We are pleased to announce the winners of the QuidditchUK awards for the 2021/22 season. Across the board we received many worthy nominations and in several categories the voting was incredibly close, so massive congratulations to everyone who was nominated or won.
We recognise that the format of these awards isn't as we had announced. We have included background information and how we plan to avoid this happening again going forward. The community's patience throughout regarding this has been much appreciated.
Individual Community Awards
Nominations for these awards were put forward by and then voted on by the UK quidditch community.
Best Beater
Douglas Bryant
Werewolves of London
Best Chaser
Daniel Bennell
Southsea Quidditch Club
Best Seeker
Jordan Aymer-Jeffrey (Trevor)
Werewolves of London
Best Keeper
Seb Waters
London Quidditch Club
Best Coach
Amber Connerton
Exeter Eagles
Best Captain
Amber Connerton
Exeter Eagles
Best Snitch
Josh Armitage
Olympians Quidditch Club
Best Newcomer
Matthew Houghton
Exeter Eagles
Individual EMT Awards
These awards were decided by QuidditchUK's executive management team.
Presidential Pick
Lucy Nicholls
East Midlands Vipers
Lucy does an incredible amount for quidditch both in the public eye with Vipers and Team Cymru, and behind the scenes with her graphic design work.
Volunteer of the Year
Daniel Holmes
Oxford Mammoths
Dan has a long history with QUK, having volunteered with a total of four Events Directors! He continuously steps up, always improving on his own work as well as QUK's output.
Referee of the Year
Betsy Lewin-Leigh
Oxford Mammoths
Betsy has jumped into refereeing intense games throughout this season, often stepping up to the plate to fill empty slots to save our skin!
Member of the Year
Callum Brennan
Oxford Universities Quidditch Club
Callum has done amazing work with Oxford over the last few years, and this season has also stepped up volunteering both as a referee and QUK events volunteer.
Clubs Champion
Rebecca Norman
Stirling Dumyat Dragons
An absolute linchpin of Scottish quidditch, volunteering in club leadership, national team management, and as a QUK Expansion Manager.
Gameplay Champion
Josh Armitage
Olympians Quidditch Club
Long-time superb snitch, they joined QUK this year and got stuck straight in with advancing the rules and running workshops.
Media Champion
Dec Ramsay
London Quidditch Club
Dec has driven QUK to overhaul how it utilises software behind the scenes, and has never been afraid to muck in beyond that when needed.
Volunteers Champion
Meredith Whiting
Oxford Mammoths
Volunteering under three directors, Meredith often steps up to keep things moving in the interim. Truly a cornerstone of support within the team.
Group Awards
Nominations for these awards were provided and then voted on by the UK quidditch community.
Best Game
BQC Community Final (WoL1 vs LQC)
Tense is an understatement. This game pushed quidditch (and the venue!) to the limit, showcasing the UK sport at its best. We saw Werewolves of London 1sts finally achieving the trophy they've doggedly persued, though not without London Quidditch Club A making them work damn hard for it first. Click here to watch it back in all its glory, hot mic'd ref talks and all.
Most Improved Team
Exeter Eagles
Putting in an incredible turnaround, from a handful of players at the start of the season to a team that came second at BQC. Amber Connerton and co. showed everyone the impact that hard graft, determination, and a bit of luck can do propel a club's fortunes.
Team of the Year
Southsea Quidditch
Last but definitely not least, our 3rd place EQC D2 team! Fierce and friendly, Southsea have been on a tremendous journey over the last few seasons: from soaring at South Coast Cup to scoring that European bronze, with some waterproof bread in between.
Awards Disruption
Our awards for this season have experienced repeated cancellations and did not meet the standard QUK strives for. Lapses in both internal and external communication did definitely cause issues, but ultimately the problems arose from two key areas.
We were not able to run the planned in-person event because demand was much lower than expected. Demand had been assessed, but only on an informal basis. To ensure this doesn't happen again, when running in-person non-fixture events we ensure demand is properly assessed before committing and make tickets available further in advance to reduce the chance of surprise cancellations.
Several aspects of awards were also promised and later withdrawn, including the attached fantasy tournament and virtual ceremony. This happened due to volunteers misjudging their own capacity or being optimistic about taking on a project or specific task. Going forward, we will work to create a culture where volunteers feel able to be honest about what workload they can manage and where volunteers know they can say 'no' to projects that exceed it.
We are hopeful that these changes can prevent similar happened for future events and grateful to the community for being understanding throughout this disruption. Congratulations again to all those who won, or were shortlisted or nominated for awards! Your contributions to the UK quidditch community are much appreciated. We hope to see all of you at events over our 2022-23 season!
