Volunteer Profiles: Manon te Riele

Quidditch is an entirely volunteer run sport. As nations around the world start and finish celebrating volunteers weeks, we are profiling some of the people from all around the country who help keep quidditch running. Manon te Riele is currently the Treasurer, Secretary, and Team Rep for South Melbourne Centaurs Quidditch Club, and Tournament Director of Melbourne Mudbash, one of the largest tournaments in Australia. Manon has been involved in quidditch admin and organising almost since she began in 2016, everything from social media to pitch managing, and an exceptional asset to the sport. Get a sense of what she does and why she does it below… 

What is your main volunteer role is at the moment? What does it involve?

My main volunteer role right now is Melbourne Mudbash co-Tournament Director. This involves organising the tournament, and working together with Nicola for all the planning and then running it on the weekend itself. It includes background things like organising sign up, equipment, volunteers and mending snitch shorts and the fun things like scheduling, having 2-way radios and running purely on adrenaline for the entire 2 days of the tournament.

My more permanent quidditch volunteer job is as secretary/treasurer and team rep for my club, South Melbourne Quidditch Club. There I do all the behind the scenes admin so our brilliant captain, Mark Kelly, vice captain Justine Herring, and the rest of the team can train and play at their best. This involves ensuring people are signed up, uniformed, have equipment and a good social event every once in a while, and actually show up at games. It also involves planning all aspects of our yearly trip to QUAFL and promoting all QA and VQA activities to try and get people participating in those.

What’s the rest of your history in quidditch?

I’ve been playing quidditch since 2016, when I started uni and had just moved to Melbourne. I did the social media for our team in 2017. I tore my ACL and had a knee reconstruction that year which meant I couldn’t play quidditch for a season. Instead, I got involved pitch managing at Mudbash and Vic Fantasy, and generally managed and helped out with my team.

In 2018 I was back playing and I was Assistant TD for Mudbash. Inmy club I became secretary/treasurer and Minotaurs team rep in 2018 when we hadtwo teams and kept the roles when we moved back to one team this year.

I volunteered a little on merch for QUAFL 2017 and 2018 but wasalso very busy getting my own team together at last QUAFL. I did sometranslating for Quidditch Nederland in 2017/2018 as well, which was superinteresting.

What makes you passionate about quidditch and want to volunteer?

I’ve been a massive Harry Potter fan since I was 10 so playingquidditch was just an extension of that at first, but I’ve stayed because Ilove the community, have made fantastic friends here and it’s a fun physicalchallenge.

I get quite invested in everything I do so volunteering for asmall role that needed doing was obvious at first. As I’ve learned more andgotten experience, I found myself taking on bigger challenges because I reallyenjoy seeing something come together and having people enjoy something Icreated for them.  

What's the hardest part of volunteering?

It takes a lot of time around a big event and the least fun partsare usually when you’re at a computer by yourself doing admin or nagging peopleto sign up for things because time is ticking.

What's the most fun part of volunteering?

The really corny answer is working with and meeting new people, gettinginspiration from others and learning new skills. I really enjoy the wholeplanning part- organising, working with people to make something really cool,having things come together and then enjoying what you created with yourfriends.

Are there people who have inspired you?

I learned most of what I know about organising a quidditchtournament from Nicola Gertler and could never dream of living up to everythingshe does for and knows about quidditch.

I am constantly inspired by those in my team who spend hours on strategy and preparation for games and training. Mark, Justine, and Emma ('Jandals') Humphrey are our current fearless leaders but their predecessors, James Brooks and Michael 'Dundee' Braham created a fantastic foundation and balance of serious competition and fun. It gives me a great reason to keep doing what I do to support them and help ensure their visions happen.

In terms of team rep and team organisation, I learned a lot fromCarissa Dyall who had played quidditch for many years before me and took on alarge volunteer role in our team when she played- nowadays she’s there for meto give ideas, support and encouragement.

Why should people get more involved in quidditch volunteering?

It’s really fun! You feel that you did good things and you get tohelp the sport grow. I always feel such a strong sense of community when I’minvolved in volunteering, which keeps me coming back.

Using your life/work related skills for quidditch is also verysatisfying, it’s a fun thing to put on CVs and guarantees you sound interestingin job interviews.

