Quidditch Premier League

Quidditch Premier League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2018 Quidditch Premier League season
Sport Quidditch
Founded 15 November 2016
Director Jack Lennard
Divisions North Division
South Division
No. of teams 10
Countries United Kingdom
Most recent
champion(s)		 West Midlands Revolution
Most titles West Midlands Revolution (1)
Sponsor(s) SAVAGE The Ultimate Apparel Company
Epione Medical Supplies
Official website QPL Official Website

The Quidditch Premier League (QPL) is an elite quidditch league that represents the sport in the United Kingdom.[1] The league is composed of ten teams - five in the North Division and five in the South Division. The QPL season runs from June to August every year, with each team playing three divisional fixtures in the regular season. The playoffs include all ten teams competing in the QPL Championship fixture in late August, with the winning team being named as the QPL Champions for that season.

History

The Quidditch Premier League was founded in November 2016 by Jack Lennard in hopes of developing quidditch further during the summer months in the UK's off-season.[2] Lennard is the current Director of the League.[3] The QPL was launched live on Sky News Sunrise and immediately gained international attention, with appearances in BBC News, ITV News, and even a mention on Conan.[4][5][6][7] The first season debuted in June 2017, and saw the West Midlands Revolution crowned as the inaugural champions.[8] In September 2017, two new teams were added; the Welsh Dragons, in the South Division, and the Scottish Thistles, in the North Division. These represent the first national Scottish and Welsh quidditch teams in history.[9]. The 2018 League will once again be contested across 3 fixtures in each division, followed by a championship at Cardiff Arms Park.

Competition Format

Each season features six divisional fixtures, three for each division, where all the teams in that division gather to play a round-robin format.[10] The 2017 fixture dates for the South Division were 17 June, 15 July, and 29 July. The 2017 fixture dates for the North Division were 1 July, 22 July, and 5 August.[11] The 2017 Championship fixture, which featured all eight teams in a knockout bracket format, was held on 26 August at Craven Park, Hull.[12]

With the addition of new teams in the 2018 Season, each division is contested across thirty matches, split between three fixtures as before. The Northern Division's first fixture was played on the 16th June, with the following two to be held on the 14th July and 4th August. The Southern Division's fixtures will be contested on the 23rd June, 21st July and 11th August. These will be followed by a Championship Fixture at Cardiff Arms Park on the 25th August.

Teams

Team Catchment area Joined Current Manager
South Division
London Monarchs Greater London 2016 Matt Bateman
Southeast Knights South East England 2016 Joel Davies
Southwest Broadside South West England 2016 Sam Senior
Eastern Mermaids East of England 2016 Georgie Rumney
Welsh Dragons Wales 2017 Chazz McLeod
North Division
West Midlands Revolution West Midlands 2016 James Burnett
East Midlands Archers East Midlands 2016 James Thanangadan
Yorkshire Roses Yorkshire and the Humber 2016 Joshua Fogg
Northern Watch North West and North East England 2016 Ollie Riley
Scottish Thistles Scotland 2017 Gavin Hughes

See also

References

  1. ↑ Szalai, Georg (15 November 2016). "Quidditch Premier League Unveiled in U.K." Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Payne, Marissa (17 November 2016). "There's now a Premier League for Quidditch, the game from 'Harry Potter'". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Flood, Alison (15 November 2016). "Off to a flying start: Quidditch Premier League launched in UK". The Guardian.
  4. ↑ "Muggle Quidditch has UK launch". Sky News. 15 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "A Quidditch Premier League launches in the UK with eight teams". BBC News. 15 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Quidditch Premier League launches in UK". ITV News. 15 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Conan Monologue 11/16/16". Conan. 16 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Quidditch: Harry Potter game brought to life in Hull". BBC. 28 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Guy, Rachel (22 September 2017). "Scotland's national quidditch team to compete in Quidditch Premier League – and they are looking for players". The Scottish Sun.
  10. ↑ "Quidditch Premier League FAQ".
  11. ↑ "2017 Fixture Dates Announced". 22 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "2017 QPL Championship Fixture to be Held at KCOM Craven Park Stadium, Hull". 11 April 2017.
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