Bringing experience of both playing and volunteering for QuidditchUK previously, Joshua Fogg is eager to continue the work of previous Volunteers Directors, such as Molly Maurice-Smith and Mary Diomande, and push the role even further.

Whilst lockdown has halted many aspects of life, Joshua has kept themself busy by doing a lot of reading which is currently focused on historical fiction. When many of us have been forced to stick to the indoors, Joshua’s family have managed to find a way to bring the outdoors IN by furnishing their house with plants to the extent that it is now overflowing with leafy greens.

Joshua’s sporting experience includes playing with Manchester for four years and Olympians for a part of last season. Since lockdown has halted this, Joshua has spent the time reflecting upon what they could do to further contribute to quidditch’s development. This period of reflection has triggered Joshua’s step to the role of New Volunteers Director – following Interim Volunteers Director, Meredith Whitning, who has been crucial to bringing on board a staggering number of volunteers during her reign in the position. All of QuidditchUK would like to thank Meredith for her dedication and hard work in the position as well as wishing Joshua well in their new role!

Harnessing their passion for volunteer recruitment, Joshua wanted to say a few words regarding their new role:

“Volunteer recruitment, retention, and well-being are big passions of mine and I’m excited to continue the great work of previous Volunteers Directors and take it further. Special shout out to Meredith who has been absolutely rocking it in the interim! At the moment QUK is in a better place than it has been volunteers wise and it’s important we sustain and improve on that for the challenging season to come.”

Joshua’s passion will, without a doubt, make a huge impact on the volunteer division and we can’t wait to see what they bring to the team! From everyone at QuidditchUK, welcome to the team!

Photo Credit: Simon Blackshaw (The Dislodged Hoop)

Previous Operations Director, Joshua Fogg, returns to the Executive Management Team as the new Volunteers Director starting immediately to get the 2020/21 season in gear with recruitment.

The Return of Joshua Fogg. QUK's New Volunteers Director

The Return of Joshua Fogg: QUK's New Volunteers Director

We're delighted to welcome on-board James King-Nickol who has succeeded Harry Smith as the new Teams Director for QuidditchUK. James has been a regular attendee of Executive Management Team meetings for the last month now and is already getting stuck in by helping all of our current and new & upcoming clubs dive into the new season with all the support they can get. 

Most of our athletes may have heard about James' presence on pitch (not to be taken for granted!) for what seems like half a decade, in actual fact he only started playing the sport in 2018! Currently a competitive dodgeball player in his spare time outside playing quidditch, James found us by first beating for Manchester University Quidditch Club and then moving onwards with Olympians Quidditch Club from the beginning of last season to aid the community club towards their first podium finish at Northern Cup 2019, claiming the runners-up silver medal. Rumour has it that James almost skipped out on the first day of this year's European Qualifier Tournament, which saw the Olympians qualify for Division 2 of the European Quidditch Club, now being hosted in 2021.  (You could say they were pretty happy he changed his mind!)


Whilst getting fully integrated into the role, James had this to mention to us on the subject of his status as an Executive volunteer.
"Next season's going to be an interesting one. I'm sure the new structure will keep many teams on their toes and make things busy for me, but I'm determined to further establish what resources are available for teams. I'll always be on the lookout for new ideas to develop the sport further and to have clear communication between QUK and clubs through the coming changes. I'm also looking forward to my Olympians teammate James Gratton joining me as working together we can devote more time to progress the sport."

Blending in nicely to the next section of this announcement, James has had the good fortune of recruiting his fellow Olympian, James Gratton, to jump on as the first ever Assistant Teams Director. This is a really exciting moment for QuidditchUK, as the chemistry between both King-Nickol and Gratton is unmatched. You may have seen James' name previously appear credited on our early releases of the QuidditchUK Newsletter,  in which Mr Gratton assisted the publishing team by brainstorming different ideas for puzzles to keep readers engaged by introducing a competitive element to complete the games. 

Gratton first got involved in quidditch before his superior and fellow teammate, King-Nickol, by playing for Sheffield Quidditch Club in Autumn 2016 just on the off chance of really enjoying going to a one-off 'give it a go' session. James remembers: 
"As with most people in the sport, I got super sucked into the sport as I played with Sheffield's debut Northern in 2016. We then went on to come 20th at BQC I believe. Kept on playing through my year in industry and then came back to coach Sheffield in my final year of university."

