| International Quidditch Association | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | IQA |
| Formation | November 11, 2007 (Intercollegiate Quidditch Association) 2010 (IQA) |
| Legal status | Association |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Location | United States |
| Commissioner | Alex Benepe |
| Main organ | Board of Directors |
| Website | [1] |
The International Quidditch Association (IQA) is the governing body for the sport of Muggle Quidditch. It was founded as the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association in 2007 following the very first intercollegiate Quidditch match.[1][2] In 2010 the IQA took its current name. It now comprises over 1000 teams and prospective teams from 13+ nations, but primarily the United States and Canada.[3]
The IQA was founded on the campus of Middlebury College, in Vermont, the International Quidditch Association is the outgrowth of wildly popular on-campus tourneys. The Association currently encompasses 226 schools including Vassar College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Emerson College, Cornell University, and Boston University. The 2006 Middlebury Quidditch World Cup gained the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which subsequently profiled the phenomenon on its front page,[4] while the 2007 edition was featured as a cover story in the 'Life' section of the 27 November 2007 edition of USA Today. A portion of a Middlebury College - Amherst College match was shown live on the CBS morning show on 28 March 2008. 14 schools attended the 2008 Quidditch World Cup from as far away as the University of Washington and Louisiana State University. This is the first year that another country supplied a team (McGill University from Canada). A site was launched to show a live feed of the tournament.[5]
“Muggle Quidditch,” or “Ground Quidditch,” began in 2005 as an intramural league at Middlebury College in Vermont. The rules were adapted from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels by Alexander Manshel, the first Quidditch Commissioner.
In 2006, Alex Benepe took over as the Middlebury Commissioner and, in 2007, founded the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association following the first intercollegiate Quidditch match between Middlebury College and Vassar College on November 11, 2007.
Since then the IQA has helped students from more than 400 colleges and 300 high schools form teams, and over half of them are active already. The vast majority are based in the US, where Quidditch is represented in 45 states. US teams are split into five regions: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West. Other countries with teams or leagues that play by IQA rules include Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.
In 2010 the IQA changed its name to the International Quidditch Association and became a registered nonprofit organization. Today the IQA comprises the Commissioner and President, Alex Benepe, and college volunteers making up the Board of Directors, seven Regional Directors and a dozen Regional Correspondents who work together to network and coordinate matches between schools around the country.[2]
The IQA serves to promote Quidditch as a new sport and lead outreach programs to increase athletic participation among children and young adults and bring magic to communities. One such promotion tool is the magazine The Seer; which is the official magazine of the IQA and the only publication dedicated to the sport of quidditch.[6]
The fourth annual world cup was held November November 13–14, 2010 in DeWitt Clinton Park in New York City. Its website said 757 athletes representing 46 teams competed.[7][8]
Everyone is eligible to compete on a quidditch team. The IQA divides teams into 3 types: High School, Collegiate, and Community. For the World Cup, it names a college champion and a high school champion.
The following teams are listed as official member teams of the IQA:[9]