In light of recent announcements from both the British Government  and Quidditch Europe in the last 48 hours regarding COVID-19,  QuidditchUK has several updates pertaining to the new season, the  British Quidditch Cup, and the European Quidditch Cup.

Quidditch Europe have made the decision to postpone both Division  1 and Division 2 of the European Quidditch Cup to 2021, effectively  cancelling the 2020 iteration of the European championships.

As it stands, this is the information we know so far:

1. Division 2 of the European Quidditch Cup will be hosted in Brescia, Italy in 2021.

2. Quidditch Europe are voting whether or not to reopen the bidding for EQC Division 1, we will update as soon as we know more. 

3. All NGBs will retain their seeding and spot allocation for the 2021 EQC Tournaments 
• QuidditchUK will have 10 spots. 
• 5 spots for Division 1 
• 5 spots for Division 2


The recent release of this announcement means that QuidditchUK  are still discussing whether to allow teams/clubs that qualified via the  European Qualifier Tournament to carry that qualification to EQC 2021.


There are obviously many more working parts to the current  situation for us to make an entirely informed decision, and we ask for  patience while considerations are made. Teams worked hard to qualify for  EQC 2020, but with the proposed changes of the season and Quidditch  Europe permitting the re-opening of qualifications, moving forward it  may make sense for teams to qualify again, if this is practical.


Internal discussions are being held, and we will seek  consultation with club leadership before finalising any decision on EQC  qualifications.

We’re still gathering feedback and information from our community on the new season structure.


If you and your teammates have not yet filled this out, please  take 5 minutes to complete. It’ll help us make a more informed decision  and take the sport in the right direction.


It’s also likely that based on the feedback and insights we  receive, QuidditchUK will host a General Forum with club leadership  again to discuss the new season in light of COVID-19 timelines and the  current state of clubs moving forward.


Thank you for understanding in light of the  recent circumstances. We’re all sure that you can sympathise that none  of this has been an easy decision for us, nor has it been for anyone  else involved. As always, if anyone would like to reach out to us in  relation to anything we haven’t addressed, or would like clarification  on a particular point, please contact us for us to get back to you. 

QuidditchUK has several updates pertaining to the new season, the British Quidditch Cup, and the European Quidditch Cup.

Further Update To 2019/2020 BQC + EQC Arrangements Regarding COVID-19

Despite a lot of uncertainty floating about with the recent updates to  COVID-19 within the United Kingdom and the international community, it  has been incredibly heart-warming to see the wider community being so  supportive over the last week.

Firstly, from the Executive  Management Team, we would like to say thank you to all club and team  leadership for taking the instruction to postpone training and  competition, and further limit risk of the virus spreading. 

Cancelling  or postponing events is never an easy decision to make, and is not one  we made lightly, and we’re thankful for the community to have responded  so well both publicly and privately towards our volunteers. It hasn’t  been an easy week for any of us, and it likely won’t get easier soon,  but having this wonderful community to fall back on is what makes this  sport so special. So thank you, and keep looking out for each other.

We  encourage members and clubs to keep reaching out to each other, the  inter-community support is only going to get more important over the  coming weeks and months, and we know that a lot of that is achieved  through shared content and experience.

Online virtual socials  both within and outside of your clubs, fitness challenges, discussions,  footage and gameplay reviews,  totally-official-online-basketball-competitions for the British  Quidditch Cup. And memes.

All of these are vital, and we implore you to keep it up.

With official measures now rolled out by the UK Government and firmer  decisions being made by both Quidditch Europe and The International  Association across the coming weeks, QuidditchUK are slowly positioning  themselves into what comes next.

We’re not yet in a position to  determine when the British Quidditch Cup will take place, or if it is  still a certainty for this year, however we’re educating ourselves on  what may be practical in the coming months.

We have just reached  out to clubs with a range of dates to indicate if/when a summer BQC  could feasibly happen. We are aware that summer competitions will make  things complicated for our university membership to compete, but we’re  determined to find a solution that will benefit the majority of members  should BQC still go ahead this year.

A lot of this still swings  on the state of COVID-19 as well as other quidditch events, namely the  World Cup, but as many of those international decisions are being  decided by mid-April, we are at this stage aiming to determine BQC 2020  by mid-May.

