Ives Pond Invitational Preview
The Flurrious! Festival in Buffalo, NY, will host ...
Photo courtesy of Tegan Bridge
Jefferson Dedrick, the director of the tournament and one of the founders of the WEQL Griffins (Buffalo, NY), explained that teams should expect “cold weather but merry fun, good community, and some very interesting games.” Dedrick also is the Communications Director for Snow Belt Quidditch and the Ticket Sales Coordinator for World Cup VI. Assistant director of the tournament Darrian Dowdy said, “Teams should be excited for a great time at this tournament!” She continued, “We're expecting snow, which always adds a different element to the game. Not only will teams have fun with quidditch, but [the] Flurrious! Festival offers other exciting activities as well.” Although it is expected to be bitterly cold, the festival will have plenty of concessions to warm up with after games. Six of the teams attending the Ives Pond Invitational have also received bids to compete at World Cup VI: Carleton University (Ottawa, ON,), a Canadian World Cup competitor, SUNY Geneseo (Geneseo, NY,), Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY,), University of Rochester (Rochester, NY,) University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON,) and QC Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA,), which played in the quarterfinals last year at World Cup V. No. 12 ranked Carleton and No. 19 QC Pittsburgh enter the tournament as the favorites, while the other three World Cup qualifiers all rank within the top 40. Other teams attending the event will be Steel City Quidditch (Pittsburgh, PA,), Queen's University Quidditch (Kingston, ON), University of Ottawa Quidditch (Ottawa, ON,), Ives Pond Quidditch Club (Buffalo, NY,), Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY,), University of Vermont (Burlington, VT), Aquinas Flying Li'l Irish (Rochester, NY), and the WEQL Griffins. A total of 13 teams will participate in the tournament. “The goal of the tournament is two-fold,” Dedrick said, “to raise awareness of the sport of quidditch in the Greater Buffalo area, as we are operating under the only Winter Festival in Buffalo, and to continue to foster growth and relationships between and amongst the participating teams.” Dowdy similarly viewed the purpose of the tournament, explaining, “The main goals of the tournament are the same as any other – have fun, play hard, make friends, and showcase quidditch to any and all spectators!” The Flurrious! Festival is emphasizing quidditch's role in the festival. Dedrick said, “We're right in the middle of the Flurrious! Festival, next to several other sporting events that are going on, included as a main part of the event.” The festival is also helping to publicize quidditch as a sport. “When the Flurrious! Festival was shown on the local news, quidditch showed up during the report,” Dowdy said, “Our team [the WEQL Griffins], along with others, were interviewed. Flurrious! is a great way to help us gain recognition.” Some non-quidditch attractions at the event include kickball, hockey, and a snowman-making contest. The festival is free to the public.