We have not posted anything new here for a long time, but the team has kept on being busy. We have new players, new shirts too, we took part to an event organized by a library on the occasion for the release of the new Harry Potter game, we also won our first tournament of the 2013 season.
On November 23rd, Belgium Muggle Quidditch organised a tournament gathering seven international teams : Barcelona Eagles (Spain), Beerters and Qwaffles from Belgium, the Blacks Snitches from Lille (France), Toulouse Muggle Quidditch (France), Frog from Paris and us Paris Phenix.
Our team won the tournament and here are the details of the games :
Paris Frog 140* - Belgian Beerters 0
Lille Black Snitches 50* - Barcelona Eagles 90
Belgian Qwaffles 30 - Paris Phenix 60*
Toulouse Quidditch 0 - Paris Frog 140*
Barcelona Eagles 50* - Paris Phenix 20
Belgian Qwaffles 30 - Lille Black Snitches 50*
Belgian Beerters 0 - Paris Phenix 200*
Lille Black Snitches 110* - Toulouse Quidditch 30
Paris Frog 70* - Barcelona Eagles 0
Lille Black Snitches 20 - Paris Phenix 80*
Barcelona Eagles 20 - Paris Phenix 100*
Paris Frog 30 - Paris Phenix 60*
NB : the star shows the team who caught the snitch.
On November 23rd, Belgium Muggle Quidditch organised a tournament gathering seven international teams : Barcelona Eagles (Spain), Beerters and Qwaffles from Belgium, the Blacks Snitches from Lille (France), Toulouse Muggle Quidditch (France), Frog from Paris and us Paris Phenix.
Our team won the tournament and here are the details of the games :
Paris Frog 140* - Belgian Beerters 0
Lille Black Snitches 50* - Barcelona Eagles 90
Belgian Qwaffles 30 - Paris Phenix 60*
Toulouse Quidditch 0 - Paris Frog 140*
Barcelona Eagles 50* - Paris Phenix 20
Belgian Qwaffles 30 - Lille Black Snitches 50*
Belgian Beerters 0 - Paris Phenix 200*
Lille Black Snitches 110* - Toulouse Quidditch 30
Paris Frog 70* - Barcelona Eagles 0
Lille Black Snitches 20 - Paris Phenix 80*
Barcelona Eagles 20 - Paris Phenix 100*
Paris Frog 30 - Paris Phenix 60*
NB : the star shows the team who caught the snitch.
Let us now listen to some of our players :
Eric our captain :
The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking back about this tournament is PRIDE !
After our defeat against the team of Barcelona Eagles I knew we would have to change something if we wanted to make it to the first place. And I was afraid that the fact that this was the first tournament for many of our players might make it more difficult. But my team showed me I was so wrong. As I had been wounded I could not play the three last games but instead I have been able to admire the courage of the Phenixes who wsood up and walked straight to victory. That was a delightful scene to watch. And I can never be any prouder of my team than on that moment when they defeated Paris Frog, thus winning the tournament. That was magic.
As for the rest of the tournament, I have to congratulate the organizers, who managed to give us such a good day in spite of the cold and difficult conditions. And I congratulate both teams from Belgium and Barcelona Eagles for their frst competition. I have been impressed by their level and I do believe that quidditch in Europe is going to have a great future!
After our defeat against the team of Barcelona Eagles I knew we would have to change something if we wanted to make it to the first place. And I was afraid that the fact that this was the first tournament for many of our players might make it more difficult. But my team showed me I was so wrong. As I had been wounded I could not play the three last games but instead I have been able to admire the courage of the Phenixes who wsood up and walked straight to victory. That was a delightful scene to watch. And I can never be any prouder of my team than on that moment when they defeated Paris Frog, thus winning the tournament. That was magic.
As for the rest of the tournament, I have to congratulate the organizers, who managed to give us such a good day in spite of the cold and difficult conditions. And I congratulate both teams from Belgium and Barcelona Eagles for their frst competition. I have been impressed by their level and I do believe that quidditch in Europe is going to have a great future!
Kelly
Since I never took part in any competitive team sport, joining the Phenix team for the Brussels tournament was an unprecedented experience for me. Set in an enchanting weekend, Saturday was filled with emotion, despite the pervasive cold which threw some shivers in.
On D-day, we helped the organisers set up the tents, the goal posts and get everyone registered and then all teams gathered to sing their national anthem before the tournament started. Our first two games were quite unsettling. The new team-players were getting to know old players who can’t always come to practice, and vice versa, so our gameplay was a little touch-and-go. I hardly played, most of the time I spent on the field, I was being a Bludger target, so I don’t think I will keep an everlasting memory of these first games. After our second game, which was the first time the Phenixes were defeated in Europe, the team lost a little of its composure… but we still wanted to win, and we still could ! From then on, any defeat would be eliminatory. We had one job : have fun and enjoy what could be our last minutes on the pitch. Oh, yeah, and we were also supposed to score goals, catch the Snitch and so on, of course. The game against the Beerters put us in higher spirits: nice gameplay, a Chaser scoring while performing a hoop jump, one-for-all and all-for-one, a victory 200 to 0 and I got to play longer. This was followed by a long pause, then three games in a row.
