Alise Fox (2014)
There are obviously a million benefits to playing quidditch but this one is most surprising to me...
I founded my quidditch club in my honours year at uni, and have been very involved in leadership positions ever since. I think the most unexpected side effect of this is how impressive it looks on my CV.
When applying for Serious Grown-Up Jobs as a graduate, I've found that my quidditch volunteering experience can be woven into a lot of selection criteria, and it has really helped me stand out in competitive roles. Every interviewer has asked about quidditch ("but do you fly?") and is impressed at the work and organisation involved.
I actually landed my current job (as a fish scientist) when a friend-of-a-friend brought her HP-obsessed son to a quidditch match. We got chatting and she encouraged me to apply. I bet six-years-ago-Alise couldn't have imagined the career benefits that come from picking up a broom and volunteering.
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Alise founded the USC Quidditch League in 2014, where she has been the President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Events Manager, Social Media Officer, and other things probably. She has also been captain of the QLD Thunderbirds and USC Dementors, and was Treasurer on the QA Board of Directors for several years.
Photo: Jane Larkin
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Ava McConnell (2017)
I had never played competitive sport before. When we had to choose a sport in high school, I signed up for yoga and ice skating. My afternoons were about debating and the student council.
I turned up to quidditch on my first week of uni set on trying it out, but also certain I would drop it in a few weeks. I just needed to fulfil 12 year old me's dream of being Ginny Weasley and chasing for Gryffindor, and then I'd quit, because I knew competitive sport was not my thing.
What I found at my first quidditch training was, instead, a group of people who were kind, supportive, encouraging and friendly. They made sure I knew that regardless of how good (or not) I was, I had a place on the team; there was freedom to get it wrong and make mistakes because we were all learning the rules for the first time.
I very quickly realised that quidditch was something I wanted to be good at - that competitive sport could be my thing, too, and that it could be anyone's thing if they have the right people around them. And I did. The coaches and older players were there every step of the way, cheering me on, encouraging me to keep trying, instilling more faith in me than I'd ever felt.
I never thought I'd be in the grand final of nationals, or represent my state, or even just voluntarily spend hours each week training for and playing sport. It turns out enjoying sport just requires finding the right people.
Quidditch has given me so much, socially, with my friends and my partner and my teams, but it's also done so much for my self confidence. I love the experiences I have, but most surprisingly, I also love the sport itself.
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Ava McConnell joined the University of Sydney Quidditch Club in 2017 where she became Vice President and then President. She now plays for the North Sydney Nightmares where she is the club’s coach, as well as serving on the Quidditch NSW Board of Directors, and playing for the NSW Blue Tongues.
Photo: Ajantha Abey Quidditch Photography
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