COVID-19: Decision Timelines for State Shield & QUAFL, Memberships, & World Cup Updates
/On Friday 19th March, the Quidditch Australia Board held an emergency meeting to discuss further plans and timelines for events later in the year, following the nation-wide suspension on play issued on the 18th March.
The decisions made, particularly concerning decision timelines, are summarised in the points below. Further details follow afterwards.
Nationwide Play Suspension: We have not set an end date due to the unpredictability of the situation, however, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and formally review this in early May.
State Shield 2020: We are currently working under the assumption that State Shield will go ahead as normal. We will be reviewing the situation and a final decision will be made about whether to cancel by the 29th of June. Alternative events are also being considered if the present circumstances prevail to such an extent that states will not have adequate time to prepare.
QUAFL 2020: We are currently working under the assumption that QUAFL will go ahead as normal. We will be reviewing the situation and a final decision will be made about whether to cancel by the 31st of August. Adjustments to eligibility requirements will be considered if necessary.
2020 Memberships: Refunds on unused memberships will be offered on a case by case basis, and can be sought by emailing treasurer@quidditchaustralia.org. Unused trial memberships will be extended to expire one month following the resumption of play in that player’s state. Members who have used (i.e. played official games) their membership will not be eligible for refunds, however, this will be reviewed periodically through the year.
World Cup 2020: The IQA recently announced their decision timeline for World Cup, with a final decision to be made by April 15th on whether to hold the event as planned, cancel, or postpone until 2021. Their full statement can be found here. The Dropbears campaign will be delayed until this decision has been made, and Quidditch Australia will be working with the IQA in consultation with our players to reach a decision.
Further Details:
1. Nation-Wide Suspension:
At this stage, we have no solid grounds for anticipating how long the pandemic situation will last in Australia, other than the federal government’s assertion that the circumstances will persist for at least 6 months. In light of this, we have not set a hard end date on the nation-wide suspension of play that was instituted on March 18th.
The board will be tracking the situation throughout our meetings this year (these occur roughly every 2 weeks), with a formal review due at the beginning of May. This is likely when the next major official update on the COVID-19 situation will come. In the mean time, we will also be arranging for an open office hours in early April, so if you have further questions, please look out for this opportunity.
2. State Shield 2020:
With States reasonably concerned that the suspension of play will limit their ability to prepare via holding selections and trainings etc. ahead of State Shield, we have set decision timelines at three months in advance of the event, which is currently planned for Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham, Melbourne (the same location as in 2019), on the 3rd and 4th of October [This is not yet finalised, but the most likely outcome]. If the pandemic situation shows no sign of improving by June 29th, we will be cancelling the event as planned, in consultation with the relevant states.
However, if we are still able to lift the suspension of play by October, alternative replacement events may also be considered - these may include a Strategic Forum, QuidCamp, National Fantasy, some combination thereof, or something else entirely. If you have ideas, please pitch us at admin@quidditchaustralia.org.
At this stage, we cannot confirm whether a postponement of State Shield until after QUAFL will be possible or feasible, as this will be partially dependent on when/whether World Cup is being held, and how the timing of State Shield would affect the Dropbears campaign.
3. QUAFL 2020:
Similarly to State Shield, we will be making a decision regarding QUAFL being cancelled or not no later than three months in advance of the tournament - 31st August. We hope that it will not come to this, and will be in consultation with team reps closer to the time about the best course forward, depending on the pandemic situation at that time.
Given that a limited play period before QUAFL is plausible for many, if not all teams, changes to the eligibility criteria for teams and individuals to attend the tournament will be considered. The aim of Quidditch Australia will continue to be to have as many teams and individuals playing at QUAFL as possible, especially on such a historically important year, this being the 10th. Eligibility requirements are in place for a reason (this being, primarily, player safety), however, we will be investigating other ways to fulfil this requirement if necessary.
In the event of having to make a choice between keeping State Shield or QUAFL on, Quidditch Australia will be prioritising QUAFL as the national championships and a more inclusive annual event that the whole nation can take part in.
4. Memberships for 2020 and Refunds:
nb: For the purposes of this statement, a ‘used’ membership is one where the player with that membership has already participated in one or more sanctioned events.
Trial Memberships: Trial memberships that have been used already will not be eligible for refund. Unused trial memberships will be extended to expire one month following the resumption of quidditch in that member’s state, so that they still may be used as normal. For example, if play resumes from July, but the member don't have a local training or tournament scheduled until September, their trial membership would be for the month of September. Refunds are also available on request to treasurer@quidditchaustralia.org. Players will need to supply their membership number and name.
Other Memberships: Refunds will be granted on a case by case basis for players who have not used their 2020 membership. To apply for a refund please email treasurer@quidditchaustralia.org. . Refunds will not be given to those that have already used their membership at this stage. We remain hopeful that play will be able to be resumed in the second half of the year, during which any memberships will of course still be active and tenable, however, should the pandemic situation persist, partial refunds on membership may be reconsidered.
Insurance: It has been recommended by our insurer that we continue our Public Liability insurance, which we will be doing as this protects us as an organisation. At this stage it seems unlikely we can get a suspension/roll over of our personal injury insurance, but we have the choice of suspending future payments (ie. the 2020-2021 FY) until we start sanctioning events again. We are still in communication with our insurance providers regarding this, and we will provide you with more updates as we get them. This is relevant as the vast majority of membership fees go towards paying for this insurance.
5. Dropbears and World Cup
The IQA have announced that their timeline for decisions regarding World Cup is April 15th. The Dropbears campaign was initially planned to begin close to the end of March, however, this will be postponed now until after this date, when we can know with more certainty if/when the event will be taking place. We will be delaying our coordination of Dropbears supporters until after this date as well.
Currently, training camps remain suspended as per QA Policy. Should the World Cup be postponed until next year, we will be consulting with the team regarding who will still be able and willing to play, and who will not. It is possible that selections may open up again in this scenario, but no decisions have been made at this point.
In the mean time, Quidditch Australia will be working closely with the IQA in the lead up to April 15th in making the decision to postpone, cancel, or go ahead with World Cup. If any members, especially those with travel plans, have particular opinions regarding this, they can reach out to Ajantha Abey (media@quidditchaustralia.org), who is Quidditch Australia’s primary contact to the IQA. Dropbears Manager Ruth Creffield (dropbears@quidditchaustralia.org) is also in direct communication with the IQA. Quidditch Australia will also be consulting directly with the team on the situation.