Snitches aren’t the only gold the team captured at nationals
After qualifying for the tournament in February, the Gee-Gees quidditch team has proven their dominance and been crowned national champions.
During the two-day tournament in Kingston, Ont., the top-ranked team faced a slew of worthy competitors as they forged their path to the national title.
On the first day, the team participated in pool play where they went a perfect 4-0 before advancing to the quarterfinals on April 4.
In the quarters, the age-old rivalry with the Carleton Ravens got renewed on a different field, as the Gee-Gees came out on top with a 120-60 win over their cross-city foes.
Following the win, the team had little time to prepare to face one of their biggest tests of the season in the semifinals against Waterloo.
The Gees’ hopes were in doubt for a short time before they captured the snitch and scraped by with the hard-fought 80-50 win to send them to the finals.
Knowing their season came down to a final game, the Gee-Gees rallied together to down McGill, a team they were fresh of blowing out in the semifinals of the Eastern Regional.
The 110-50 win secured the team’s first national championship in their five-year history, and their player-coach Michael Howard is incredibly proud of the accomplishment.
“We were so happy to be able to go out and represent our school,” said Howard. “We are so happy to be able to use the Gee-Gees logo and win a national championship and bring that back for us, and hopefully it will increase support on campus so more people are interested in joining in future years.”
This year, the team went 23-1 in official games and 5-0 in exhibition play, proving that the University of Ottawa is now the Canadian quidditch powerhouse.
“Overall I’m really proud of the team… we were all able to band together and continue to work hard to achieve our goals,” said Howard.
The team will celebrate their win over the final weeks of the semester and the summer before returning to competition, and defending their title come September.
Find updates on trying out for Gee-Gees quidditch next season on Twitter @uo_quidditch.
