The International Quidditch Association, Inc, is a magical nonprofit dedicated to promoting the sport of Quidditch and inspiring young people to lead physically active and socially engaged lives.
Our Three Goals
Our three goals are based upon the three essential elements that were necessary for Xander Manshel to conceive of and create real-life Quidditch for the first time, and outline the progression from an idea to a fully fledged national organization, and can be used and emulated on any scale and unfold in the following order: creativity, community, and competition.
Creativity
1) To foster a culture of creativity
Xander Manshel’s first steps toward creating real-life Quidditch required a creative solution to a seemingly insurmountable challenge – how do you recreate a magic game without magic?
But creating a game requires more than just problem-solving; it requires confidence in a moral code and belief in a mandate for change. Quidditch was founded in the spirit of experimenting with new ideas and daring to promote, and participate in, a different activity. We are born into an entirely pre-fabricated world, and developing and sharing a new idea with others is important to show people that new ideas can exist, that they can be created by young people, and that they can take root and grow in meaningful ways. Quidditch demands creative solutions every day to assemble a team and equipment, raise money, design uniforms, events, and iconography.
Additionally, real-life Quidditch’s literary roots underscore the roles that literacy and reading play in our creative endeavors and demonstrates, yet again, that books have the power to change the world and unite and forge new communities and traditions. In order to continue the beneficial role that one book played in creating this game, the IQA will take strategic steps towards promoting literacy.
Community
2) To create, connect, and enhance our communities:
When Xander had to take the next step from creating a game to debuting it in public, he had to leverage, engage, and activate his friends and peers, essentially his community. The IQA continues to expand on Xander’s original strategies by serving and engaging two communities:
I) The Quidditch players and fan community: We want to be the one-stop shop for our members, players and fans all over the world to keep up to date on all Quidditch news. We work with the media to arrange demonstration matches to showcase the sport to a wider audience and attract new participants and supporters. Our volunteers work with teams all over the world to set up local matches, exhibition matches, and Quidditch conferences with regular season play.
II) The local communities where our teams live: Our teams are encouraged to give back by holding local read-a-thons, teaching Quidditch to elementary school students, and coming up with ideas for fundraisers that will benefit local charities. We are strong advocates of the health benefits of Quidditch as a social and physical activity. As one of the only true co-ed sports, we believe Quidditch teaches players to respect and value each other’s abilities regardless of gender.
Competition
3) To Facilitate Competition:
Xander understood that the dramatic, theatrical elements of competition was the glue that would hold the organization together and keep people coming back, making competition the final and keystone element of the triad.
The IQA continues to follow Xander’s dream by providing, facilitating, stimulating, and promoting as many opportunities for competitive Quidditch as possible. These include but are not limited to: the annual World Cup event, sponsored regional tournaments around the country, reporting and tracking global results, and setting and developing rules and guidelines for organizing and officiating games.
