feature ten teams from Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Kingston, and New York. The event is free for spectators, so if any of this has made you curious about how quidditch is played, come check it out!
From team gym sessions, social events, tea parties on Parliament Hill, Yule ball and a Thanksgiving pot luck this club has created a community on campus and has had a large impact on students since its creation in 2010. Without the past presidents and current co-presidents, Tegan and Erin, none of this would have been possible.
Photo Credits: uOttawa Quidditch