MuggleNet SnitchCenter Recaps This Past Weekend at the Quidditch World Cup

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Keith Hawk: We are here at the marketing table with Meaghan Prenda. Meaghan has been a social media guru for the IQA (International Quidditch Association). Meaghen, how is it going today?

Meaghan Prenda: It's going really well. It's really exciting to be here; I'm excited to bring the world cup experience online. I've been working with a lot of great volunteers, and it's just been a really good time covering the World Cup.

Keith: What are you doing here in the marketing [area]? Are you Tweeting and Facebooking?

Meaghan: Yes, we are currently tweeting @QuidWorldCup which is basically everything you could ever want to know about the Quidditch World Cup. I'm sending out volunteers to experience the World Cup and, at the same time, share that experience with the world itself so that no matter where you are you can feel like you're part of [the] World Cup. Right now we're scheduling tweets @QuidWorldCup [and] @MuggleQuidditch which is our main handle. [We are] doing Facebook posts on both our main IQA Facebook page as well as our Quidditch World Cup Facebook page. [We're posting on] Instagram as well, and that's @MuggleQuidditch.

Keith: Great! Are you doing scores as well, or is this strictly just promotion?

Meaghan: We had planned on doing scores, but volunteers just weren't there. So instead of doing a small portion of scores, we've compiled those scores into a Google Doc that you can access via the World Cup webpage. It's also [on] the IQA's main webpage. You go there and there will be links that will bring you to a Google score sheet. It's being updated throughout the day.

Keith: We're using that as well when we're not actually at the event watching it live and Tweeting from it. Let me ask you a question, Meaghan. No holds barred. Who [are] you rooting for?

Meaghan: Oh God, I'd have to say... I don't know. I can't say. There [are] so many teams out today that it's just so great to have them here.

Keith: Alright, she's not going to give it in! I'm trying to get her cornered but she won't do it. Thank you very much for your time, and good luck for the rest of the way.

Transcribed by Marissa Osman

Keith Hawk: MuggleNet SnitchCenter is here on the championship field. We're getting ready to watch Emmerson versus The University of South Florida. I am with Alex Terry who is a member of the board of directors for the International Quidditch Association. Alex, how is the tournament going so far?

Alex Terry: It's going great! It's way beyond our expectations. It was a big jump to move it from New York all the way down here to Florida, but ticket sales are up, everything is going well, the facility is just amazing, and I think - bar none - we're very pleased overall as an organization with this move and how the crowd is responding to it.

Keith: One of the biggest things that they had a problem with last year at [the] Randall's Island Quidditch World Cup 5 was the lack of facilities, the lack of food vendors, and basically [the lack of] food and drinks for people. They were out of food and you were standing in lines for an hour waiting. Here, there's no line! I just had lunch a little bit ago - I had a nice sausage sandwich over here - and I'll tell you what: I went in, got my stuff, and I was out in about a minute. The bathrooms are lined up for people [here]. There are no lines or anything; it's obviously taken care of. Let's talk about the future of the IQA. What are some of the plans in place right now for what's going on next year?

Alex: Ah, next year. Every World Cup we try and squeeze in a board meeting to do a post recap of the World Cup as well as to talk about the future. We've obviously figured out a little bit [about] how to move the World Cup. This being the first year, we think it's quite successful. We're looking into plans [for] where we're going to take it next. [There have] been talks of Dallas. [There have] been talks of Chicago. Everyone wants to see this thing grow and in order to do that, we might have to move it from place to place. But as I said, we really love Kissimmee; they've been a great host to us so far, so we might just continue to stay here for the following World Cups. Overall, I think - as an organization - we're trying to expand more globally and internationally [to] try and have a much larger World Cup, perhaps overseas in about ten years or so.

Keith: One of the things that I've noticed is that the U.K. [are] the founders of Harry Potter. It's where Harry Potter belongs. They have a good showing for Quidditch now. They did a great job at the Olympic Games last summer. Is it possible that sometime in the next three, four, [or] five years, we could be having the Quidditch World Cup in England?

Alex: I agree. The Olympic Games [were] the genesis of that. It was truly our first footprint overseas. I think it's something we're going to see continue to grow in the future. I'm definitely looking forward to creating an event in the U.K. [where] all these Quidditch fans can finally go and see the original home place of Quidditch.

Keith: Let's get Luna commentating over there!

Alex: Yes, I agree! Luna, if you're watching, please come commentate [on] the Quidditch World Cup. It would be wonderful to have you.

Keith: Evanna Lynch did try to do it over at LeakyCon. She did a great job. She was scared, she was nervous, and she didn't really know the rules of the game or the teams playing, but she did a great job. That would be fun to give her more experience over there. Now, one other question before this game starts because we're going to be getting run over soon. [A] big controversy that I see is the [women to men] ratio being set in stone. What do you do for an all-women's college?

Alex: We've been battling this back and forth in the board meetings. It's a scenario where we [believe] it encourages recruitment. [It encourages teams] to try and go find other people to play with. Technically we're playing with percentages right now. Does it have to be 75% of the actual college? It's a tough, tricky one to ask. I can't personally say that I have the final say on that, but we're still discussing [it] as a board and we'll see where it goes. We're going to try and be as equal as possible.

Keith: [That] sounds great. You heard it right here: We're going to have [equality] throughout the world. Right now, let's watch Emmerson versus USF. Brooms are almost up. Come on over.