These profiles are being conducted in coordination with Q Consultancy, an international quidditch organisation who this week, is compiling volunteer profiles from all around the world, in time for Volunteers Week in the UK. Read more profiles here.

Volunteer Profiles: Mark Kelly

Quidditch is an entirely volunteer run sport. This week, as nations around the world start and finish celebrating volunteers weeks, we are profiling some of the people from all around the country who help keep quidditch running. Mark Kelly is currently the President of the Victorian Quidditch Association, but he's been volunteering in quidditch for many years in commentary and analysis, both within Australia and overseas! Mark has covered everything from Vic League Games and State Shield to the Quidditch World Cup, and was even called in as an expert analyst at the European Quidditch Cup 2019. Get a sense of what he does and why he does it below…

What kind of things do you have to do as president?

The role, week to week, is mostly making sure things are tracking smoothly, solving any problems that come up, and managing other VQA members and volunteers. At first I was intimidated, not knowing what to expect, but in practice it has been pretty straightforward, and any time a problem comes up the rest of the exec are always there to hash it out.

What's the hardest thing about being president?:

The hardest part is probably covering multiple roles when short handed. Many hands make light work, but it can get tricky to juggle everything when we don't have enough people pitching in.

What's the most fun part of being president?

There's something really rewarding about working together with people towards a common goal and shared passion. Really, that's what I most enjoy about volunteering in general, and especially in quidditch.

Are there other ways you've volunteered in quidditch?

Definitely! I've worked on the live stream teams at several State Shields, as well as at World Cup in 2018! Engaging with the stream, doing in-game commentary, post-game analysis, and generally helping to keep the stream following smoothly. It was a fantastic experience and I'm planning to go to the US for World Cup 2020, to do it again!

Why should more people get involved in quidditch volunteering?

I've really loved the volunteering I've done with quidditch, there's just such a strong sense of community when people work together on something they all care about. It's such a rewarding experience and I highly recommend people to jump in and get involved!

These profiles are being conducted in coordination with Q Consultancy, an international quidditch organisation who this week, is compiling volunteer profiles from all around the world, in time for Volunteers Week in the UK. Read more profiles here.

Volunteer Profiles: Kathryn Cooper:

Quidditch is an entirely volunteer run sport. This week, as nations around the world start and finish celebrating volunteers weeks, we are profiling some of the people from all around the country who help keep quidditch running. Kathryn Cooper is currently the Chairperson of Quidditch NSW (QNSW), but she started her quidditch journey all the way back in 2013 with the University of Sydney Unspeakables. Since then, she's been a manager, vice president, coach, captain, team mum, and inspiration to many. Get a sense of what she does and why she does it below...

What kind of things do you have to do as chairperson of a quidditch governing body?

Since becoming Chairperson of Quidditch New South Wales earlier this year, I have to complete a number of tasks, some of which are ongoing throughout the year. Mostly, I just have to make sure that I am communicating with the Club Representatives of the clubs within New South Wales about what the Board is planning, and overseeing much of what is occurring within the New South Wales community (I am an admin of five different Facebook groups or pages for Quidditch New South Wales). Part of this means working with the other Board Directors, Phillip Vankerkoerle and Geoffrey Talbott, to make sure that the New South Wales Quidditch League (NQL) tournaments are being organised fully, and also coordinating with the other volunteers in the New South Wales community, making sure that the tasks we set for them are being completed, or that they are getting the support they need to organise and coordinate their own plans and ideas for Quidditch New South Wales. Recently, I have also been working with the New South Wales State Shield Team Selectors to coordinate the tryouts, and that they have everything they need to select the team.

What’s the hardest part of your job as chairperson?

I would say that the hardest part of being Chairperson is that there are fewer members of the Quidditch New South Wales Baord this year, and that myself, Phillip, and Geoffrey are all having to take charge of multiple portfolios. For 2019, I am also in charge of the Events portfolio. This is quite a lot of work to do, and with this also being my first year as a Board Director, there is a lot of pressure to make sure that everything is working well.

Are there other ways you volunteer or have volunteered in the past for quidditch?

