In light of recent announcements from both the British Government and Quidditch Europe in the last 48 hours regarding COVID-19, QuidditchUK has several updates pertaining to the new season, the British Quidditch Cup, and the European Quidditch Cup.
General Guidelines
QuidditchUK maintains their stance that no quidditch should be taking place, despite the exercise relaxations announced by the government earlier this week.
QuidditchUK are strongly discouraging any and all quidditch activity. Member clubs and teams should avoid training together until further notice, and any planned tournaments or events should be postponed or cancelled.
This advice extends to all QuidditchUK clubs, QuidditchUK national teams, Quidditch Premier League teams, and any Youth Quidditch programmes planned or scheduled in the coming months.
Stay home, travel only when essential, and wash your hands.
British Quidditch Cup 2020
Unfortunately, with the proposed timelines from the British Government, QuidditchUK no longer views hosting the 2020 British Quidditch Cup as safe or viable for our members. This is for several reasons:
Firstly, our estimates had been for a late July BQC, which was based on projections which showed improvements to public health being made from late May. However, with current infection/casualty trends, and our government’s inability to provide clear and concise guidelines, this is clearly no longer the case. It is therefore unlikely that we will see drastic changes in time to host an event on the scale of BQC safely.
Secondly, at the time of writing this announcement, our most recent survey indicates that our members would strongly prefer a stronger start to the 2020/2021 season than a late summer BQC.
This also marks the end of the 2019/2020 season. QuidditchUK are still determining if we need to allocate a national champion in light of the current pandemic and will update accordingly.
European Quidditch Cup
Quidditch Europe have made the decision to postpone both Division 1 and Division 2 of the European Quidditch Cup to 2021, effectively cancelling the 2020 iteration of the European championships.
As it stands, this is the information we know so far:
1. Division 2 of the European Quidditch Cup will be hosted in Brescia, Italy in 2021.
2. Quidditch Europe are voting whether or not to reopen the bidding for EQC Division 1, we will update as soon as we know more.
3. All NGBs will retain their seeding and spot allocation for the 2021 EQC Tournaments
• QuidditchUK will have 10 spots.
• 5 spots for Division 1
• 5 spots for Division 2
The recent release of this announcement means that QuidditchUK are still discussing whether to allow teams/clubs that qualified via the European Qualifier Tournament to carry that qualification to EQC 2021.
There are obviously many more working parts to the current situation for us to make an entirely informed decision, and we ask for patience while considerations are made. Teams worked hard to qualify for EQC 2020, but with the proposed changes of the season and Quidditch Europe permitting the re-opening of qualifications, moving forward it may make sense for teams to qualify again, if this is practical.
Internal discussions are being held, and we will seek consultation with club leadership before finalising any decision on EQC qualifications.
2020/2021 Season
We’re still gathering feedback and information from our community on the new season structure.
If you and your teammates have not yet filled this out, please take 5 minutes to complete. It’ll help us make a more informed decision and take the sport in the right direction.
It’s also likely that based on the feedback and insights we receive, QuidditchUK will host a General Forum with club leadership again to discuss the new season in light of COVID-19 timelines and the current state of clubs moving forward.
Thank you for understanding in light of the recent circumstances. We’re all sure that you can sympathise that none of this has been an easy decision for us, nor has it been for anyone else involved. As always, if anyone would like to reach out to us in relation to anything we haven’t addressed, or would like clarification on a particular point, please contact us for us to get back to you.
