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Ajantha Abey offers ideas and practical advice to teams and individuals on how to stay active, how to stay engaged and socialising with your team and the community, and how to remain productive during the coronavirus close down crisis.
Read MoreState Shield 2019 will be livestreamed via the Quidditch Australia Facebook Page thanks to My Sport Live! Find the feed below, and get notified when it starts!
We talked to Emma Humphrey, and Kathryn Cooper, both of whom have extensive experience at State Shield and even internationally commentating on quidditch, as well as Taylor Angelo, who is new to the role at State Shield!
First up, Emma, whois currently abroad in the UK, but has commentated State Shield in the past, aswell as a number of European Tournaments. Here's what Emma had to say:
"Commentating is one of the best ways to get to know the community better, notice upcoming talents and have eyes on everything which is going on during state shield. In Europe it is one of the most sought after roles at major tournaments, because it is a job that you can make truly you own.
You get to meet and talk to some truly amazing people in the sport, as well as get to voice your own thoughts and creativity. On the livestream, you have eyes on everything which is going on and off the camera, and this can be vitally important as a commentator to relay the information which viewers may not be seeing on their screens (e.g beater/snitch play).
You do not need experience to be a commentator, in fact if you are new to the sport, I highly encourage joining because it’s a great way to get involved without too much responsibility, you learn a lot in the process and there are so many wonderful people who can support you along the way.
At State Shield I am looking forward to seeing some of Australia’s best go head to head, to see how some Dropbears have developed as players since the last World Cup, and to see upcoming talent in the field. I think it's also a great chance to really see what you are made of, for the players to push themselves, and give other players an opportunity to see what the sport has to offer."
We also spoke to Taylor, who won't just be commentating at State Shield, but will also be taking photos for her Taylor Angelo Quidditch Shots page! Despite not having commentated at State Shield before, Taylor has had a lot of experience commentating in the NSW Quidditch League.
"I guess what I like about commentating is the fact I get to talk about quidditch and potentially provide extra information in addition to the plays. I’m looking forward to seeing some really top quality quidditch- there’s a reason why my State Shield photos are my favourites - it’s my fave tournament to photograph because there’s so many cool plays, so much potential for cool aesthetics. People should volunteer cause it’ll be super fun and it’s always good to give back to the quidditch community that has given us so much. It’s also much more productive than pure spectatorship."
Finally for ourinterviews but certainly not the last of our commentators at State Shield, wehave Kathryn Cooper, who has commentated numerous quidditch livestreams fromtournament finals, NSW Quidditch League, and previous State Shields.
"I like commentating because I enjoy watching the game with an analytical mind and talking about the strategies that teams are using. I also enjoy talking about the players and their experience with the game with other players as well. I am looking forward to seeing the Bluetongues and Leadbeaters face up against each other again, as the finals series last year. I am also keen to see how the Bluebottles go up against Queensland and the Honeyeaters as well. I think people should volunteer because there is always so much to do at quidditch tournaments, in so many different areas. So many people have different ideas and thoughts about what can be done to improve things within the quidditch community, and it's always amazing to see those ideas come into fruition."
If you'd like to getinvolved with the commentary and livestream content for State Shield, pleaseget in touch asap via facebook or at stateshield@quidditch.org.au, and getexcited!
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.
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.
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.
In this interview, we talk to Courtney Buckley, previously of USYD Unspeakables and now of Valkyries Quidditch Club, who was recently appointed head of Quidditch Australia's new Gender Engagement and Initiatives Committee, as announced earlier last month. With many plans already in the works for 2019, we talk about what we can expect from the committee this year, and what she's most excited for.
Courtney chasing for the NSW Blue Tongues at State Shield last year | Photo: Taylor Angelo Quidditch Shots
I was keen to join the committee as it provided the opportunity to work with a group of passionate and intelligent people and the ability to pursue more projects for the community.
The aim of the QA's Gender Engagement Committee (QAGEC) is to primarily support female players and players with less confidence and sporting experience so they can recognise and be recognised for the value they bring to their team.
The committee has created an extensive list of initiatives for this year, with lots of opportunities for members of the community to get involved too.
There are 12 projects in total, including encouraging community discussion around gender, reviewing the MVP award system, and finding ways to showcase female talent. (A full list of projects will be released soon.)
Courtney filming at March NQL Preseason | Photo: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography
I'm most excited about creating material for the resource hub, with short video-based content that teaches skills, techniques, and strategies advantageous for small-bodied individuals, from how to hold the ball more easily, to how to overcome a seemingly daunting defence.
The biggest project in the works, however, is probably the development day and fem-powered fantasy tournament weekend, in which every state will host a day-long female-identifying development training event followed by an all-genders fantasy tournament on the second day, where the new skills and strategies can be put into practice in-game.
Get in there. If you want the ball, demand it. If you don't want the ball because it's confronting, even more reason to get that ball so you can challenge those fears. One of the best ways to learn is to be in the midst of the action, and the easiest way to do that is with a ball in your hands, your legs charging, and your voice calling out.
Courtney keeping for Valkyries Quidditch Club | Photo: Willem de Gouw Quidditch Photography
We're on the look out for more volunteers to help make these initiatives reality, especially in Victoria and Western Australia. If you're keen, if there's an initiative you're excited about, if you have an idea, if seeing others get better gives you warm and fuzzies, then let us know and we'll find a way that fits around other commitments you've got so you can be involved. Or if all you have time for is feedback then that is greatly welcome - we'd love to know what teams want to see from us and if what we're providing is helpful and ways to make it better.
Every one of them. Every female who takes initiative, who gets into the midst of the action, who challenges herself - they're the people who inspire me. It's seeing those players with such great potential develop themselves and their confidence that makes me incredibly excited to be part of this community and the upcoming projects.
If you would like to get involved with the gender engagement committee, please get in contact by emailing us at admin@quidditch.org.au.
Quadball Australia and its activities are not licensed by, sponsored by, or associated with Warner Bros., J.K. Rowling, or their affiliates. ‘Quidditch,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and all related names, characters, and indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. – Harry Potter publishing rights © J.K. Rowling. Quadball Australia also acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we play, train, work, and live upon. We acknowledge their continued connection to country, waters, and culture, and we pay our respects to their elders past, present & emerging.
