Quidditch in Australia
Quidditch in Australia refers to the practice of the sport of Quidditch in the country of Australia. The Australian Quidditch Association was formed in 2011 and ran its first major tournament in December that year, known as QUAFL, the Australian Quidditch Championships. This was the first tournament of its kind to be played outside of North America, where the sport was founded in 2005. Competitive quidditch is regularly played in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, with smaller competitions played in Western Australia and South Australia. There are currently 25 quidditch clubs registered across the country.
Organisations
in Australia is governed by Quidditch Australia, a non-profit organisation founded in 2011. It is governed by a board of seven directors on a rotating 2-year term system.Quidditch Australia is affiliated with the International Quidditch Association. Australian quidditch adopts the IQA rulebook for official gameplay, with some minor exceptions.
Quidditch Australia manages the membership and insurance of all players in the country, in addition to managing the country's most prolific tournaments such as the QUAFL Australian Quidditch Championships and State Shield. Regular club seasons are managed by their respective state bodies: Quidditch NSW, Victorian Quidditch Association, Queensland Association of Quidditch, South Australian Quidditch Association and Western Australian Quidditch Association.
History
Quidditch Australia began in 2011 as a Facebook group intended to act as a network for quidditch teams and players within Australia to communicate with each other, become aware of local teams and resources, to set up matches, and to set up new teams.The association is run by a board of 7 directors with further volunteer staff.
National team
The Australian National Team, the "Drop Bears", competed at the 2012 Summer Games and the 2014 Global Games, coming third and second respectively. In the biggest upset in the history of international quidditch, the Dropbears defeated the United States 150*–130 to win the 2016 World Cup in Germany. Despite being tipped to win the cup again in 2018, the Australian National Team competed in Italy finishing 5th, defeated by the United States in the early stages of the semi finals.| Competition | Position |
 2012 Summer Games | 3rd of 5 |
 2014 Global Games | 2nd of 7 |
 2016 World Cup | 1st of 21 |
 2018 World Cup | 5th of 29 |
Competitions
Australian Quidditch Championships (QUAFL)
The biggest Australian quidditch tournament held annually in November/December, crowning the Australian national club champion for that year. The first official name for the tournament was the Oceania Regional Championships, but was more affectionately known as "QUAFL" or "QUAFL Cup", given the reverse acronym "Quidditch United Australian Federated League" in jest. The tournament was later renamed to the Australian Quidditch Championships, but is often still referred to as QUAFL.The inaugural tournament was held in 2011 at the University of New South Wales, starting with just 5 teams. Clubs from across the country bid to host the tournament every year, and the tournament was hosted by Sydney-based clubs until 2015 when it was hosted by Melbourne's Monash Muggles. In 2016 and 2017, the tournament saw a move to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, and was hosted in Queensland for the first time in 2018. The 2019 tournament is to be held at Kayess Park, Minto. The tournament hosted a record high of 25 teams in 2017.
The structure of the tournament traditionally changes each year depending on the number of registered teams and choices of organisers. More recently, teams have been randomly split into pools based off their respective end of season state rankings, with top teams from each pool progressing to elimination bracket play.
Australian Quidditch Championship results:
| Year | No. of teams | Location | National Champion | Runner-up | Grand Final score |
| 2011 | 5 | University of New South Wales, Kensington NSW | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | University of Western Sydney Thestrals | 90-60* |
| 2012 | 10 | Macquarie University, Macquarie Park NSW | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | Newcastle Fireballs | 80*-30 |
| 2013 | 12 | University of Western Sydney, Parramatta NSW | Perth Phoenixes | Macquarie Marauders | 110*-70 |
| 2014 | 13 | Macquarie University, Macquarie Park NSW | Melbourne Manticores | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | 110*-40 |
| 2015 | 19 | Monash University, Clayton VIC | Melbourne Manticores | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | 100*-10 |
| 2016 | 23 | Australian Institute of Sport, Bruce ACT | Wrackspurts QC | Western Sydney Spartans | 120*-110 |
| 2017 | 25 | Australian Institute of Sport, Bruce ACT | Whomping Willows | Wrackspurts QC | 150*-100 |
| 2018 | 24 | University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs QLD | Melbourne Manticores | University of Sydney Unspeakables | 120*-70 |
| 2019 | 20 | Kayess Park, Minto NSW | Monash Muggles | Melbourne Manticores | 130*-120 |
State Seasons
Due to the geographical separation of teams in different states, the majority of regular quidditch play in Australia consists of state-based tournaments.NSW Quidditch League (NQL)
Organised by Quidditch New South Wales, the NQL is the year long state championship in Sydney and surrounding cities. Formerly known as a series of "Triwizard Tournaments" starting in 2011, state finals were introduced in 2014, and the Quidditch NSW state body and the NSW Quidditch League were formalised in 2015. The competition was split into 2 divisions in 2018, and currently contains 14 teams across Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra.| Year | Division 1 Winner | Division 1 Runner-Up | Division 2 Winner | Division 2 Runner-Up |
| 2014 | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | ? | - | - |
| 2015 | Western Sydney Spartans and University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane† | N/A | - | - |
| 2016 | University of Sydney Unspeakables | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | - | - |
| 2017 | Sydney City Serpents | Western Sydney Spartans | - | - |
| 2018 | University of Sydney Unspeakables | Sydney City Serpents | University of Sydney Unbreakables | Macarthur Weasleys |
| 2019 | Sydney City Serpents | University of Sydney Unspeakables | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | University of Technology Sydney Opaleyes |
† Due to inclement weather and injuries, both teams agreed not to play the Grand Final and share the 2015 state title.
