Quidditch in Iowa

Attention University of Iowa students: the Iowa Quidditch Club is recruiting!

Come and check us out at the virtual student org fair this Wednesday September 2nd, 2020 (the zoom info will be listed on our facebook events and events.uiowa.edu/36810) and at our virtual new member meeting Thursday September 7th (we will have more info about the new member meeting later this week so keep checking our events!)

Congrats to Payton Gallery, president of the Iowa Quidditch Club, on making the roster for the Minneapolis Monarchs!

Presenting the 2020 MLQ honorary rosters 🔥 We may not be on the pitch together this summer, but that doesn't mean we can't be there in spirit. Take a look at the players who made the cut across our 15 teams. http://mlquidditch.com/teams/

Iowa players: make sure to fill out the USQ census!

Have you filled out USQ's census yet? The goal of this survey is to better serve our members of the quidditch community as part of our diversity & equity initiative. All players, officials, volunteers, and fans are encouraged to participate. The census will help inform our team on where to begin focusing initiatives for future seasons. Please help us reach our goal of 600 participants!

To participate:
🔗: https://forms.gle/Qi3MXfb3rzo7qHAp7

To learn more about this initiative:
🔗: https://www.usquidditch.org/news/2020/05/diversity-equity-committee-initiatives

We stand with our community. If you would like to take action right here in Iowa, please donate to the Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project. Please see USQ's statement below for more resources.

Thanks to US Quidditch for giving us a platform to share our goals and plans for growing quidditch in Iowa! Check out the article below to see what we've been working on!

The quarantine has halted many of quidditch’s normal activities, from practices to tournaments to in-person social events. However, just as our members have found ways to connect with each other, they’ve also been working to make new connections and grow the community.

One great example of this is Quidditch in Iowa, a new group dedicated to growing quidditch in the state of Iowa. The group was started by three alumni from the two existing Iowa quidditch teams: Lily Neumann, Andrew Folkmann, and Erica Dodge. Learn more about how they are adapting during the quarantine, and their tips for other teams and regions looking to grow the sport during this time. 🔗https://www.usquidditch.org/news/2020/05/quidditch-in-quarantine-recruitment-tips-from-quidditch-in-iowa

Photo by: John Emigh

Congrats to the Class of 2020! We wanted to take a moment to recognize our Iowa seniors. Thank you for your dedication to your teams and good luck in your future endeavors!

1) Keegan Levings-Curry, Iowa State University: Keegan played be**er for and served as president of the Iowa State Quidditch Club. He is graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering and plans to move to Oklahoma City to work in the avionics department at Tinker Air Force Base.

2) Cassie Birk, University of Iowa: Cassie played be**er for and was the chief graphic designer for the Iowa Quidditch Club. She is graduating with degrees in English-Creative Writing & Linguistics and minors in Theatre Arts and Comparative Literature.

3) Lily Larsen, University of Iowa: Lily played be**er for the Iowa Quidditch Club. She is graduating with a BA in Theatre Arts.

4) Bailey Bergman, University of Iowa: Bailey played be**er for and served as social media manager for the Iowa Quidditch Club. She is graduating with a BA in Biology and a writing certificate. Bailey will be working at Fontana Nature Center this summer as a naturalist and plans to pursue a career in informal science education.

👏👏👏

“Non-male” is a gender identifier with no place in quidditch.

👉 https://wp.me/p2PYJb-2Ot

📸 HIGH Quality Quid Pics

Happy Mother's Day to all the out there!

We couldn’t do this without the wonderful around the country. Team moms, playing moms, supportive moms, moms that remind you to pack your mouth guard! Thank you for everything you do all year round 💙
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Share with us the best quidditch mom moments!
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📸 Miguel Esparza

Today is the last day of USQ's fundraiser and they are less than $4,000 from their goal! Please consider donating if you haven't already, even a small donation makes a huge difference!

