As many of you will have noticed this summer QuidditchUK has been relatively quiet, but fear not, we have been busy working away on a whole raft of news for you that will be coming out over the next few weeks.

Welcome to the QuidditchUK 2017/18! …ish

The biggest change you will notice over the next few weeks is QuidditchUK moving to a new website. Designed by the talented Catherine Grace, the new website has been in development for the past few months, and although it will no doubt come with growing pains, it should allow QuidditchUK to communicate far more effectively with the community.

Once the new website is live, membership for the 2017/18 season will be purchasable and QuidditchUK are delighted to announce that all membership fees will be the same as the 2016/17 season. That is:

Individual Membership: £15
Club Membership (includes 1 free team and entrance to either Southern or Northern Cup): £65
Team Membership: £30

For the 2017/18 season QuidditchUK will be using the IQA 2016-2018 rulebook with amendments. We are also pleased to announce that for anyone who qualified as a match official in the 2016/17 season, the qualification will carry over to this season due to the rulebooks not being different enough to warrant retesting. More information regarding the amendments and the rulebook for the 2017/18 season will be released imminently.

Welcome to the QuidditchUK 2017/18… ish

After 5 years of volunteering with QuadballUK, Dec Ramsay is stepping down as President as they focus on their mental health and ongoing recovery from C-PTSD.

Dec took over the reigns of President last year, following 4 years of work across various positions. They have been an Events volunteer, Media volunteer, Technology Director, before taking up the role of President.

As a volunteer Dec has had a hand in most parts of Quadball at all levels over the last 5 years - some highlights include leading the QUK website rebuild, Tournament Directing Development Cup, Volunteering with the IQA as Assistant Communications Director, running contact clinics at fixtures, to all the responsibilities of leading the organisation as President.


Reflecting on their time with QUK as President, Dec states they’re particularly proud of their work bringing financial partners both old and new into the sport, including author John Green as shirt sponsor for Team England, and the uptake of the new Club Incentives that they developed for this coming season as part of the Strategic Plan.

Dec Ramsay Stepping Down from Presidential Role

Samaritans: 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org

Text SHOUT to 85258 (UK-wide) for text-based support

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) 0800 58 58 58 (5pm-midnight)

Switchboard (LGBT+ support) 0300 300 0630 (10am-10pm) 

Victim Support 08 08 16 89 111 or chat at https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/live-chat

As one season ends and another rapidly approaches, it’s timely for me to look back at the year that has gone, reflect on what happened, and set the strategy for the future. For the first time we have produced an Annual Report and Strategic Plan for the 2024/25 season, based on the performance of QUK against our metrics we laid out at the start of the 23/24 season. 

It can be read in full here, and it include analysis of how we performed, what we need to do better, and the vision for the next season. Below is a summary of the report, details of our new club incentives, our strategic plan for 2024/2025, and details of our Open Forum for the community being held on Wednesday 14th August.

The report lays out our performance against the OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) we released at the start of the 2023/24 season. While it would be easy to focus on the bits we did achieve - our successful bid for European Games, national team performance, and new sponsorships, we overall fell short of what we wanted to achieve.

We shrunk as a sport to our smallest since 2015 and we face fundamental challenges as a sport that we need to address collectively to change this trajectory. QUK has faults it needs to address, including improving our transparency and accessibility to the community. I am sorry for when we let the community down this season. Part of the reason for this document is to be held accountable for how we work as an organisation and provide transparency to the community.

In the report we have highlighted 3 areas of particular note: 

New Player Recruitment and Player Retention

We did not hit our targets and we've identified that this drop in players was larger than anticipated. This was not matched by recruitment especially at the Community club level, where we saw an extremely small amount of new players joining the sport through Community clubs. While we expect more players to join through Universities, with a smaller pool of players to draw from Community clubs will need to increase their own efforts to recruit new players this season.

The Quadball Community experience with QUK 

The community's experience with QUK has not been good. It has come through in our surveys, and we have been rightly criticised for things we have gotten wrong. We hear that people want QUK to be more receptive to feedback, that we need to be more transparent, and more accessible.

Our referees have been let down by not being paid for their work - which we set out as a Key Result to not only pay this year but catch up on the historic missed payments. We are sorry we've not achieved this. We have made the necessary preparations to pay this out but are currently awaiting over £25,000 in unpaid team and player fees from the 2023/24 season. If you or your club has not paid your invoices, please do so urgently so we can distribute this money to the referees and volunteers who deserve to be compensated for their efforts.

An area where we've succeeded this year is creating connections outside the Quadball bubble. Beyond new sponsors such as Partners in Health and returning ones such as Enrich Education and SISU Mouthguards, we have seen there is interest in the sport and what opportunities there are in a post-Quidditch world. We've become a member of Sported which is a charity that helps non-profits and charities get access to funding and expert advice. They are currently helping us move from a Non-Profit to a registered charity, which would open up new revenue streams and funding. We've also talked to other NGBs such as UK Dodgeball to learn and make connections where we have common ground (and in some cases, common athletes).

One aspect we get asked a lot about is BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport). BUCS offers a path for Quadball to be formally recognised as a sport at the University level, and we’ve had productive meetings with them this year to discuss Quadball becoming part of their offering. In order to achieve this, we need to show them that the University scene is growing, profitable, and the existing player base wants to be a part of BUCS. We have addressed the last point by asking for opinions on us joining BUCS in the recent Player Survey, but the other two points will need to be addressed by supporting our existing teams and helping new ones start.