I didn’t play during quarter finals against Lille’s Black Snitches, on account of I was filming the game. Against the Barcelona Eagles, I experienced my first Brooms Up. The tension has been defused since the referees started counting « 1, 2, 3 » before we start charging for the balls, but playing warmed me up anyway. Take a good position, block the attacking team, steal the Quaffle, make a decisive pass, watch our team score, enjoy the ensuing euphoria ! At Quidditch, only a few players are on the pitch, which ensures that everyone is giving their best while the many many suppleants support them. In game or not, everyone is mesmerized by the game, Quaffle, Bludgers and Snitch captivating forty-two players at once. This last but one game has been my greatest Quidditch experience so far : suspense, nice gameplay, and a lot of fair play from both teams…. We could almost have forgotten the cold and the oncoming dusk. When our Seeker caught the Snitch, securing our spot in the finals by ensuring our victory against the team that had defeated us earlier that day, we were set on winning this tournament !
The final came, Frogs vs. Phenix, the most expected game of the day that was, in the end, far from fascinating. Play was constantly stopped and even if I was on the pitch for quite a long time, I feel like I played very little. At some point, one of our Chasers got injured, there was no fault but our spirits sank anyway. With an even score of 30-30, ten minutes before the pitch lights had to be turned off (it was pitch dark and we would have had to resort to sudden death) our Seeker caught the Snitch, and so we won. Our team jumped for joy and later we met some players from other teams for a beer in town, a good-natured night out to the glory of Muggle Quidditch.
On D-day, we helped the organisers set up the tents, the goal posts and get everyone registered and then all teams gathered to sing their national anthem before the tournament started. Our first two games were quite unsettling. The new team-players were getting to know old players who can’t always come to practice, and vice versa, so our gameplay was a little touch-and-go. I hardly played, most of the time I spent on the field, I was being a Bludger target, so I don’t think I will keep an everlasting memory of these first games. After our second game, which was the first time the Phenixes were defeated in Europe, the team lost a little of its composure… but we still wanted to win, and we still could ! From then on, any defeat would be eliminatory. We had one job : have fun and enjoy what could be our last minutes on the pitch. Oh, yeah, and we were also supposed to score goals, catch the Snitch and so on, of course. The game against the Beerters put us in higher spirits: nice gameplay, a Chaser scoring while performing a hoop jump, one-for-all and all-for-one, a victory 200 to 0 and I got to play longer. This was followed by a long pause, then three games in a row.
I didn’t play during quarter finals against Lille’s Black Snitches, on account of I was filming the game. Against the Barcelona Eagles, I experienced my first Brooms Up. The tension has been defused since the referees started counting « 1, 2, 3 » before we start charging for the balls, but playing warmed me up anyway. Take a good position, block the attacking team, steal the Quaffle, make a decisive pass, watch our team score, enjoy the ensuing euphoria ! At Quidditch, only a few players are on the pitch, which ensures that everyone is giving their best while the many many suppleants support them. In game or not, everyone is mesmerized by the game, Quaffle, Bludgers and Snitch captivating forty-two players at once. This last but one game has been my greatest Quidditch experience so far : suspense, nice gameplay, and a lot of fair play from both teams…. We could almost have forgotten the cold and the oncoming dusk. When our Seeker caught the Snitch, securing our spot in the finals by ensuring our victory against the team that had defeated us earlier that day, we were set on winning this tournament !
The final came, Frogs vs. Phenix, the most expected game of the day that was, in the end, far from fascinating. Play was constantly stopped and even if I was on the pitch for quite a long time, I feel like I played very little. At some point, one of our Chasers got injured, there was no fault but our spirits sank anyway. With an even score of 30-30, ten minutes before the pitch lights had to be turned off (it was pitch dark and we would have had to resort to sudden death) our Seeker caught the Snitch, and so we won. Our team jumped for joy and later we met some players from other teams for a beer in town, a good-natured night out to the glory of Muggle Quidditch.
AmelieWT
This tournament has truly been magic for me. I have been so glad to discover a new town, so happy to share this moment with my team of Paris Phenix and to see again my friends from Toulouse with my little sister, blessed by the presence of my parents (particularly of my dad's who has watched his daughters play official games for the first time!), delighted to meet or see again so many quidkids... and with it all, I had my first (even so very small) experience in referring, and I had fun playing (particularly against Barcelona Eagles!)
I can only thank the organizers for it all!!!
I can only thank the organizers for it all!!!