Oxford University Quidditch Club
Oxford Universities Quidditch Club is the quidditch club of both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. It is composed of two teams: a first team, the Radcliffe Chimeras, and a reserve second team, the Quidlings.. Both teams are official QuidditchUK teams. QUK is the UK quidditch governing body, and is a constituent part of the International Quidditch Association.
The club was formed as Oxford Quidditch on the 20th November, 2011 and adopted its current name in 2013. The club has seen much success, with the Radcliffe Chimeras a substantial amount of national and international titles. These include the first annual British Quidditch Cup, and the most recent European Quidditch Cup, in late 2013 and early 2014. Both teams compete in the season-long competition organised by QuidditchUK called The Challenge Shield, the first matches of were played in September 2014.
The club played in Worcester College for six months, before moving to a permanent marked out field in Oxford's University Parks in May 2012, which remains their current home.
History
Early days
The first incarnation of Oxford University's muggle quidditch team came into being on 20 November 2011. Angus Barry organised a match between Worcester College and St Edmund Hall held in the extensive grounds of Worcester. Rules were loose and almost non-existent, with St Edmund Hall winning the majority of games played. Following complaints from the groundsmen of Worcester College, play quickly moved from Worcester College to the University Parks. Other colleges also joined the emerging group of teams within the university. The standard rulebook of the International Quidditch Association was officially adopted during the Trinity term of 2012.After the Global Games were held in Oxford in 2012, Oxford organised its first match against another university, defeating Reading in a home fixture on 24 November 2012. A few months later, Oxford played Leicester in another home fixture in University Parks, and won all three matches played by scores of 90-40*, 60-40*, and 120*-40. This was followed by Oxford's first tournament success, claiming the Highlander Cup in March 2013 after winning against Bangor in near-unplayable weather conditions in Edinburgh.
Before the Whiteknights Tournament, held in Reading on the 24 and 25 June 2013, it was decided that 'Oxford Quidditch' would become Oxford University Quidditch Club, consisting of two teams, the Radcliffe Chimeras and the Quidlings. This marked the formation of the modern OUQC as it is now. The Chimeras acted as the first team, whilst the Quidlings allowed new players to get experience in a less pressurised environment, where they would not be overshadowed by veteran players.
A new order and the first British Champions
The Whiteknights Tournament in Reading saw the Radcliffe Chimeras take first place, whilst the Quidlings struggled, finishing last. Along with the adoption of a two-team structure, the executive committee structure was also changed, with Ashley Cooper taking over from founder Angus Barry as captain of the Radcliffe Chimeras, as well as being installed as the club's first president.This change was followed by the inaugural British Quidditch Cup in November 2013. Hosted in Oxford, at the University Parks, the British Quidditch Cup was the first national championship within the United Kingdom, and sixteen teams, including the Radcliffe Chimeras and the Quidlings, took part. After a successful recruitment drive at the start of the academic year, the Quidlings, despite an early loss to the Leicester Lovegoods, defeated the Norwich Nifflers and the Chester Chasers to reach the quarter-finals of the Cup, only for them to be knocked out of the tournament 100*-0 by Southampton. Southampton were themselves beaten in the semi-finals by the Radcliffe Chimeras, with a final score of 110*-0, after finishing top of their group, going on to become the first British Champions after beating Keele University in the final with a score of 110–60*.
International success and building for the future
On 1 and 2 February 2014, the two teams of Oxford University Quidditch Club played their first international matches. Travelling to Brussels to take part in the 2014 European Quidditch Cup, they hoped to make their mark on the world of international quidditch. The Quidlings won two of their three group games, almost snatching a space at the IQA World Cup, before losing out to Brundisi Lunatica in the play-off match. However, the Chimeras lived up to their now extensive reputation, only losing one game on their way to a final against Paris Phénix. Although losing their Keeper, Luke Twist, to a red card in the last few minutes of the match after he'd made important contributions to their leading scoreline at that point, the Chimeras powered on to defeat Paris 100*-30 with a spectacular snitch grab from volunteer seeker Steffan Danino, claiming the title of European Champions.Returning from their exploits on the continent, the club set about hosting a mercenary tournament, the Valentines Cup, in South Park, Oxford. This took place on 22 and 23 February, and was the largest tournament of this nature to take place outside of the United States, with over 160 players taking part. The organisers of the event, Luke Twist and Jasiek Mikolajczak, were later nominated as Radcliffe Chimeras captain and President respectively, following the announcement that Ashley Cooper would not be continuing his time as president or captain. The Quidlings captaincy was taken over by Jack Lennard.
Nine OUQC players were included in the squad of twenty-one that represented the United Kingdom at the 2014 Global Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Since the new administration has taken over, the club has hosted a series of matches between themselves, the Reading Rocs, and the London Unspeakables, dubbed Roxdon, which resulted in clean-sweeps of wins for both the Chimeras and the Quidlings. They have since followed up on this success by travelling to Bangor, and claimed wins for both Oxford teams against their Welsh rivals.
In 2016, the Chimeras regained their national champion placing in the British Quidditch Cup, held 19–20 March.
Results
Radcliffe Chimeras| Date | Tournament name | Teams played | Result |
| 24 November 2012 | Best-of-3 | Reading Rocs | Won |
| 23 February 2013 | Best-of-3 | Leicester Lovegoods | Won |
| 16 Mar 2013 – 17 Mar 2013 | Highlander Cup, Edinburgh | Holyrood Hippogryffs, Avada Keeledavra, Bangor Broken Broomsticks, St Andrews Snidgets | First |
| 16 May 2013 | Single match | Nottingham Nightmares | Won |
| 26 May 2013 | Single match | London Unspeakables | Won |
| 24 Jun 2013 – 25 Jun 2013 | Whiteknights Tournament | Bangor Broken Broomsticks, Reading Rocs, Southampton Quidditch, Oxford Quidlings | First |
| 9 Nov 2013 – 10 Nov 2013 | BQC | Nottingham Nightmares, London Unspeakables, Derby Quidditch, Leeds, Southampton Quidditch, Avada Keeledavra | First |
| 1 Feb 2014 – 2 Feb 2014 | European Quidditch Cup | Paris Frog, Paris Phénix Lille Black Snitches, Barcelona Eagles, Belgian Qwaffles, Paris Frog | First |
| 27 April 2014 | Roxdon | Reading Rocs, London Unspeakables | Won both |
| 3 May 2014 | Single match | Bangor Broken Broomsticks | Won |
| 10 May 2014 | The Almighty Battle | Southampton Quidditch Club, Loughborough Longshots | Won all matches |
Quidlings
| Date | Tournament name | Teams played | Result |
| 24 Jun 2013 – 25 Jun 2013 | Whiteknights Tournament | Bangor Broken Broomsticks, Reading Rocs, Southampton, Radcliffe Chimeras | Fifth |
| 9 Nov 2013 – 10 Nov 2013 | BQC | Leicester Lovegoods, Norwich Nargles, Chester Chasers, Southampton Quidditch | Quarter-finalists |
| 1 Feb 2014 – 2 Feb 2014 | European Quidditch Cup | Brindisi Lunatica, Antwerpen Beerters, Milano Meneghins, Nantes Quidditch, Paris Frog | Ninth |
| 27 April 2014 | Roxdon | Reading Rocs, London Unspeakables | Won both |
| 3 May 2014 | Single match | Bangor Broken Broomsticks | Won |