Highlander Cup Takes UK By Storm
Editor's Note: The following article was cowritten by Johnney Rhodes, and Angus Berry.
The Highlander Cup, held March 16-17, was the first UK quidditch tournament with teams from Edinburgh, St Andrews, Keele, Bangor, and Oxford competing. For most of the teams it would be the first time playing each other, meaning that there was lots of pre-tournament speculation about who would end up on top. Gathering early on Saturday, every team seemed eager to play despite the freezing conditions.
From an organizational perspective, it did not go as smoothly as it could have; this was mainly due to the Scottish weather deciding that it did not approve of quidditch. This meant that players were out in torrential freezing rain for almost the entire weekend and had to try to play on a pitch that ended up as several inches of mud. Therefore, fewer games than scheduled were able to be played. In pool play the scores were:
St Andrews vs. Oxford: 10-70*
Edinburgh vs. Keele: 0-140*
Bangor vs. St Andrews: 50-30*
Bangor vs. Oxford: 0-60 (no snitch catch)
Keele vs. Oxford: 40-120*
After pool play, Oxford held the pole position, with Bangor in second, Keele in third and Scotland (St Andrew's and Edinburgh formed one team after the first day) holding up the base.
The games on the first day truly illustrated how much quidditch has grown and developed in the United Kingdom. Teams that have been playing maybe six months played at levels far beyond what was expected and left some commentators literally speechless, and terrified at the prospect of playing them. Spectacular tackling was featured by all teams and led to some dramatic incidents, if unfortunately some injuries as well, although this was in part due to the difficult conditions. Bangor played aggressively throughout the tournament and was rewarded with some great scoring opportunities. The amount of hoop collisions that came from the brave Welsh team rose to numbers beyond mathematics, and the damage to the equipment almost broke the frantic staff's smiles. The Holyrood Hippogriffs - who were hosting the tournament - were often smiling and ready to fly even in the worse weather, proving them to possess an endurance humbling to even the strongest of teams. Keele gave us some of the best passing and snitch catches ever seen in these historic lands and proved why they have dominated play so much in their previous games.
Throughout the day the bad weather led to moments of woe and fraternity from the much drenched quidditch players. The slippery pitch led to too many players having to seek warmth and clean towels in the changing rooms, and much time was spent by players - Scots, Welsh, English and other, all united by their love for warmth and slightly less damp uniforms - huddling together in these dreary room.
There were some matches played during the first day that were worthy of epics. Bangor Squibs versus St Andrews Snidgets proved an excellent opportunity for St Andrews to show us the excellent team dynamic and strategy that has made this newly-hatched team already so talked about in the Isles. This Athena of strategy met the strength and force of the Ares Bangor, who claimed the game in stunning fashion. Oxford played Bangor in a game where tackling and beating seemed to have been the only options available. Bludgers flew in all directions, and the tackling went to levels of such brutal intensity that when the whistle went with no snitch catch, the audience deflated from the tension. An excellent day of play was sadly cut short by the rains, so the remaining matches took place on Sunday.
Due to time constraints, the semi-finals didn't take place, and the tournament finals saw Bangor face Oxford to win the Highlander Cup trophy. There was just enough time at this point for a quick friendly match between Bangor and the merged Scotland team, which was played during a particularly heavy downpour.
Another major game of the day was Oxford versus Keeledavras. Keele, one of the UK's oldest teams, enjoyed an unbeaten streak before the game that they wore, rightfully, with pride: they had an excellent start, having beaten the Holyrood Hippogriffs (Edinburgh's squad) the previous day. Oxford, having proved they could play as hard as any other team, also sat on an unbeaten streak, and the game came to symbolize a clash of titans where if the ground had been less muddy, it would have torn away the grass and split the stones. Both played excellent games, with passes that flew pitch lengths and tackles that split brooms, but Oxford was victorious in the end.