This is actually quite a long list, as I have been somewhat volunteering in different roles since I joined the University of Sydney Quidditch Club in 2013. For the six years that I was part of that club, I held six different leadership roles. Since moving on and joining Valkyries Quidditch Club this year, I have also taken up leadership roles within the club. On top of holding these leadership roles, I have helped coordinate and run multiple fantasy tournaments throughout the years, mostly the Internal Fantasy tournaments that the University of Sydney Quidditch Club have run in the last few years, of which I have also been the Tournament Director. Last year, I also volunteered as a commentator for the State Shield tournament, which my first official outing as a quidditch commentator. I have continued commentating this year, by being a commentator for NQL matches this year, and helping support Arfy Papadam in running QNSW TV this year.

Why do you volunteer in quidditch?

I have always enjoyed helping organise events and tournaments, even before I joined quidditch. Within the last few years, I have definitely taken more of a role in helping organise bigger events, rather than just smaller club-based events, and I think this mostly comes down to wanting to help further the development of quidditch within New South Wales. I want to be able to help others with the ideas that they have, and what they are able to do to help improve how events and tournaments are being run. A lot of this mostly just comes from wanting to make sure everyone is being looked after, and that they are getting the support they need to do what they can do.

What’s been your best experience volunteering with quidditch?

I don’t really have one specific experience with volunteering that I would say is my best experience, but rather I have just enjoyed helping and supporting others to achieve their goals within quidditch. Whether this just be making sure that tournaments are being organised, or that issues are being handled, I just like making sure that they are able to do the best they can do. That might be how I achieved the persona and nickname of Mum when I was still part of the University of Sydney Quidditch Club, and that this image has evolved and grown within the New South Wales community.

Why should people get more involved in quidditch volunteering?

Being a volunteer within the quidditch community has been really rewarding, and has meant that I’ve been able to meet many people, and get to know their own experiences with quidditch volunteering. We all have different ways that we have volunteered, and it’s really interesting to hear the different ways that we have all helped quidditch growed. If anyone has any idea that they want to see happen within quidditch, then they should definitely give a try, because it could end up being an amazing idea that could really help the growth and development of quidditch. I would encourage anyone in the New South Wales community to do this, as myself and the other Board Directors would hear the ideas that you have, and how you would like to see them happen.

These profiles are being conducted in coordination with Q Consultancy, an international quidditch organisation who this week, is compiling volunteer profiles from all around the world, in time for Volunteers Week in the UK. Read more here.

QUAFL Through The Ages

Regina Atkinson and Dean Rodhouse have put together this amazing piece about the history of QUAFL. 

2011

In 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released, signalling the final instalment of the book and film series that influenced a generation. Quidditch was catching on around the world, and a group of students, led by the Quidditch Universities Australia Federation League Cup Organiser Justin Chau at UNSW put together the then-biggest quidditch tournament Australian quidditch had ever seen. Five teams; UNSW, UWS, Newcastle, Wollongong, and ANU attended the first ever QUAFL on November 26 at UNSW Physics Lawn. The tournament went for one day, with a hard cap of 30 minutes game time, seeker floor of 10 minutes, and off-pitch seeking from then until 18-24 minutes. UNSW won the Grand Final, cementing their place in the quidditch history book. While there is very little information about this tournament available online (such as any scores), the Facebook event was never taken down and can be found here. WINNER: UNSW SECOND PLACE: UWS TEAMS: 5 NEW TEAMS: UNSW Snapes on a plane, UWS Thestrals, Newcastle Fireballs, Wollongong Warriors, ANU Nargles

2012

 In its second year QUAFL doubled in size, with new attendees coming from host Macquarie University, as well as the University of Sydney (USyd), and interstate teams making the trip over from Perth, (Melbourne) Manticores, and JCU. Before the weekend started Newcastle were favourites to win [taken from a source authored by “James Hosford”], and even though they had a shaky start to games on Saturday they still arrived at the Grand Final ready to face off against UNSW. The Snapes who were hoping to become not only the first team to win QUAFL once but the first team to win QUAFL twice in a row, and after a low scoring game UNSW’s star player Andrew Culf got the snitch and the second trophy for UNSW. UWS’ Chrystal Player won Player of the Tournament. 2012 saw the birth of a different, but still wheel-y fun, adaption of Quidditch, one with “an equally popular” Grand Final taking place before the official final. The inaugural QWAFL – Wheelchair Quidditch – Cup was won by ANU Nargles over the JCU Galleons. The official title of the tournament seems to have changed, while “QUAFL” is still present the acronym has been replaced with “Oceania Regional Championships”, a bold yet technically correct claim to make when at the time Australia was the only country in the Oceania region to play quidditch. More details on QUAFL 2012 can be found here, and the Facebook event can be found here.WINNER: UNSW SECOND PLACE: Newcastle THIRD PLACE: Macquarie TEAMS: 10 NEW TEAMS: Macquarie Marauders, USyd Unspeakables, Perth Phoenixes, Melbourne Manticores, JCU Galleons

