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Australia national quadball team
Australian sporting team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Australian national quadball team, known as the Dropbears, is the representative national team in the sport of quadball for Australia. The team made history in 2016 when it won the 2016 IQA World Cup,[1] becoming the first non-United States Quidditch World Champions.
Australia made its international debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK,[2] and is one of only 4 national teams to have competed in all 6 IQA World Cups.[3][4] Until 2025, the Dropbears were the only team to ever beat the United States at an international level, and after beating them at the 2025 World Cup to win bronze, are the only team to beat the USA twice.[5][6]
The team is regulated by Quadball Australia and is a national member of the International Quadball Association.[7][8]
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History
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The Australian national team, known at the time as the 'Australian Olympic Quidditch Team', made its debut in 2012 at the International Quidditch Association Summer Games held 8 July 2012 in Oxford, England. Scheduled to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics, the tournament later became the first iteration of the IQA Quidditch World Cup.[9] Australia placed third of the five teams competing, defeating Canada 60*-50[a] in the Bronze Medal match.[10]
The first official National Squad was formed in 2014 in the lead up to what would retrospectively become the second IQA World Cup, known at the time as Global Games. The national team, adopting the official nickname "The Dropbears", was one of seven participating countries at the tournament held 19-20 July 2014 in Burnaby, Canada.[11] Australia earned a spot in the final by defeating France, Mexico, Belgium, the UK, and Canada in pool play, before losing to the United States 210*-0[a] in the final and walking away with the silver medal.[12]
The third international quidditch world cup was held 23-24 July 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany, where Australia was one of 21 teams competing.[1] The team defeated Germany, France, and Canada in pool play on day 1, progressing to bracket play on Sunday, where they beat Canada and France to earn the spot in the gold medal match.[5][13]
A repeat of 2014 saw Australia and defending champions the United States facing off in the final. After a long and tightly contested match, the Dropbears eventually claimed Gold with a snitch catch, defeating the United States 150*-130[a].[14] The 2016 World Champion Dropbears squad was coached by Gen Gibson and captained by James Mortenson.[15]
This historic win took the international quidditch community by storm,[16] being a significant upset against Team USA who were previously undefeated in the entire history of the sport.[17][18]
The Dropbears finished 5th at the 2018 World Cup, held 27 June - 2 July 2018 in Florence, Italy, after being defeated by the United States (the eventual winners) in the quarterfinals.[19] The fifth IQA World Cup was scheduled to take place in 2020 in Richmond, United States, but was delayed to 2021 and then again to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia was subsequently invited to attend the 2022 European Games, an international tournament hosted in the off-years between the World Cup. This was seen as controversial by some due to the fact that the tournament is specifically designed for teams based in Europe and since Australia has a strong international record they therefore went into the tournament as a favourite despite never competing in it before.[20] However, the IQA defended allowing both Australia and Hong Kong to compete due to the lack of an equivalent continental games tournament in their region.[21] Australia finished third at the tournament, defeating Norway 140-120*[a] to claim the bronze medal.[22]
The fifth world cup took place 15-16 July 2023 in Richmond, United States, where Australia finished 7th after being defeated by Belgium in the quarterfinals.[23]
In 2024, the Australian Development Team, known as "Aurora Australis", was formed, making their international debut at the Quadball Nations Cup.[24] The tournament, an international-level elite tournament designed for development teams and emerging players,[25] took place 5-6 October 2024 in Salou, Spain, where Australia finished 6th overall after being knocked out in the quarterfinals by Team World.[26]
The 2025 IQA World Cup was held 11-13 July 2025 in Tubize, Belgium.[27] Australia was seeded 4th after pool play after winning all their games, before losing to eventual winners Belgium in the semis. They then defeated the USA in the 3rd place play-off 90*-80[a] to win bronze.[28]
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Competitive record
IQA World Cup
† The 2020 World Cup was initially postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19,[33] and later further postponed to 2023.[34]
European Games
Nations Cup
Australia participated as "Aurora Australis", their official development team.
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International Squad Lists
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IQA World Cup 2025 (Brussels, Belgium)
The squad for the 2025 IQA World Cup was announced on December 13, being coached by current national head coach Tom Russell.[35]
Quadball Nations Cup 2024 (Salou, Spain)
The squad for the 2024 Nations Cup was coached by Tom Russell[36] and captained by Rajtilak Kapoor and Ava McConnell.[37][38] QNC rules limit the number of players a team can name who competed at for any country at the most recent IQA World Cup.[39]
IQA World Cup 2023 (Richmond, United States)
The squad for the 2023 World Cup was captained by Samantha Chittenden[40] and coached by Luke Derrick.[41][42]
IQA European Games 2022 (Limerick, Ireland)
The squad for the 2022 European Games was captained by Samantha Chittenden[43] and coached by Nicola Gertler, Tim Scott, and Kim Govier.[44][45]
IQA World Cup 2018 (Florence, Italy)
The squad for the 2018 World Cup was captained by Callum Mayling and coached by Gen Gibson and Daniel Fox.[46][47][48]
IQA World Cup 2016 (Frankfurt, Germany)
The squad for the 2016 World Cup was captained by James Mortensen and coached by Gen Gibson.[15][49]
IQA Global Games 2014 (Burnaby, Canada)
The squad for the 2014 World Cup was captained by James Hyder.[50]
IQA Summer Games 2012 (Oxford, England)
The squad for the 2012 IQA Summer Games was captained by Katherine Hunter.[10]
Note: This list is incomplete.
Most Caps
*includes one or more appearances as a reserve
^includes one or more appearances as part of Aurora Australis
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Notes
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References
External links
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