World Cup Diary: Apryl Tidd
Editor's Note: The IQA is pleased to publish another World Cup diary, where players from around the world tell us their story. If you want to share your tale, send it to editorial@internationalquidditch.org and you could see it in this space.
My journey to World Cup is a little bit different.
My team, the Toledo Firebolts, is a first-year team. We had high hopes going into Midwest Regionals, but we fell short, going 0-4 in pool play. That was it. There was going to be no World Cup for us. We had our chance, and we missed it. We played our hearts out, but ultimately we came up short.
Then we heard about World Cup Division 2. Our captain talked to us about it and we were all on board. We wanted a World Cup experience. When the day came, he put our application in and we got good news: Toledo would be travelling to Florida to compete as a Division 2 team.
As soon as pools were drawn, Toledo was predicted to finish last. We had Belmont, Sam Houston State University, Camps and Syracuse. We were predicted to go 0-4 in pool play, just like at Midwest. Knowing that we were coming in as underdogs made us play even harder that weekend.
At 1 a.m. on Friday, April 12, we piled into a van to make the 19-hour drive to Kissimmee. It was a long drive and by the time we pulled into the hotel, I was questioning whether or not it was worth it. I crawled into bed, nervous for what the next day would bring.
We headed to the field at 6 the next morning. As soon as we got to the fields, the excitement set in. The lights on the pitches that were set up so perfectly made me realize that we were about to play at World Cup. We were 8 months old, and we were about to play at World Cup. We signed in and quickly found teams village. My friends and I marveled at other teams' jerseys and said hi to our Midwest friends. It was finally real. We were at World Cup!
The next two days were better than I could have asked for. The rush and adrenaline I felt when I caught the snitch after about twenty minutes against Camps to win the game is unexplainable. We used that rush to carry us through our game against Syracuse, where I again caught the snitch to end and win the game.
Our game against Sam Houston (who ended up being the Division 2 champions) stands out in my mind the most. We play under the lights, after a full day of sitting in the sun and watching some amazing teams play. We were tired. We gave it our all, but eventually lost by 60 points after I caught the snitch. It was the end of the day and we had proven everyone wrong, only losing one game and finishing second in our pool. We earned a 6 seed going into bracket play.
The next morning, we played South Carolina. It was a well-fought game that we eventually lost. It was devastating to be knocked out so early in bracket play, but we spent the rest of the day cheering on other Midwest teams and just enjoying all that World Cup was. It was a great opportunity to watch some amazing quidditch.
Coming into World Cup VI, Toledo wasn't supposed to do anything in Division 2. While we may have been knocked out early in bracket play, we still made it to day 2. I am incredibly proud of my team and proud to be a Firebolt. A 3-2 record at our first-ever World Cup is amazing in my eyes and I am so happy that we made the trip to Kissimmee, Florida. I love this sport with all my heart and I am so glad that I was able to spend this weekend surrounded by it.