2013

In 2013 QUAFL was held at the University of Western Sydney and saw 12 teams attending thanks to new arrivals UTS and Monash. Teams were split into two pools and coming into finals UNSW and ANU were top of their pools having won every game and all but one game (to Wollongong), respectively. However, neither team made it to the Grand Final, with Macquarie and Perth taking to the field for the gold medal game. Macquarie had the home state advantage but that wasn’t enough to stop Perth’s Palmisano from catching the snitch and winning the cup for WA. There was Wheelchair quidditch across both days of the tournament, at the end of day 1 UWS were top of the 6-team ladder and at the end of day 2 UWS were still on top. 2013 also saw the final games from the JCU Galleons, who had attended two QUAFLs and only played 3 games, forfeiting the rest away. The top four teams of the tournament; Perth, Macquarie, Newcastle, USyd, qualified for World Cup VII – the seventh instalment of USA’s semi–international nationals. More information about QUAFL 2013 can be found here and the Facebook event can be found here. WINNER: Perth PhoenixesSECOND PLACE: Macquarie THIRD/FOURTH PLACE: Usyd & Newcastle TEAMS: 12 NEW TEAMS: UTS Opaleyes, Monash Muggles

2014

Held at Macquarie University, the fourth edition of QUAFL was attended by 13 teams, with JCU departing the national scene while the Basilisks and the Wrackspurts made their debut outside of Victoria. Again, two pools were used to divide the teams, coming into the semi-finals the undefeated UNSW found themselves the only NSW team present against the Basilisks, while the Manticores and Wrackspurts faced off. UNSW continued their winning streak all the way to the Grand Final where they were bested by the Melbourne Manticores, who took the trophy back to Victoria for the first time. The weekend was marred by awful weather with the Grand Final was played “in the midst of a torrential late evening rainstorm”, despite a weather report at the time predicting 31-degree heat. UWS retained their titles of Wheelchair Quidditch champions, again in a competition of 6 teams. Again, there is a change in the event title, now doing away with both an explanation of the acronym or a claim at being a regional championship, the event is simply “QUAFL 2014” More information about QUAFL 2014 can be found here and the Facebook event can be found here.WINNER: Manticores SECOND PLACE: UNSW THIRD/FOURTH PLACE: Basilisks & Monash TEAMS: 13 NEW TEAMS: Basilisks, Wrackspurts

2015

In its fifth year, QUAFL was held outside of NSW for the first time with the Monash Muggles hosting the 19-team tournament. The tournament was directed by Monash Team Rep Nicola Gertler.Due to the increase in attendance teams were split into three pools, at the end of pool play the Manticores were favourites to win again after an undefeated Vic Cup and QUAFL day 1. When they got to the Grand Final they faced off against the also undefeated UNSW, and at the end of their rematch of the previous year’s Grand Final the Manticores again came away the victors. Wheelchair Quidditch took place on the Friday before QUAFL weekend, again with 6 teams entering and Western Sydney winning the competition. This year marks a noticeable change in the Quidditch atmosphere – Western Sydney have changed their name and dropped the Harry Potter association. While this change was brought initially brought about by a change in their university affiliation status, the previous murmurs around Quidditch and its status as a real sport compared to a fan club are becoming stronger. This conversation will presumably last ad infinitum, or at least until the name of the sport is changed (if that ever happens) the community across Australia is clearly starting to take things a bit more seriously. The Facebook event for QUAFL 2015 can be found here.WINNER: Manticores SECOND PLACE: UNSW THIRD/FOURTH PLACE: USyd/Newcastle TEAMS: 19 NEW TEAMS: QUT Lycans, Adelaide Augureys, USC Dementors, South Melbourne Centaurs, Melbourne Unicorns, La Trolls.