Victoria Cup
Organised by the Victorian Quidditch Association, the Victoria Cup is the year long state championship in Melbourne. The inaugural cup in 2014 was won by the Monash Muggles, and followed on from other local tournaments.Other Tournaments
State Shield
An annual tournament / series featuring state representative teams: NSW, VIC and QLD. The current tournament format is played over one weekend, with a full round robin on Day 1, and a Best of 3 Grand Final and consolation matches on Day 2.| Year | Winning Team |
| 2016 | Victorian Leadbeaters |
| 2017 | Victorian Leadbeaters |
| 2018 | New South Wales Bluetongues |
| 2019 | New South Wales Bluetongues |
Midwinter Cup
The Midwinter cup is held annually in Newcastle featuring both teams from NSW and interstate. The 2014 winners were the UNSW Snapes on a Plane. In 2015, the tournament was won by the hosts, the Newcastle Fireballs. In 2016, an Australian National University and University of the Sunshine Coast collaboration team, the ANUSC Dement-Owls defeated the Newcastle Fireballs in the grand final to claim the Midwinter cup. In 2017, the winners were the newly formed Sydney City Serpents.| Year | Winning Team |
| 2012 | Perth Phoenixes |
| 2013 | University of Western Sydney Thestrals |
| 2014 | University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane |
| 2015 | University of Newcastle Fireballs |
| 2016 | Australian National University and University of the Sunshine Coast ANUSC Dement-Owls |
| 2017 | Sydney City Serpents |
| 2018 | University of Sydney Unspeakables |
| 2019 | Sydney City Serpents |
Melbourne Mudbash
The Melbourne Mudbash is held annually in the middle of the year in Melbourne. Local teams are joined by interstate teams and teams composed of mercenary players. In 2013, the Melbourne Manticores came out on top of the four local and two other teams competing, and in 2014 the Monash Muggles were the best of the six local and four other teams to compete.Fantasy Tournaments
Held outside of the regular seasons, various fantasy tournaments across the country include Valkyries Fantasy, Victorian Fantasy, Sunshine Coast Fantasy, Macarthur Fantasy, and Pink Up Campbelltown Charity Tournament.Australian Wheelchair Quidditch Championships (QWAFL)
Wheelchair quidditch was first introduced into regular quidditch tournaments in 2012, and ran at the same time and venue as the regular championships. Due to the logistical difficulties and lack of interest, the competition has not run since 2016.| Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Grand Final score |
| 2012 | ANU Nargles | JCU Galleons | 40* - 20 |
| 2013 | UWS Thestrals | Newcastle Chariots of Fire | 220* - 10 |
| 2014 | UWS Thestrals | Perth Phoenixes | 160* - 20 |
| 2015 | Western Sydney Spartans | UTS Opaleyes | 120* - 50 |
| 2016 | Western Sydney Spartans | UTS Opaleyes | 90 - 60 |
Teams
There are several teams/clubs registered with Quidditch Australia across all states except Tasmania and Northern Territory.| NSW/ACT | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | - | - | - | - | - |
| Australian National University Owls | Basilisks Quidditch Club | Brisbane City Bin Chickens | Adelaide Augureys | - | Hills Hippogriffs | La Trobe University Trolls † | Griffith University Grindylows † | University of Adelaide | Curtin Chimeras |
| Illawarra Unregistered Animagi† | Melbourne Manticores | James Cook University Galleons† | Flinders Fantastic Beasts | ECU Centaurs | - | - | - | - | - |
| Macarthur Weasleys | Melbourne Ravens | Queensland University of Technology Lycans | Glenelg Gargoyles | Murdoch Mandrakes | - | - | - | - | - |
| Macquarie Marauders | Melbourne Unicorns Blue | University of Queensland Dumblebees | Perth Phoenixes †† | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Newcastle Fireballs | Melbourne Unicorns Orange | University of the Sunshine Coast Dementors | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| North Sydney Nightmares | Monash University Muggles | University of the Sunshine Coast Nifflers | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| South West Horntails† | Monash University Mudbloods | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| Sydney City Serpents | South Melbourne Centaurs | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| University of New South Wales Snapes on a Plane | Whomping Willows Quidditch Club | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| University of Sydney Unspeakables | Wrackspurts Quidditch Club† | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| University of Sydney Unbreakables | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| University of Sydney Unforgivables | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| University of Technology Sydney Opaleyes | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| Valkyries Quidditch Club | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| Western Sydney Spartans† | - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| Wollongong Warriors | - | - | - | - | - |
† Developing team, non-official, not currently competing or defunct
†† Due to the geographical isolation of Western Australia, teams from WA form together under the name Perth Phoenixes to travel to and compete at national tournaments.