Player Recruitment and Retention is vital for keeping the sport alive and growing. Clubs are at the forefront of these efforts, from recruiting players at freshers fairs and give-it-a-goes, to keeping players engaged through the off-season. QUK recognises that this work is critical and we want to make sure clubs are incentivised to keep up this great work. As a result we have 2 new incentives for waivers and grants being made available to clubs, and a new requirement for Crossplay.

Grow The Sport

As per the QuadballUK Constitution, the President must “outline specific and measurable goals they wish to achieve” when appointed to the role, which must have clear parallels with the QUK core mission. The core mission has 4 pillars: growth, ability, sustainability and community. Our new President has developed goals in accordance with this mission and presented them to the Executive Management Team (EMT) and now the wider community. 

The goals follow the methodology known as Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). The purpose of these goals is to set an ambitious vision and for them to be measurable, adaptable, focused, and increase alignment. The OKRs will be tracked throughout the 24/25 season by the EMT and may be adapted internally based on how the season progresses.

OKRs are meant to be ambitious and stretch an organisation, so not every Key Result will be met. A rough expectation of setting OKRs is to aim for a 70% success rate - if all Key Results were achieved then the targets should have been higher, if none of the Key Results are met we were too ambitious.

Rather than 5 Objectives as per the 23/24 season, we have 1: Grow The Sport. It is the north star of our organisation, and everything we decide and work on will be framed by that Objective. While all core functions of QUK will continue, any other projects departments want to undertake need to further that objective.

One area in particular QUK needs to be better at this season is to be more open, more transparent, and more accessible. We need to engage with players and club leadership more, and be honest about how things are going. We have heard the feedback that people do not know what QUK does or what we're working on.

To that end, I will be hosting an open forum for the Quadball community to submit questions and opinions about QUK, the mission, and the plan going forward. The forum will be open to all on Wednesday 14th August at 7PM. This session will be an opportunity for any and all community members to ask questions of QUK and provide feedback of how QUK can improve or what needs to change. If there is sufficient interest and engagement, we’ll do more of these over the season (these will not replace our General Forums where club leadership have a regular call with QUK). You can submit your questions/feedback here. The forum will be held on Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/fmv-vyyc-wpj

I, personally, am hopeful for the future. I still remember the first training I attended and how quickly this sport became a central part of my life. This sport has so much to offer and I am so thankful to be able to serve this community that has given me so much. We can do so much together and I look forward to working with you all to make the 2024/25 season the best we’ve had.

2024 Annual Report & Strategic Plan

After four years of leading Team Wales, Lucy and Chazz have made the decision to step down as Team Manager and Head Coach to pass the team on to the next generation. QUK would like to thank both Lucy and Chazz for all the time, dedication and hard-work they have put into Team Wales and the Welsh Quadball Community. We hope both of you take some well-earned rest! 

Lucy and Chazz will be officially stepping down from their roles after the European Games this Summer, which is being hosted in London this year. If you're interested in finding more about the roles you can email us at volunteering@quidditchuk.org and if you're interested in applying, send us your application using the volunteer form below! Check out our "Roles" section under "Volunteer" for role descriptions and to see what other volunteer opportunities are available. 

Lucy and Chazz Stepping Down From Team Wales

We're pleased to announce that Izzy Brown has been appointed as the next Vice President!

Izzy shared the following words when we asked them about their new role.

"I first joined Quadball in 2020 as a university fresher. I knew I wanted to play a full-contact sport, but being non-binary, I wasn't sure a space like that would exist for me, but then I found Warwick Quadball during my first week, and never looked back! 4 years later, I've been Warwick's media officer, welfare, president, and captain, and as I deliver the club into very capable hands, I want to bring my knowledge and experience of Quadball in the current university league to EMT! I'm really looking forward to working with University teams to support with recruitment and provide them a voice, as well as with Community clubs to help bridge the gap between the two leagues!"

We're excited to have Izzy as part of the team whilst we plan for the next season.

In other exciting news, Izzy isn't the only new addition to the Presidential department. We also have three new roles that are open for applications:

Check out our Roles page to find out more about these roles and see what other vacancies we have. 

New Vice President and Other Presidential Department Roles

Welcome to new Vice President, Izzy Brown!

Quadball UK and Team England are delighted to announce that our new sponsor for the front of the shirt for the 2024/25 season will be Partners in Health, via author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down). 

Partners in Health's mission statement reads in part "Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair."

John Green said “I am so excited to support this awesome sport and to bring more attention to the essential work of Partners in Health.”

Quadball UK President Dec Ramsay said "I am absolutely thrilled to have John and Rosianna partner with us at this incredible time for Quadball as we look to grow in the 2024/25 season. England will be proudly wearing the Partners in Health logo on their new kits which will debut at the home European Games this summer. We all are united in the importance sport plays in growing communities and we are so excited to start this new partnership!"

The England team will be releasing their new kit, with the Partners in Health logo on the chest, shortly for purchase via VC Ultimate.

New Sponsorship Announced: Partners in Health

This announcement is just the first step as we prepare to host the European Games. For athletes and teams, details such as team and player registration, accommodation, and more will be posted shortly by the IQA. 

To the UK Quadball community, we will need all the help we can get to make this the biggest and best event possible - this is an incredible opportunity to help build the sport and anyone interested in volunteering should get in touch with the IQA or QUK. 

And finally if you are just excited to attend, as we get closer to the event we will share details about tickets, socials, and more. For now, update your calendars - it's going to be a great weekend.

London's calling: find out more about Quadball taking London by storm this summer as it's set to host European Games 2024

Welcome to the QuidditchUK 2017/18… ish

Welcome to the QuidditchUK 2017/18! …ish

WEBSITE

MEMBERSHIPS

RULEBOOK