United Kingdom national quidditch team
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| File:QuidditchUK Logo.png | |
| Full name | Great Britain National Quidditch Team |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| League | QuidditchUK |
The Great Britain National Quidditch Team, colloquially known as TeamUK is the official national Muggle Quidditch team of QuidditchUK. Team UK made its debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK where it placed 5th of 5 teams. The team then played in Canada at the 2014 IQA Global Games in Burnaby, BC on July 29, 2014 where it placed 4th of 7 teams and most recently in the European Games in Sarteano, Italy in July 2015, placing 2nd of 12.
History
Team UK was formed just in time for the 2012 IQA Summer Games in Oxford, where it competed alongside the United States, France, Australia and Canada. At the time, Quidditch in the UK was very thin on the ground; a few teams in the UK played by IQA rules, namely Avada Keeledavra and the Leicester Lovegoods (now Keele Squirrels and Leicester Thestrals), but they had only just started up that year. Other groups such as the University of Nottingham Quidditch Society and the various College teams at Oxford played by local variations on the rulebook. This meant that the UK was the most inexperienced team represented at the games, with many of its players being free-agents with no game experience. Though the UK came last at the event, roundly defeated by every other team, this event spawned the mass growth of the sport in the United Kingdom. The event was eventually won by the United States with a landslide victory over France in the Final.
The successor event to the Summer Games, the 2014 IQA Global Games, took place in Burnaby, Canada, and again the United Kingdom was represented. An initial round of tryouts selected 42 players who were later divided into the travelling team and the reserves. This event saw the UK compete against the USA, Canada, Australia, France, Belgium and Mexico. The two years of intensive growth in the UK since the last appearance of its national team was reflected, and the team won major victories against Belgium and Mexico. Though they were defeated by a wide margin by the USA and Canada, the UK forced extra-time against eventual silver-medallists Australia despite eventual loss and soundly defeated old rivals France. The UK was kept from the medal podium by a slight margin, losing the 3rd place playoff against Canada on a snitch-catch. The Global Games, like the Summer Games before them, were won by the Americans, who secured the gold with a wide-margin win over the Australians.
Team UK made its third appearance at the 2015 European Games, the first tournament of its kind. Team selection was made via observation of players in matches during the opening months of 2015, leading up to the British Quidditch Cup. The side finished second in the tournament, losing to France 90*-50 in the final. They topped their group, which included the hosts Italy, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland winning every game. Victories followed in the quarter finals against Catalonia and Belgium in the semi finals. Team UK keeper and seeker Ollie Craig was named the MVP (most valued player) of the tournament.