The Eighth Year #QuidditchTurnsTen
The eighth year of Quidditch was highlighted by a new World Cup champion. The tournament ran with 60 team Division 1 and 17 team Division 2 competitions in Kissimmee, Florida. University of Texas began their current championship streak with a final victory over UCLA 190*-80. The Division 2 winners were Sam Houston State defeating Loyola University New Orleans.
It was the first time the event had been hosted outside of the Northeast. Regional qualifiers were also established to earn positions at the cup. This led to Middlebury, then-current champions, failing to qualify. The process also brought requirements for international teams to host better structured tournaments to enable qualification, spurring development in Europe, Canada, and Oceania.
We were also there to chat with both teams immediately after the final match:
The international growth saw many countries develop their own governing bodies to better oversee local growth that the current IQA was stretched to facilitate. These new bodies were a driving force for the IQA to transition into US Quidditch over the next year, while IQA became a representative elected from member nations with a smaller standing staff.
Outside the official Quidditch world, a unique browser manager game came out of beta for all fans to create their own clubs. They would take care of finances, stadiums, and player development through an academy and of course, trying to win the league and organizing friends.
It was a long time between World Cups for the eighth year, but processes were becoming far more structured for a sustained permanence of Quidditch. If you managed a magical Quidditch team, what kind of players would you bring in, and could you beat the Chudley Canons?