QLD Gender Engagement: SCF Women On Pitch & Level The Playing Field
/In 2019, two events were held that focused on promoting female involvement in the sport. These were the “Women on Pitch” game at Sunshine Coast Fantasy, and the Level The Playing Field event. Here, Laura Smith, of the QA Gender Engagement Committee, and Alise Fox, of USC, report on the success of these events.
Photos: Ethan Cernoia and Huxley Peckham, of “Women on Pitch”
USC Quidditch League hosted Sunshine Coast Fantasy (SCF) Tournament on 13-14 April.
A new feature of the tournament was Women on Pitch, a game of quidditch with all-female players. Tournament Director Alise Fox says that the game was a massive success.
“SCF is often the first major event of the year for our new recruits. During the Women on Pitch game, some of our newer, smaller women were leading quaffle play, driving through players and seeking.”
Alise says that it’s really important to push women towards these roles, especially early in their quidditch careers, to help them realise just how capable they are. Fantasy tournaments provide great opportunities for all players to try out new roles both on and off pitch. Making quaffle drives, keeping, and seeking are roles often filled by men, especially larger and taller men. Leading the quaffle play and directing beater play are also roles often assumed by men. The Women on Pitch game encouraged women to step into those roles and learn new skills.
“There was an incredible, supportive energy through the whole game. After the match we asked both teams if they’d tried a new position, or if they had learned something about the game or themselves on pitch, and all hands were up.”
Alise says that Women on Pitch is definitely something that USC want to make a regular occurrence as part of the SCF tournament.
I’m very excited for Level the Playing Field in August, to focus on more specific skills in a similar environment.”
Level the Playing Field was held on 17-18 August. It was a weekend of workshops and a fantasy tournament that aimed to develop skills and confidence for women, non-binary and gender diverse players in quidditch in an inclusive, supportive environment, and was also a resounding success, with Victoria picking up a similar concept for their Breaking Barriers event later in the year.
This year, the Sunshine Coast Fantasy Tournament is on again, on the weekend of April 18-19th. We are excited to see where QLD and other states around Australia take initiatives like Women on Pitch, Level the Playing Field, and other tournaments focused on promoting inclusion of women and gender diverse people such as Macarthur Fantasy, and Breaking Barriers, in making quidditch better for everyone.