We’ll be updating you as and when we can, but in the meantime stay  safe, stay connected, stay isolated whenever possible, and stay in  touch.

If you need to reach out to QuidditchUK for any reason, please get in touch with us and we’ll help however we can.

Thanks
the QuidditchUK Executive Management Team

QuidditchUK 19/20 Season & COVID-19 Updates

After discussions with experts and partners within Sport England, and  our medical contacts, QuidditchUK have made the following decisions  with regards to our tournaments, clubs, and all UK quidditch activities  for the foreseeable future.

First and foremost, the 2020 British Quidditch Cup has been postponed until further notice.

In the early stages of the outbreak, QuidditchUK maintained the  possibility that the worst of the epidemic would have passed by mid-late  April, at which point hosting a national tournament would still be a  realistic aim. However, with recent trends, newly released information,  and a growing concern of safety and welfare for our members, we are  postponing the British Quidditch Cup. 

We still intend to host BQC this year, but given the rapid escalation  of the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom and Europe, we are  currently reluctant to propose an alternative date as we cannot predict  when the pandemic will have passed. This decision will also need to  consider the exam timetables of our student member base and  international quidditch fixtures over the coming months.

A full cancellation of BQC for the 2019-2020 season is still a  possibility, depending on how the situation progresses. Should this  become our only option, we will inform the community as soon as  possible.

Effective immediately, QuidditchUK are strongly discouraging any and  all quidditch activity. Member clubs and teams should avoid training  together until further notice, and any planned tournaments or events  should be postponed or cancelled.

This advice extends to all QuidditchUK clubs, QuidditchUK national  teams, Quidditch Premier League teams, and any Youth Quidditch  programmes planned or scheduled in the coming months.

If you believe you have come into contact with a person who may be  infected with COVID-19 at a quidditch event or team training, you must  contact your club leadership and/or QuidditchUK as soon as possible so  appropriate action can be taken.

Regarding EQC, QuidditchUK will also be recommending and voting for  the postponement of the Division 1 European Quidditch Cup this coming  Wednesday (18th April) at a Quidditch Europe consultation.

Quidditch Australia has created  the following guidelines for clubs and individuals competing or  training. QuidditchUK maintains that clubs should not be engaging in  quidditch activities until further notice, but these measures should be  practised until the situation is less severe. Further advice will be  released when clubs should return to training and fixtures. 

We anticipate this to be late May to early June, but do not have a firm date or time as of yet.

With regards to attendance, individuals should: 

Not attend events/training if they have contracted COVID-19

Not attend events/training if they have come into contact with someone confirmed to have contracted COVID-19

With regards to personal hygiene, individuals should: 

Wash hands before and after playing games or touching equipment like mouth guards

Ideally use hand sanitiser before and after taking to the pitch

Avoid sneezing or coughing into hands, clothing, or elbow-pit 

*Note: arms and elbows may regularly come into contact to other  people through tackles, ball handling, or using ‘elbow-bumps’ as an  alternative to handshakes after a game. We recommend sneezing or  coughing into a tissue, handkerchief, personal towel, etc, that may be  thrown out or cleaned.  

With regards to equipment, individuals should: 

Minimise sharing of equipment such as Jerseys, Gloves, Brooms, and Headbands

Entirely avioid sharing equipment such as Whistles, Water bottles, and mouth guards

Avoid hugs, handshakes, high fives, or similar contact after a game

Avoid the practice of removing a mouthguard during a game

Avoid spitting on gloves to clean them or make them more sticky 

British Quidditch Cup is suspended until further notice.

The QuidditchUK Executive Management Team are discussing all options with venues and partners and will have a more concrete timeline in the next 1-2 weeks.

There are no plans to cancel  BQC as of yet, but it is still a possibility and will be communicated  in due course when the COVID-19 situation is more developed.

QuidditchUK will be recommending and voting for the suspension of the Division 1 European Quidditch Cup.

QuidditchUK strongly recommends the suspension of any and all quidditch activities in the United Kingdom until further notice. 

Team UK, Team Scotland, Team Wales are to cease all training until further notice.

For any further information or queries please get in touch via quidditchuk.org/contact

Season 2019/2020 News

Further Update To 2019/2020 BQC + EQC Arrangements Regarding COVID-19

QuidditchUK 19/20 Season & COVID-19 Updates

QuidditchUK Policies surrounding COVID-19