New NZ Quidditch Team?

[Katherine Alicastell]

Hello hello! I'm not sure whether something like this has already been mentioned, but if not we had an idea that we've been thinking about for a little while now.

At the moment there is currently only one professional New Zealand Quidditch team, which is at full capacity. (And the only one to be full, I believe) There are a number of other teams around the world, but it is always surprising that for a site based in New Zealand, there is only one available team. In England for instance there are four available teams, for a country that's a similar size. Right now, anyone who wants to be part of a Professional team is unlikely to be able to stay in the country they've grown up in, and it doesn't always make sense for them to join a foreign team.

I think it's a good idea to have many teams around the world, but to have more than one in the location of the school could be helpful to those graduating. Additionally, as the Macaws have the full number of members it would add a competitive streak between the characters of these teams, regardless of whether they're officially participating in any matches on the board, or just roleplaying otherwise. Having say, a North Island and South Island team (Macaws being situated in the North Island) could open up a lot more RP opportunities and character interactions, as well as potentially more content for Daily Prophet reporters to work with, and perhaps even one day an adult Quidditch match.

I'm not sure if it's viable to amend an existing team, or create a new one entirely, but there are currently a number of teams in the list that are not in use, and have no recorded prior members either, so maybe another NZ team would clear up some of the unused space. In giving the site an additional NZ team, perhaps it could also draw from NZ mythology in terms of naming, to move away from the more dominant UK magical referencing, such as something like "Timaru Taniwhas" or "Picton Poukai" for example.

Anyway thats all thank you for reading!
~ Jesse & Phoebe Inc.​

 

[Stefan Archer]

Hey Jesse & Phoebe Inc!

The admin wouldn't be opposed to another New Zealand based quidditch team. Of course we would never want a whole wave of teams to appear and for more of them to be empty, so we'd ask for those interested in creating a team speak to the admin first or submit an application. Quidditch teams would vary and they might come and go, so it can make sense to have some flexibility on the amount of teams and which teams are available. We have never imposed a hard limit upon how many teams there should be, but of course everything in moderation.

For the specific case you put forward for another team, we would be inclined to work with you on it, to decide upon a name, colours, a crest even which could then be added to the list of teams we have currently. The admin would decide on if it would replace an empty team, but other details could be worked on with you both.

I hope that answers what you were asking, and let me know if you have any further questions.

Emzies
(On behalf of the admin)

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Hey

Thank you for considering this, it's very exciting and that definitely helps us with the next step. We will have a think about the specifics of a new team and their details and get back to you as soon as we can.

~ Jesse & Phoebe Inc.
​

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

God I just have to throw my two cents in here and say I love love love this idea and offer a few suggestions for the name because the Macaws name has been a HUGE PET PEEVE to me ever since JKR announced it. (All we have is native birds and you pick an American bird JKR? AAAAAAAAA)

The names I usually suggest when I am ranting on this topic (which comes up embarrassingly often this is one of my biggest HP pet peeves) are some variant on Kapiti or Kaikoura Keas (Kaikoura would work for the idea of north island/south island teams) The Kea is a native parrot known for its annoying mischevious ways, high intelligence, and propensity for eating pieces off cars.

The other bird we would be most likely to choose as a nation would be the kiwi itself because we have that kind of sense of humour. (Look at our air force logo) but given the personality of the Kea it'd probably make the most appropriate mascot for a Quidditch team. I would caution away from drawing from Maori tradition - these are religious beliefs that some people still hold very sacred. Though Kaikoura Keas is my personal favourite (I have thought about this an embarrassing amount) the other thing to consider is the fact that all NZ international sports teams have themed names. All Blacks (named for their uniform) is our Rugby team and our other teams have similar names incorporating a monochrome and sometimes the fern emblem - Black Sticks, Black Caps, Black Ferns, All Whites, Silver Ferns... My guess at the Quidditch equivalent would be something along the lines of Black Brooms. I still prefer Kaikoura Keas, and it fits in with the naming scheme of other international teams, but that's another local aspect to be considered.

 

[Professor James Cade]

Rowan is clearly excited for this. But wouldn't something like Black Brooms be used for the national team not a club team?

As for my suggestion. Auckland Aces seems pretty cool.

 

[Aurora Night]

So, I finally found time to get in here and say this but, three points:

1) I still definitely think using a Maaori (using a double vowel here because bbcode is allergic to macrons #rude) name is the best way to go, but Rowan's right about the fact that we should avoid any name that draws on creatures from Maaori tradition, rather than just standard names for birds and other animals.

2) Te reo (the Maaori language) uses macrons to indicate long vowels. BBcode hates macrons, and when a typeface/programme hates macrons the standard practice is to use a double vowel to indicate that the sound is a longer one. Using macrons is definitely an important part of te reo because 'kaka' is a piece of cloth, and it is 'kaakaa' that is the bird. I hate the double vowel, I really do, but in the interest of being respectful to te reo I think it's more important than using no macron at all - hence, I guess I'm really suggesting a name that doesn't need macrons at all maoridictionary.co.nz is a pretty legitimate site to check these things out.

3) Te reo plurals don't work the same as English ones do. Therefore you don't have 'wetas', 'wakas', or 'kiwis'. Just weta, waka, and kiwi. So any name is going to read something like... the Kaiteriteri Kea.

This probably looks like it's going overboard, but I think an informed decision is always best. The board's lack of macrons is killing me now though haha.

 

[Nicolas King]

The board's lack of macrons is killing me now though haha.

You know we've had a place called Mākutu Mall for literally years, right?

 

[Aurora Night]

Okay witchcraft, how are you doing that.

Any macron I copy-paste does this ---> Mākutu Mall

 

[Veronica Willows]

IT WORKS HOW THE PREVIEW HAS BEEN LYING TO ME
and the board won't let me edit my own post so now I look like an idiot

 

[Katherine Alicastell]

Do you get like M%u0100kutu? I think a lot of symbols weird out in the preview, but fix when you actually post them
​

 

[Stefan Archer]

Hello,

Just to let folk know, that following this discussion, there is a new quidditch team for New Zealand. You can find them in the quidditch team list.

A huge thank you to those who helped come up with it!