After a break to let the brief yet heavy rain shower subside and to allow Bangor to rest, the finals took place. In the most intense game of the tournament, both teams played extremely well, and the score with Oxford leading Bangor 120-40 when the game was stopped due to the pitch being completely unplayable. It was agreed that because of the score difference, Oxford won the match and therefore the tournament.
Despite the terrible conditions, players were upbeat about how the tournament went. Oxford's
Rix Dishington rated the tournament as ‘banana' on a scale of 1-10. Teammate Enrica Biasi rejected Dishington's one dimensional perspective, saying, “Is there an amazing scale? As amazing as quidditch in a frozen mudbath sounds (aka very amazing).”
When quizzed about which player they would least like to run into with a quaffle, votes were divided between Emily Oughtibridge from Bangor and John Martin from Oxford (aka Bonecruncher). Some players were at a loss for words, describing themselves as ‘quoverwhelmed' and ‘quawestruck.'
Others were more eloquent about the weekend:
“It was amazing and completely worth all of the pain and cold we (or at least I) went through. Genuinely the most fun I've had in a really long time.” – Rix Dishington (Oxford)
“The Highlander Cup was awesome and I'm very proud of everyone involved in running it. Hopefully next year the weather will be more cooperative.” - Gwen Marie Macchione (Edinburgh)
“In technical terms, I'd describe it as "[censored] awesome." - James Burnett (aka Jesus) (Bangor)
"It was great to see the enthusiasm from all the players. The tournament was well-organized and gave us all a good opportunity to meet other players and have an amazing weekend playing quidditch!"- Lene Marie Pettersen (Edinburgh)
“I QUOVE QUIDDITCH.” - Priya Shah (Oxford)
"I was very impressed by all of the teams and volunteers, by their determination and sportsmanship both on and off the pitch, and for accepting the total restructuring of the tournament last minute. It was also great to finally meet some of the English teams, as it's not as easy for the Scottish teams to travel south of the border (and vice-versa).
I hope that future UK tournaments can build on the Highlander Cup. It was a valuable learning experience organizing it, and I'm very glad I made the decision for our team to host it. If the Highlander Cup does become an annual UK quidditch tournament, we will make sure to hold it when the weather is more likely to cooperate!" - Emily Starbuck (Tournament Director, and Captain Holyrood Hippogriffs)
The Highlander Cup was the first tournament held in the United Kingdom, and the players, organizers, and supporters honored and earned that distinction through their excellent play, hard work, exceptional ability, and friendliness. To see the players of the five teams compete with such professional ability and talk like old friends shows that this tournament marks the start of many exceptional games, many more muddy pitches, and many quidditch-themed friendships. Oxford were awarded their trophy outside the changing room by the tournament organizer Emily Starbuck, and they earned it by playing to an excellent standard. All teams that took part showed why quidditch is such a unique sport for such amazing people; they all proved why tournaments like this have to happen because it allows for fun, student interaction, and the chance to experience this great thing called quidditch. Congratulations to Oxford and to all the teams that took part; well done to the spectators, some of whom travelled very far, by UK standards, to be there and stood in the freezing conditions; and a special thanks to the organizers Emily Starbuck and Gwen Marie Macchione and all those Holyrood Hippogriffs who helped make this such an exceptional weekend with their hard work and welcoming smiles. The Highlander cup was wet, well-played, and safe to say fun, and it is clear to these writers that it marks the start of so much incredible quidditch in the United Kingdom. There will be laughter and more mud to come, and we can't wait. Brooms up!
The Small Picture: Highlander Cup
Photo courtesy of Pantalemeon Magazine.
I took this photo during the Highlander Cup, in Edinburgh, mid-March. The game was Bangor (green) VS Oxford (blue). At some point, the ref' had to interrupt the game to replace a broken broom. We were all soaked, it was freezing cold (to the point some had difficulties grabbing the balls), and this player from Oxford (Rix Dishington) started warming Charlotte Pashley's hands (Bangor). It struck me as a moment of pure sportsmanship and inter-team support that we love to see in quidditch. We often say that quidditch players are friends as soon as the game is over; here, it was merely "on pause".