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, James shared the same journey as mentioned previously by joining Olympians Quidditch Club to continue playing as a Beater, with no intentions to stop anytime soon. Focusing on his role as Assistant Director to the Teams Department, James had this to say:


"I'm excited to be involved in a larger role to help quidditch in the UK, I enjoyed the sport and want to be part of making it just as enjoyable for others. I'm most forward to working on new projects and using my previous blend of university and community experiences to solve the challenges facing quidditch today such as the transition to the uni/community split and providing the needed resources for university teams (especially post COVID-19!)."

Welcome James² to QuidditchUK and thank you both for volunteering to lend your services in growing the department from the ground up! We're wishing both the Olympians all the best of luck throughout their times in their respected roles, and who knows, perhaps they'll be another Olympian who's on their way to follow in their footsteps? 

Photo Credit: Simon Blackshaw (The Dislodged Hoop) & Kurt Fairhurst (QuidditchUK)

James King-Nickol joins the Executive Management Team as the latest Teams Director, bringing with him fellow teammate, James Gratton who joins QuidditchUK as the first ever Assistant Teams Director in the department's history.

James King-Nickol Grows Teams Department As The New Executive Director

After twenty months of high energy volunteering for QuidditchUK,  Teams Director Harry Smith has decided to step down from his position. 

During his time in the role Harry has made significant steps in  furthering the professionalism of quidditch as a sport. In particular,  his work with Student Unions has helped universities understand how to  support a quidditch team, thus enabling the growth of more university  teams. Additionally, Harry has chaired numerous General Forums which  have furthered community outreach and collaboration for QuidditchUK  decision making, and his decision to split the forums into North and  South has streamlined the discussion. All this whilst managing (until  mid-2019) and playing for the highly successful London Quidditch Club  for the past two seasons, with taking up arms as captaining their second  team more recently.

In regards to his decision to step down, Harry has made the following statement:

“Firstly I’d like to say that the decision to step down  has not been easy, however I’m very thankful to everyone at QuidditchUK  for your fantastic work over the time I’ve been on the Executive  Management Team. It’s been a truly wonderful experience working with  such a brilliant bunch of people. Further I’d like to say thank you to  the UK quidditch community as there are some really positive people out  there helping to grow and develop the sport, and work with us to help  facilitate that.

I wholeheartedly  recommend volunteering for QuidditchUK if you have any interest at all,  it’s not as daunting as it may initially seem and your decisions  genuinely affect the way we experience this sport. Please don’t feel  like you can’t help or that you don’t have enough experience as the team  you work with is really supportive.” 

We are so thankful, Harry, for all of your hardwork and dedicated  contribution to the QuidditchUK family over the years, and wish you the  best of luck with all future endeavors. Harry intends to step down only  once a successor has been found in order to ease the transition process –  if you would be interested in taking on this role, or volunteer  elsewhere in QuidditchUK, do check out our Volunteers page!

During his time in the role Harry has made significant steps in furthering the professionalism of quidditch as a sport.

Harry Smith Stepping Down As Teams Director

Continuing QuidditchUK’s fantastic recruitment drive of the last few  months: We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that Chloe Durkin has  taken the role of Secretary to the President, succeeding Francesca  Vigilante after retaining the role for nearly two years. 


Chloe has been a proud member of QuidditchUK since the start of the  2017 season, when she started playing for Bangor Broken Broomsticks.  From playing at Northern Cup to the British Quidditch Cup in her first  season – the once Bangor fresher wouldn’t have imagined leading her team  to glory, claiming third place at this years Development Cup just gone.  It’s an understatement that Chloe has worked very hard to get to where  she is now, especially in relation to her commitments to the Quidditch  Premiere League over the last two seasons. In fact, Chloe is now  broadening her horizons, looking for a new team to join as she graduates  Bangor University this summer. Additionally, Chloe has been awarded  with Full Colours as recognised by her commitment and outstanding effort  to the sport from her university.  


With her dedication to the sport paid off, Chloe wanted to say a few words before she stepped into her new role:


“I’m incredibly excited to be a part of EMT and be part of decision making processes in the growth of the sport.  Especially with the new structure that is being taken up in the 2020/21  season. I’m also glad to have the ability to bring ideas or suggestions  to the table to make the sport more enjoyable for the community,  especially in terms of listening to what the teams want and expanding  opportunities for people to get involved outside of QUK tournaments!”


That’s the enthusiasm we like to see! Welcome to the team, Chloe. We  know you’ll make a big difference and fit right into developing the  sport across your time with us! From everyone at QuidditchUK, we wish  you well with your new role! 


Want to learn more about how you can make a difference? Check out our available volunteering vacancies across all our departments including Expansion, Events, Operations and more!