2016

Now known as international gold medallists following the 2016 IQA World Cup, QUAFL 2016 marked the first time the competition wasn’t held at a University campus, and instead was held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. The Tournament Director was Matt Ingram, originally from Newcastle. With 23 teams each team was split into four pools, with Western Sydney, Monash, and the Wrackspurts dominating their respective pools at the end of pool play, while the Manticores placed top of their pool despite losing a game to Perth. For the first time in QUAFL history a third place play off took place, with the Manticores forfeiting the bronze to Monash. The Grand Final saw Western Sydney and the Wrackspurts face off in a battle of the blue jerseys, both teams fielding world class players that kept the score tight until the Wrackspurts came away with the snitch and the victory. Wheelchair Quidditch again took place a day before QUAFL kicked off, this time with 5 teams and still Western Sydney won it all. 2016 QUAFL was a tournament of firsts; the first time a B team made an appearance - by the University of Sydney Unbreakables - the first time QUAFL was held on a professional sports field, the first time a third place play off took place, and the first-time trading cards were available at QUAFL. The name for the event again changed, no longer the Oceania championships the tournament is the “Australian Quidditch Championships” The Facebook event for QUAFL 2016 can be found here.WINNER: Wrackspurts QC SECOND PLACE: Western Sydney QC THIRD PLACE: Monash Muggles FOURTH PLACE: Melbourne Manticores TEAMS: 23 NEW TEAMS: UQ Dumblebees, USyd Unbreakables, SA Bunyips, Macarthur Weasleys, ACU Paladins

2017

In 2017 QUAFL returned to the AIS, with 25 teams in tow. The continued use of the Canberra venue was largely viewed positively, as the fields themselves were top standard and any negatives to do with the location were not as important was fantastic fields. The Tournament was Directed by Merryn Christian Teams were again split into four pools with games played across 6 pitches simultaneously. The game of the tournament was predicted to be between the newly formed and state league dominators, Serpents and Willows, however this face off took place in the Semi Finals following Willows’ seeker/chaser/keeper Morton snitch catch with less than 5 seconds on the overtime clock against Western Sydney. The Willows again came out on top in this game and continued on to the Grand Final. The third place play off was again forfeited by the Manticores, however the Serpents and the Manticores still took their scheduled time to play a fun game. For the first time since 2013 the Grand Final was played by teams from the same state, the Willows hoped to make their mark in their first year while the Wrackspurts aimed to defend their national title. The game was won by the newest team on the block, and the Willows took the trophy back to the same state it’s been in since 2014. Wheelchair Quidditch did not make an appearance this year. Its presence was missed, however hopefully it will make a comeback before too long. The weather over the weekend was atrocious. A few days out from the tournament the schedule had to be pushed back to accommodate for the rain damaged fields, and two of the six fields played on were synthetic grass while the other four were natural grass. Scoresheets were too damaged to be read, so the scores from a few games are either missing or potentially inaccurate. The Facebook event for QUAFL 2017 can be found here.WINNER: Whomping Willows QC SECOND PLACE: Wrackspurts QC THIRD PLACE: SerpentsFOURTH PLACE: ManticoresTEAMS: 25 NEW TEAMS: Melbourne Unicorns Blue, USyd Unforgivables, Whomping Willows, Monash Mudbloods, Glenelg Gargoyles, Sydney Serpents

2018

In just under two weeks, QUAFL 2018 will take place. This year we’re back to a University campus, but for the first time in history QUAFL will be held in Queensland, at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The Tournament will be Directed by Alistair Yap. This year the competition will be fiercer than ever, with 24 teams will be attending spread evenly across 4 pools. USC Dementors have the home advantage and coming off the back of winning the Queensland League they’re sure to want to add another trophy to the collection. USyd Unspeakables have the largest club in Australia and the largest depth of players in Australia, through winning the NSW League they’ve shown one or two injuries can’t phase them. Out of all the state league winners, the Melbourne Manticores are the only team to have previously won a QUAFL and they’ve shown this year that their top performance is not in the past. Who will take home the trophy this year? Will it come back to Victoria for the 5th year in a row? Will it come back to its home state of NSW? Or will Queensland finally get a grab at the gold? We’ll find out #soon The Facebook event for QUAFL 2018 can be found here.