We have less than $8,000 and 12 hours to go to make our goal of $60,000 by the end of April! Help us get there by making a donation to the campaign: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/us-quidditch/savequidditch

This sport means so much to thousands of people around the country. From weekly practices to tournament road trips to pre-game chants, playing quidditch is like coming home. And we can all rise higher together with your support. You are all stars!

“Running around on the freshman quad with a broomstick between my legs, merging with the team, I was taught the meaning of happiness and how good it feels to be included. I tried to never miss a practice or a tournament, no matter what. Saturdays became a light in the dark. They were stars that I would reach for every week, getting closer with the chant it will all be better by practice.”

📸: Tom "Chiddy" Powers

US Quidditch, the national governing body of quidditch in the United States, has launched a campaign to raise $30,000 in a week. Due to COVID-19 ending the season early and causing the cancellation of the national tournament this weekend, USQ needs your help to continue to function and pay its full time employees who have dedicated everything to this sport. We understand that times are tough for a lot of people at the moment, but if you can spare any amount it will make a huge difference. Quidditch is more than a sport, we are a community, and we are asking everyone to come together to support us during this time. Thank you, and please continue to stay safe and healthy!

USQ is launching an urgent donation campaign to raise $30,000. Learn more on how you can help here: https://www.usquidditch.org/news/2020/04/usq-launches-donation-campaign

DONATE
🔗 http://www.usquidditch.org/get-involved/donate

PURCHASE MEMBERSHIP
🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNSixRWDoYavB8nceGYAVFxgORYbNom1Ss56RPLPeNgbMS4g/viewform

BUY MERCHANDISE
🔗 https://store.dftba.com/collections/us-quidditch

SHARE YOUR STORIES
🔗 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdXmvpc0cv-m0HIcwPIwf9bt0dPuXpgaKx_xqF6ZS0lXmlv6w/viewform?usp=sf_link
🔗https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vqyal58sufqr1o4/AAAl52Suwn9O0kDdWYWPa5AJa?dl=0

VOLUNTEER
🔗 https://www.usquidditch.org/get-involved/volunteer

📸: Isabella Gong

And finally, the third member of our team: Erica Dodge graduated with an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and is currently working on a Masters Degree at the University of Iowa. She just completed her 3rd year as a member of the Iowa Quidditch Club. She is a certified Lead Assistant Referee and Tournament Director with US Quidditch. Erica also works as the Coordinator of Youth Quidditch for the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department.

Quidditch in Iowa updated their business hours.

Quidditch in Iowa updated their website address.

Introducing our next group member: Lily Neumann is a recent graduate of the University of Iowa, where she co-founded the Iowa Quidditch Club in 2017. She served as president and travel officer of the team for two years, in addition to holding Lead Assistant Referee, Coach, and Tournament Director certifications with US Quidditch. Lily now plays chaser for Chicago United Quidditch Club and works for University of Iowa Parking & Transportation.

Introducting the first member of our team: Andrew Folkmann (pictured second from left) graduated from Iowa State University, where he played quidditch from 2011-2017 as a be**er. There at Iowa State, he served in the positions of Equipment Manager, Social Media and Marketing, Vice President, and President. During his presidency for the Cyclones he transitioned the team from unofficial to an official team with what is now US Quidditch. Since graduating college, Andrew has worked as a Camp Director for the YMCA of Greater Tulsa and now works for Camp Io Dis E Ca as Director of Program and Retreats where he continues to work with youth and college age adults.

Welcome to our page! We are a group of alumni from the Iowa Quidditch Club (University of Iowa) and the Iowa State Quidditch Club (Iowa State University) with a combined 12 years of experience playing quidditch, who are passionate about the growth of the sport within the state of Iowa. We hope to use this page to promote the existing teams in the state, help new teams get started, connect potential players to teams, work with community organizations to host youth quidditch clinics and events, and whatever other opportunities arise for us to support quidditch in Iowa. If you are interested in getting involved in the sport or working with our group, please message our page or email us at [email protected]!