USQ Update

Gameplay Announces Key Updates

by USQ Gameplay | July 11, 2014

US Quidditch has made some changes to its gameplay requirements and policies for the 2014-2015 season. All requirements can be found on the Gameplay Policies page of the website.

Changes include:

• Seasonal play requirements

• Requirements for making a game official

• Roster submission requirements

• Regional distribution count

• Registration for regionals

• World Cup pool draw

• Forfeit procedure

• Official quaffle selection

Please see our gameplay policies and form page to see our current procedures for:

• Regional transfer policy

• Player transfer policy

• Player disciplinary policy

• Game appeal policy

• Fair play policy

• Equipment rules

• Tiebreaker policy

• Forfeit procedure

• Player number policy

Any tournament that includes gameplay violations or deviates from the official rulebook will be excluded from the standings. Please feel free to contact USQ Gameplay Director Sarah Woolsey at sarah.woolsey@usquidditch.org with any questions.

Seasonal Play requirements

Each team must compete in at least eight official games before World Cup, with the following parameters:
1. Eight games*
2. Against four different official teams
3. At three different events
*Games played at regionals don’t count toward this total.

For teams with a fall regional: You must play at least three games against two teams at one event before regionals to be seeded without penalties.

For teams with a spring regional: You must play at least five games against three teams in two events before regionals to be eligible to register.

To be eligible to compete in World Cup, a team must have completed the above seasonal play requirements two weeks before the event date.

Teams will not be shown in the standings online until they have played at least five games against three teams at two events.

REquirements for making a game official

1. The game or tournament must be submitted to the USQ events calendar at least two weeks before the event.

2. Participating teams must submit their rosters at least one week in advance.

3. USQ member IDs must be checked against the rosters before the game starts (in the case of tournaments, before the first game starts).

4. A certified head referee paid $20 must adjudicate the game.

5. There must be an EMT or certified athletic trainer on site.

6. A certified tournament director must be present at the event.

Roster Submission Requirements

Each team’s roster of up to 21 players must be submitted on the USQ website seven days before the start of the game. Changes to the submitted roster may be made up until 24 hours before the start of the game.

If the initial roster is not submitted seven days prior to the tournament, no games played by that team at that tournament may be counted as official. Any game played under an ineligible roster will not be counted as official and will not be included in the rankings. Any games that are later discovered to have been played with an illegal roster will be removed from the rankings and the team captain will be subject to the disciplinary policy

Submitted team rosters will be publicly available for every tournament. Rosters will be displayed with the player’s first initial and full last name, as listed on their individual membership.

Regional Distribution Count

For the regional spot distribution for World Cup, each team must be registered by October 1, 2014 to be counted. To register, the $150 team dues must be paid, along with at least seven individual members added to the team.

Registration for Regionals and World Cup

For a team to compete in its regional championship, it must register for the tournament at least two weeks prior to the event.

Teams must qualify for World Cup through their regional championship. Upon qualification, each team will be sent information about registration for World Cup, and must complete the initial registration confirmation within two weeks after the regional.

World Cup Pool Draw

Three weeks before World Cup, the standings will freeze for purposes of seeding for World Cup. At that time, no additional games added will be included in the standings for the pool selection. The following Monday, the pools will be drawn for the event.

Forfeit Procedure

A team which does not appear at the time and location of a game it is scheduled to play shall receive a forfeit. A forfeit is counted as a 150*-0 loss for the forfeiting team. Forfeits count within the particular tournament for seeding from pool play into bracket play and final tournament rankings. Forfeits do not count within the USQ season for the purpose of the official USQ rankings except under extreme or unusual circumstances.

The change to the USQ forfeit policy for the 2014-2015 season is that any games forfeited during a regional championship or World Cup will be included in the rankings. Additional information about the forfeit procedure can be found here.

Game Appeal Policy

The Game Appeal Policy has been changed. A game may now be appealed up to one week after an event has taken place. The updated policy can be found here.

official quaffle selection

For USQ regionals and World Cup, the official quaffle that will be used is the Baden Matchpoint size five. This quaffle is not required to be used for other official games throughout the season.

Please note that World Cup is currently the working title for the event. As US Quidditch has recently focused its shift from international to US events, the league is reassessing its seasonal championship event and may announce a new name shortly.