We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that Chloe Durkin has taken the role of Secretary to the President

Chloe Durkin named QUK Secretary

The New Secretary Is In! It’s Chloe Durkin!

In recent weeks, QuidditchUK welcomed Tom Hutton to our ranks as the  new Operations Director, succeeding Joshua Fogg in the role. We’re  delighted to have Tom on-board as a long-term volunteer as part of the  Executive Management Team, who also shares ownership of the organisation  alongside our current President and Vice-President, Matt Bateman and  Abby Whiteley. 

A former Team GB lawn bowler, Tom – started his journey within the UK quidditch scene in 2014. He began playing for Leceister Thestrals where he went to University, eventually illuminating his desire to become a solicitor. After graduating from one of the oldest teams in the UK, Tom’s post-university appearances include Tornadoes Quidditch Club (currently on hiatus); Velociraptors Quidditch Club and the London Unspeakables, having completed a full season with each club so far. Joining the Unspeakables kicked off the 2019/20 season in the right direction, bringing some valuable rewards for the new director. Tom was part of the squad who claimed the gold medal and overall tournament win at Highlander VIII, as well as picking up a Southern Cup in 2019 and EQT 2020 silver medal. All in a season’s work! 


When asked his initial thoughts about joining QuidditchUK, Tom had this to say:

“I’m  really excited to be able to build on the great work Josh has done over these last years, and I’m incredibly lucky to have a really strong team  behind me. It’s a tough time to start in the midst of a global  pandemic, but nevertheless I’m ready to muck in and help QUK move from  strength to strength.”


We’re outstanded by how competitive this athlete has been over the  last couple of seasons and are thrilled to have a great candidate for  this senior level of QuidditchUK’s executive management. As Operations  Director, Tom will be responsible for setting our department’s budgets;  processing invoices for tournaments; sorting volunteer payments; and  many more tasks as an organisation moving forward. 

Welcome aboard, Tom! We wish you all the best of luck and hope that you enjoy your time with us to make next season our best season yet! (We’re sure  that will be no challenge after this year’s events!)

QuidditchUK welcomed Tom Hutton to our ranks as the  new Operations Director

Tom Hutton joins the Executive Management Team as Operations Director

It is with great dismay to officially announce that Molly Maurice-Smith,  one of the longest running members of QuidditchUK’s current Executive  Management Team has stepped down. Molly relinquishes her role as Human  Resources Director, who manages all volunteers, playing or non-playing,  within the sport. Without volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to maintain  well run tournaments as well as keep afloat many different departments  of our national governing body.

Molly has had a great run in her  two and a half years of being a senior volunteer for us. The memory of  her still being part of Reading Rocs (a now retired team) only felt like  yesterday! Within her time directing volunteers, she’s saw out the  re-branded Reading Knights last season, ending in  2018 and took a  casual hiatus whilst playing Bristol Bears before the beginning of 2019.  Now, her recent transfer to London Unspeakables in conjunction to her  most recent move across the country for work has finally accelerated her  quidditch career. Molly was part of the squad who claimed second place  at the European Qualifier Tournament and will hopefully be going to  Belgium in May to play on the international stage she’s always dreamt  of. 

Molly had this to say before she retired from her duties:

“I  have to thank QuidditchUK, and the volunteers who have given it life  and growth, for offering me the opportunity to build my skillset and  allowing me to enjoy being a part of this incredible community.”

We’d  like to extend our gratitude towards Molly for all her hard work and  service to the sport and the community. There’s no question about her  being an absolutely influential part in the development of volunteers  throughout Media, Operations, Events, Gameplay and all other  conglomerate sectors which would not make up QuidditchUK as it’s run  today and will be run for the betterment of the future.  

As well as our praise, we would like to wish her all the best on her next adventure. On behalf of us and the general community: Thank you, Molly!

We are now advertising for the role of Volunteers Director. This role will be open through our website. Just drop us a cover letter and a CV explaining why you would be suitable for the role!  

We’re  looking for a successor that will continue the good work that Molly has  done countless times from interviews to reviews and advertising job  roles on our website. If this seems like something you can get on board  with, please don’t fret to apply!  If you have any questions about the  role or volunteering in general, feel free to contacthumanresources@quidditchuk.org or reach the team through our Contact Us form. 

Executive News

The Return of Joshua Fogg: QUK's New Volunteers Director

James King-Nickol Grows Teams Department As The New Executive Director

Harry Smith Stepping Down As Teams Director

The New Secretary Is In! It’s Chloe Durkin!

Tom Hutton joins the Executive Management Team as Operations Director

Molly Maurice-Smith Looks For Successor In Human Resources