Belgium national quidditch team

Belgian Gryffins
Alternative gryffin design for Team Belgium.png
Full name Belgium National Quidditch Team
Nicknames The Belgian Gryffins
de Belgische Gryffioenen
les Gryffons Belges
den Belgischen Greyfen
Founded 2014
League Quidditch
Colours Black, gold and red
              
Head coach 2014: David Danos
Captain 2014: David Danos
Championships 2014 Global Games
Uniforms
Website Belgian Gryffins Facebook Page

The Belgium national quidditch team, also known as the Belgian Gryffins (Dutch: Belgische Gryffioenen; French: Gryffons Belges; German: Belgischen Greyfen), is the national team of Belgium in quidditch. The team was founded in 2014 upon the announcement of the 2014 IQA Global Games,[1][2][3] the International Quidditch Association's second international tournament featuring national teams.

The team is controlled by the Belgian Quidditch Federation, the head organisation of all quidditch in Belgium. The name Gryffins and the logo come from the combination of Belgium's two community's symbols: the Walloon cock and the Flemish lion.[4]

History

The Gryffins were founded in 2014 under the guiding of Canadian David Danos at the announcement of the 2014 Global Games[5] in Burnaby, B.C., Canada. As Belgium's quidditch scene was young and developing, unlike other nations, there were no try-outs for the 2014 team. The decision for who goes rests on the individual player's ability to fund themselves. The Gryffins held a crowd-funding campaign through Indiegogo where they raised nearly €1000[6] of the €8000 needed and are keeping a social media presence through their Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Gryffins will once again make their debut at the international stage at the European Games in July 2015.

Colours

The Belgian tricolore flag

The colours of the team have always been that of the Belgium tricolore, red, gold and black. Since in quidditch it is illegal to sport a jersey primarily with yellow due to confusion with snitches, the primary colours are always red or black with yellow as a flair.[7]

Jersey History

The 2014 jerseys were put through a popular vote by any interested Belgian quidditch player with the resulting design done by Julie-Anne Weber:[8]

Players

The team is open to any player that is a Belgian citizen or permanent resident, a temporary resident of Belgium or has excessive contact with Belgian quidditch at the discretion of the head of Belgium Muggle Quidditch. Currently the team listed is from the 2014 Global Games roster. The next time the Gryffins make a debut, the roster will be filled with new players.

2013/2014 Season
No. Pos. Player Nat. Team
10 C Laurens Grinwis Plaat Stultjes Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
9 C Jana Meers Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
11 C Nathan Wilputte Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
07 C/K Corentin (Cory) Faniel Belgium Scotland St. Andrews Snidgets
06 K Gorik Verbeken Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
72 B David Danos (C) Canada Brussels Qwaffles
4 B Inke Gieghase Belgium Deurne Dodo's
12 B Jerona van der Gevel Netherlands Netherlands AmsterDragons
3 C/S Pauline Schena Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
17 B Laura Mailleux Belgium Brussels Qwaffles
18 C Ruth D'Hoore Belgium Ghent Gargoyles
26 B Lieselot Van den Abbeele Belgium Ghent Gargoyles

Competitive Record

The Gryffins made their debut at the 2014 IQA Global Games where they placed last. Due to how the team was chosen (those who could afford to make it over having try-outs)[9] and the fact that the team had just eleven players, the Belgian team had difficulties keeping to pace with the other teams. However, as the quaffle point differentials show, Team Belgium, while outmatched, did not experience all complete losses, most notably in the Belgium-Canada game where a strong defensive line held the score to just 70-30* Canada. What solidified Belgium's seventh place was the final forfeit to Team USA where it was decided by the team to no longer progress as much of the team had succumbed to treatable injury.[10][11]

2014 Global Games
Opposing Team Winning Team GF GA SC MM:SS
Mexico Team Mexico Mexico 70150Mexico24:00
Canada Team Canada Canada 3070Belgium18:19
United Kingdom Team UK United Kingdom 5090Belgium14:31
Australia Team Australia Australia 0160Australia20:00
France Team France France 60140Belgium-**
United States Team USA United States 0150 -*00:00

* Indicates that that was forfeited with a 150*-0 loss.

** Indicates unknown game time.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "IQA Global Games Announced". US Quidditch. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "IQA Global Games". US Quidditch. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "L’avant-tournoi des Global Games". La Gazette du Sorcier. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  4. ↑ "BKL5 à Bruxelles : ils se préparent aux Jeux Mondiaux de Quidditch". SudOuest. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  5. ↑ IQA Global Games Announced
  6. ↑ "Gryffins Indiegogo page". Indiegogo. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Rule 2.5.2.C - jersey colours
  8. ↑ "Facebook thread where votes were cast". Facebook. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "Les IQA Global Games 2014". La Gazette du Sorcier. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Les Resultats des Global Games 2014". PotterMag. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Team USA Wins Gold at Quidditch Global Games 2014". Vancity Buzz. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.