QUAFL 2020 Cancelled due to Covid-19 Uncertainty

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Quidditch Australia regrets to announce that this year, for the first time, the Quidditch Australia National Championships, QUAFL 2020, will not be held due to uncertainty around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This was a unanimous decision of the board following consultation with Team Reps. Some of the reasoning leading to this decision included:

  • QUAFL was originally planned to be held on either the Gold Coast or at USC. Current border restrictions between Victoria, NSW, and Queensland would make such an event effectively impossible.

    • The QLD government has made it clear that these restrictions are unlikely to ease until there is no more community transmission in NSW or Victoria.

    • With ongoing high case numbers in Victoria, and the potential for repeat flare-ups in both states and other parts of the country including SA and WA, the QA Board believes there is too much uncertainty as to whether any interstate event will be able to be held at all under the ungoing border restrictions

  • Recent events in New Zealand and around the world have shown us that even with minimal to no case numbers being reached across Australia, sudden flare-ups and return to restrictions could be possible at any time or any place. This level of uncertainty makes picking a potential new location and logistically planning for an interstate tournament far enough in advance impossible.

  • Under the pandemic conditions and uncertainty around it, hosting a large interstate event would be socially irresponsible and we would not be able to guarantee the safety of our members.

  • QLD, Vic, and NSW are unlikely to be able to resume competitive play and tournaments until late September in the best case, and into October-November in the case of Victoria. With this time horizon, we do not think teams will have adequate time to train, plan, or prepare for any interstate tournament, and it would be impossible for Quidditch Australia to plan such a tournament in a different state with the potential for flare ups.

  • The lack of league play during the year combined with different states having more or less advantage in the amount of time during the year they were able to spend training due to restriction levels would result in either unfair or meaningless ranking systems going into a competitive national competition.

  • A QUAFL with teams from only 1-2 states would no longer truly be in the spirit of the event, by our current standards, and to continue to host the event while other states were excluded from participating would be inappropriate.

We hope it is understood that this was a truly difficult decision to make and was thoroughly deliberated on, and we thank the teams who took the time to return feedback to us as well to help inform this decision. In the interest of providing further guidance with regards to the situation, please also be aware of the following:

  • Quidditch Australia currently has no plans to ‘postpone’ QUAFL 2020 or hold some similar event in early 2021. We will need to wait until closer to the end of the year to gague the feasibility of events in 2021.

  • The 2020 AGM will be held online on the 22nd of November. Further information about this will be released during September.

  • The decision around QUAFL 2020 has not changed our position and earlier guidance with regards to 2020 Membership. That is - all players who have not opted out have now received a partial refund. Anyone who has not used their membership by attending a sanctioned event is entitled to a full refund. Otherwise, club player memberships for 2020 remain at $50, with many teams still continuing to train, some leagues operational, Quidditch Australia operations and services continuing to function and be available, and the potential for local events later in the year remaining.