International Highlights
Balais en l'Air! Escobas Arribas! Brooms Up! No m...
In July, North American teams traveled to Europe; in April, three European teams will travel to Florida for World Cup VI. | Photo by Bernard Scott Taylor
Just as the Triwizard Tournament attracted competitors from all over the world, Quidditch World Cup VI—the most internationally diverse cup yet—will feature athletes from across the globe. But how did each team navigate their way to Kissimmee, Florida?
International quidditch teams have earned their high-ranking status in different ways. Here's how the teams from Paris, Milan, and Mexico fought for their place on the World Cup bracket.
EUROPEAN REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Europe experienced its first regional championship tournament in October, when Anthena Lesparre Quidditch (Lesparre-Médoc, FR) welcomed teams to play in their town. The host-country was heavily represented, with five of the six teams hailing from L'Hexagone. Italy's Milano Meneghins (Milan, IT) were the sole non-French team at the European Regional Championships.
Teams were initially divided into two pools of three for pool play, with teams then being seeded for a bracket competition. The first highlight of the day came when the Paris Frogs defeated the Meneghins, in a low-scoring but high-intensity game 50*-0
The Meneghins provided their second thriller of the tournament against Anthena Lesparre Quidditch, 120^-70*. Milano led 50-20, prior to Anthena Lesparre catching the snitch in regulation, but Milano Meneghins proved too much for the hosts in overtime.
One would expect a drawn-out game from the two undefeated teams, the Paris Phénix and the Paris Frogs, but the battle between the City of Love's rival teams only lasted eight minutes with a quick snitch grab. Those 480 seconds, however, were hard fought as both teams only managed to score twice before the snitch was caught, ending it 50*-20 in favor of the Phénix.
The final standings of the day were as followed:
1. Paris Phénix (Paris, FR)
2. Paris Frogs (Paris, FR)
3. Milano Meneghins (Milan, IT)
4. Anthena Lesparre Quidditch (Anthena Lesparre, FR)
5. Nantes Muggle Quidditch (Nantes, FR)
6. Toulouse Quidditch (Toulouse, FR)
Luckily, competition didn't compromise camaraderie. French-team rivalries dissolved into group hugs, while everyone embraced their neighbors from Milan. The only damper on their high spirits was the inescapable fact that only one team would make it to the World Cup.
However, while initially informed that only the first place team would be invited to Florida, the Paris Frogs and Milano Mengehins have since been invited to the World Cup. These two squads will join European champions Paris Phénix.
NEIGHBORLY LOVE
The teams hailing from neighboring Mexico, however, followed a different trail to Kissimmee. Neither team competed in a regional qualifier, but instead applied for one of the six spots reserved for international teams.
The Tijuana's Qwertyrians (Tijuana, MX) are no stranger to competition in the U.S. While they didn't attend the Western Cup IV this year, last year they drove across the border to UCLA in order to compete as the only international team at Western Cup III, despite having to teach some players the rule on the car ride over. The ragtag team surprised everyone when they took eighth overall, and nabbed the “Tom Marks Sportsmanship Award.” The Qwertyrians' experience at last year's Western Cup, as well as at home in Mexico, will serve them will on the World Cup pitch.
Monterrey's Tec Quidditch (Monterrey, MX) will join the Qwertyrians to represent the United Mexican States. Tec started out in 2011 as a few players fooling around with broomsticks on a basketball court, and has since grown to become a team of 40. The team has been famously inventive with their fundraising: hosting “The Biggest Potterhead” competition, delivering heartfelt Harry Potter valentines and selling love potions in February, and promoting their team and the sport of quidditch any way possible. It is this imaginative ingenuity and inexorable spirit that will help Tec send their eleven best players to the World Cup.
Doesn't the world seem just a little bit smaller when you have a broom?
