The Quiddtich Premier League is hosting one of our fixtures in Manchester on 16th June, kicking off the season with the first clash of the Northern division.
Manchester’s Platt Fields Park will host the Quidditch Premier League fixture with local team Northern Watch, as well as East Midlands Archers, West Midlands Revolution, Yorkshire Roses, and Scotland Thistles.
The league is composed of ten teams – five in the Northern Division, and four in the Southern Division. The QPL season runs from June to August, with each team playing three divisional fixtures. The playoffs include all ten teams competing in QPL Championship fixture in late August, with the winning team being named as the QPL Champions for that season.
Northern Watch will be the host team for the first Northern fixture, and captain Fraser Posford said “we laid good foundations in our first season and this season is about building on that…we have retained many of our key figures so we’re in a good place. I’m looking forward to the challenges the new season will bring!”. Nine players from the local Manchester club will be playing for two QPL teams, Northern Watch and Yorkshire Roses, at the fixture.
Northern Watch assistant coach Tua Karling, said “with so many of us playing for Northern teams, I’m proud to showcase our talent and hopefully further the sport in the area!”. The squad boasts many players who will be representing their nations at the Quidditch World Cup. Northern Watch finished 2nd in the Northern division but came 6th after two narrow defeats in the Championship, so they are keen to improve this season.
Inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, quidditch has developed into its own sport, with 20,000 competing international players, 25 competing countries, and an international rulebook.
A quidditch team consists of 21 athletes with 7 players per team on pitch at any one time. Each player has a broom between their legs. The “four maximum rule” of quidditch states that at most there can be four players of the same gender on pitch at one time. This ensures that the game is mixed gender, and inclusive to all. Quidditch has been labelled as the ‘world’s most progressive sport’ by VICE for this reason.
Photo Credit Gio Forino
