Due to the growing uncertainty and risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IQA World Cup has been postponed from July 18-19, 2020 to July 31-August 1, 2021. The venue and host city remain the same — Glover Park in Richmond, VA.
The decision to postpone was made by the IQA board after consulting with NGB and national team representatives, emergency response experts, the IQA events department, USQ staff, and local event partners. Under the current circumstances, the board felt that it would be impossible to guarantee the health and safety of all attendees at a summer 2020 event. When looking at whether to postpone to 2021 or 2022, the impact of both years on several key groups was analyzed, including NGBs/national teams, the IQA, USQ, volunteers and spectators, and event partners.
"We are very sorry that World Cup cannot happen this summer,” said Pauline Reas, events director of the IQA. “We know that it’s one of the most important events for the entire quidditch community. It’s not just a competition, though that’s surely a very exciting part of it! It’s an opportunity for us to gather together, to meet people from different countries and cultures and grow as sportspeople. Remember that those values are not going away. We’re all going through a very difficult time right now, but quidditch will be coming back, and we will all meet again."
"Richmond Region Tourism and Henrico County have been incredibly supportive over the past few weeks, as the IQA and USQ have deliberated over what to do," said Mary Kimball, executive director of USQ. "We couldn't have asked for better partners."
IQA World Cup is the peak international competitive tournament for the sport of quidditch, bringing together over two dozen national teams from around the world. There were 29 teams in attendance at the last World Cup two years ago, held June 30- July 1, 2018 at Polisportiva U.S. Affrico, located in the Campo di Marte area of Florence, Italy. The US national team won gold in 2018, their third world championship title. Belgium and Turkey received their first World Cup medals at that event - Belgium with silver and Turkey with bronze.
Team registration for the IQA World Cup will restart and reopen later in the summer, and additional registration details will be shared soon. For those who expressed an interest in volunteering at the event this summer, the IQA events team will be in touch with more information about 2021 in the upcoming weeks.
Tickets for the IQA World Cup will go on sale later this year.
BACKGROUND - Overall, 30 NGBs and nationals teams provided their feedback on postponing World Cup 2020. A summary of the feedback collected can be found here. In light of the feedback, the IQA board concluded that postponement of the event was in the best interest of all involved. More information can be found in the IQA’s announcement here.
IQA and USQ would like to thank everyone who has already dedicated their time and support in making the IQA World Cup 2020 happen. We are grateful for the support of our event partners, Richmond Region Tourism, and Henrico County, and appreciate their commitment to continue to support the event in 2021.
USQ RESPONSE TO COVID-19 - The decision to postpone this summer’s IQA World Cup follows our decision to end the 2019-20 season early and cancel US Quidditch Cup 13. Learn more about USQ’s response to COVID-19 and how you can support the organization here.
We thank everyone who has purchased membership for next season, as well as those who have made a donation. Your support is greatly appreciated.
For questions, email info@usquidditch.org.
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