Rivalries Rekindled at the 2019 Regional Championships

Photo Credit: Amanda Sproule

Quidditch Canada’s 2019 Eastern and Western Regional Championships featured familiar matchups at the top of the podium. In Guelph, ON, the defending home team 2018 Champions – the Guelph Gryphons – caught from behind against Valhalla Quidditch to secure back to back Eastern Regional titles. In Surrey, B.C., the Vancouver Storm Crows faced off against the Edmonton Aurors, showing a dominant performance to secure their first gold medal.

Eastern Regional Championship Recap:

This year’s Eastern Regional Championship featured 12 teams from across Ontario and Québec. Guelph and Valhalla found themselves in opposite pools, dominating their opponents all weekend, and playing all games well out of range. Day 2 seeding placed them on opposite sides of the bracket. Each would face off one of Quidditch Canada’s newest Eastern Community teams in the semi’s – with Valhalla matching up against the Montreal Flamingos, and Guelph against the Mississauga Manatees – to secure a spot in the finals. 

The Bronze matchup saw the Manatees and the Flamingos play a tight game up until snitch on pitch. Though the Manatees briefly pulled ahead by 40, the Flamingos scored just before snitch-on-pitch (SOP) to make it an in-range game, and scoring against just after seekers were released. The eventual Manatees catch secured their Bronze finish with a final score of 130*-80. 

The old rivalry of Guelph Gryphons and Valhalla Quidditch promised a close game. Eerily reminiscent of last year’s Eastern Regional matchup, Guelph pulled away to an early 50-10 lead against Valhalla, led by chaser Jeremy Burrows-Balka, who was the tournament’s highest scoring chaser all weekend. Valhalla soon responded, scoring 6 unanswered goals.  The score was 70-60 for Valhalla when the snitch was released. Guelph’s quick catch secured their medal with a final score of 90*-70. 

Impressive showings by the Eastern Region’s mid tier teams also led to exciting matchups throughout the consolation bracket; notably, McGill Quidditch’s overtime win against Queen’s Quidditch (210-230*^) earned them a top 5 finish. 

Western Regional Championship Recap

In Surrey, B.C., 7 teams from British Columbia and Alberta matched up in a pool play, followed by a double elimination style bracket. 

The Vancouver Storm Crows dominated their Day 1 matchups, playing well out of range against Edmonton (120*-30), and ending 4-0. Edmonton’s only loss on Day 1 was to the Storm Crows, ending with a 2-1 record after pool play. The Vancouver Vipertooths – a historic community program returning to Quidditch Canada this season – also ended 2-1, resulting in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seeding to these community programs. 

The Vipertooths fell to the lower bracket in the first round in a close loss against the UBC Thunderbirds (90-120*). However, they fought through the lower bracket, facing up again against UBC and winning 100*-60 to secure a podium spot. Their eventual loss to Edmonton (140-70*) confirmed their third place finish. 

Edmonton dominated early matchups in the upper bracket, facing off against the Storm Crows for the first time on Day 1 in a close game where they would catch the snitch to send the game to overtime. The Storm Crows’ overtime catch from behind would send Edmonton down to the lower bracket, winning the lower bracket final and ensuring their finals appearance. In their 3rd game of the weekend, the Storm Crows pulled out to an early lead and a widening gap that Edmonton was unable to close, catching to end with a final score of 110*-30. 

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Quidditch Canada would like to take the opportunity to thank the incredible athletes, volunteers, and partners that made this tournament possible. In particular, we would like to highlight the work of Nina Patti, Kelly Streznewski, Jessica Pickering, Jessalynn Tsang, and Michael Howard for their tireless efforts in bringing these events to life.

The City of Edmonton will host our league teams for the National Championship on March 28-29, 2020. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, for ongoing updates throughout the season to see who will take home the coveted Jessop-Robinson Trophy, and the title of National Champion. 

Curious to see where teams are ranked following Regional Championships? Check out our updated Rankings page. Archived footage from this year’s regional championships is available on Quidditch Canada’s YouTube Channel.