Kyrie's Kwality Kwidditch
It has been a while since I have written anything for this column, for which I completely 100% blame Cassie, but with the end of yet another quidditch season I thought I should probably find something to write about, a task I actually found quite easy to accomplish. After captaining RQT for four undefeated championship seasons, I have seen my fair share of people come and go. While the crazy botting and practicing definitely have not changed since I first took over, the members of the team certainly have. So this column is to cover each of the wonderful active members of RQT this past year: Amy Charz, Amy Lupin, Arielle Lemoyne, Edmund Smethwyck, Matilde Rayne, Pavel Lagrange, Scarlet Leslie, and Sophia Wolfe.
Amy Charz: Of course I would have to start with Charz, the one it is hardest to say something nice about! I know she totally picked her HOL name so that she would come first and make my life difficult. When Charz is not busy making my life difficult, she is botting like a mad woman. Her dedication and determination have made her, in my opinion, HOL’s best player this year. It’s hard to deny her skills when she has more than twice the goals of any other chaser on HOL, more average goals per game than any other chaser on HOL, and individually she scored more than the three other teams managed this past year. Stats like that make even me want to like her just a little bit! Even more important than her impressively amazing stats is her attitude. Despite the team teasing her for being an Amy and having a list of thousands of reasons why we dislike her (she once started a campaign to have all non-Amys rounded up and tagged), she has a wonderful attitude and is always willing to help out a teammate.
Amy Lupin: Ugh, another one of you Amy people. I swear next year I will be successful in renaming at least one of you to a K name, even if it’s Kamy. While Amy might not be as crazy about some of the team members, she is without a doubt just as dedicated. She makes sure to bot and practice even if she knows she can’t make our next game. She is always super supportive of her teammates and is willing to play any position I ask her to (although I’ve yet to ask about keeper...). Amy is a great quaffler (is this a word? I’m making it one if it isn’t), an even better seeker, and a pretty great person despite the fact that she is an Amy.
Arielle Lemoyne: Besides playing for the team, Arielle’s main job is to defuse bombs. When I’m about to go crazy and blow up quidditch, she steps in and deals with all of the nonsense, drama, and various insanity that captains have to deal with throughout the year. She handles all of these situations, my ranting and raving, hosting practices, and whatever else might crop up during the year with a calmness I could never hope to achieve. Even when we had a seeking emergency earlier this year and I told her she was seeking not long before gametime, she was enthusiastic and ready to go. She is an incredible captain and one woman bomb squad.
Edmund Smethwyck: I’m pretty sure Edmund was napping during most of the games this year and might actually be plotting the destruction of our beaters before next year so he can play a bit more. He might have only had 33 block chances during the entire season, but Edmund showed up to every game with enthusiasm and helped out numerous times with feeding his fellow teammates answers. It really is a shame he is so often overlooked for MVP awards just because of the small number of chances he gets. I’m confident that RQT could play without any beaters for a game and still walk away with a near shut-out, something I would not say about many other keepers.
Matilde Rayne: Mattie gets the majority of the blame for Edmund’s lack of block chances this past year. She got more hits and a higher average of blocks per game than any other beater. One of my favourite parts of the past year was watching the other teams underestimate Mattie and her sneaking up and stomping them. If she wasn’t there at the start of this year, Mattie is certainly at the level of quidditch freak now. Mattie might be one of the team’s quieter members, but she is a great teammate and friend. She’s also totally anti-Amy which makes her even more awesome!
Pavel Lagrange: Another one of our quidditch freaks! Pavel has been a wonderful chaser since he came to Ravenclaw two years ago. With the third highest chasing hits and goals in HOL this past year, he made a wonderful team with Charz. I never have to worry about our chasers with either of those two on offense. Even more importantly though, Pavel is the one who pushes me to bot. It is my job to get the team motivated and practicing, but Pavel is the one who does that for me. When I don’t feel like playing any more, he encourages me to bot and get back into it. He helps to create new ways to practice to keep things fun and interesting when things seem to be getting a little dull. He is an amazing chaser, motivator, friend, and our go-to guy for all things nerdy!
Scarlet Leslie: Ever since joining RQT, Scarlet has been nothing but helpful. Whether it’s catching snitches, helping to train other seekers, or playing any quaffle position we need her to, Scarlet is always willing. Everyone who knows her will know that she loves seeking, but it is often Scarlet’s idea to sit out a game or two during the regular season to give other RQT members a chance to seek. I think this says a lot about her character and just what a wonderful teammate she is to all of RQT.
Sophia Wolfe: Sophia officially joined the team at mid-season this past year. However, even before that she showed up to every game to support RQT and cheer us on. Some of the best parts of this season were when she got her first hit and scored her first goal as an RQT’er. The whole team cheered her on. She has immediately fit in with RQT and we are so happy to have her!
That covers everyone who played this year, but I also want to mention Kaiwa Alexandra and Maya Winters. Kaiwa has attended almost every RQT game this past year even though she couldn’t play. She was cheering us on and reminding us to dodge all year long. Maya helped to keep me sane during certain parts of this season and also helped me to train our army of seekers.
Some teams have questioned why RQT has the success it has had in the past. Some think it’s non-stop botting, not having lives, drugs, Taylor Swift, basically anything you can imagine has probably been said at one point or another. However, what it all comes down to is the amazing members of the team that I have previously mentioned. They make RQT wonderful, win or lose, and I love them all for it (maybe not the Amys..)
