Y39 Ravenclaw Quidditch Try-Outs

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Minnie came to the quidditch pitch ready for ravenclaw try-outs, she thought it was just very odd to be here by herself. She liked running it by herself but she'd always liked doing it with Lars. He'd been a solid person in her quidditch career and she was now going to be alone, they were also losing a good keeper, but if the same alternate keeper tried out again she was confident they'd fill the slot with ease. Minnie was very curious to see what young talent might try out this time, she hoped to see some new and old faces at this. Though too she hoped this might at long last be her year for it. To actually win at the whole cup, with Blake gone, surely the slytherin's would be weaker. With Elliot in the hufflepuff's gone too, she was one of the more senior seekers. But Minnie knew she'd have time to consider this once she had the team together. Minnie glanced at the people trying out and smiled. "Alright folks, this is the ravenclaw try-outs. Returning members just get to practicing, those trying out step forward, give me your name and your position and then get to work," Minnie told them loudly and firmly.
​

Positon​	Player​
Seeker​	Minnie Calida, Captain​
Keeper​	Open​
Beater​	Chloe Chan​
Beater​	Juniper Zumwalt​
Chaser​	Thalia Pourroulis​
Chaser​	Alison Young​
Chaser​	Hattie Thorne​
Alternates​	Open!​

Out of Character:

Returning players are guaranteed their spots as long as they post attendance in this thread before tryouts are over. Returning alternates must try out again.

First years must PM me if they want to try out. No first years will be allowed to try out unless there are not enough older students.

​

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson was eager for ravenclaw try-outs, he'd gotten a few opportunities to play in a few games and liked being an alternate on the team, he would like to be a fully member but knew he wouldn't mind the alternate position either. The ravenclaw had therefore arrived to the pitch bright and on time as the try-outs were getting underway. He did consider whether to change position but he also knew he liked being a chaser, it was good and he didn't want the pressure of being a seeker. The ravenclaw nodded along to the short introduction to the try-outs and then when he could, after a few others had gone before him stepped forward, "Branson Archer, trying out for chaser again," Branson said with a wide and eager expression. He then grabbed the second hand broom and immediately headed up into the air.

Branson had been practicing a lot, with Aurora wanting to be on a team when she got to Hogwarts, Branson had spent some of his break practicing with her, and really from this point the year before Branson was a much better flyer, more confident, more fluid, just better in general. he knew he didn't fly like someone much older than him but he felt he flew well. The ravenclaw focused however, grabbing the chaser that was thrown towards him and then headed off towards some hoops, he passed the ball to someone closer at last minute and was a bit disappointed when they failed to score. But he soon got his own opportunity and when he aimed he managed to score. The try-out followed similarly, he was able to keep his own, was able to pass and attempt to score, he didn't score as often as he could but his shots were more on target, he just needed to work on speed. Eventually the try-out drew to an end and Bran flew to the ground, he was rather happy with himself, hopeful that if he hadn't made the team he might keep the position he had the year before. ​

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Sawyer had known objectively that Lars was leaving the team at the end of last year. He'd even asked him for some (very helpful) Keeper advice at the end of year feast. But it was still strange to be at try-outs with just Minnie. And knowing that Lars' starting position was wide open. Sawyer enjoyed Quidditch, enjoyed being on the team, but the idea of actually playing had seemed so far off for so long. He'd played with the house team long enough, he liked to think he was good at keeping. And he'd grown a bit too over the holidays. He could do this.

"Sawyer Carnahan, trying out for Keeper," he said to Minnie as he stepped forward, giving her a little wave hello before mounting his broom and kicking off. He headed to guard the Southern hoops, having decided awhile ago they were his favourite for no particular reason. There were a few other people trying out as new chasers, and Branson, who Sawyer was more familiar with. The new people were hard to block despite their inexperience, their movements unpredictable, but Sawyer was able to get his hands on some shots, mostly knocking them aside rather than grabbing them. As long as they didn't go through the hoops he was happy. The older chasers Sawyer knew, reading their movements easier even if they were fast and hard to block too. He couldn't stop some of Branson's shots, but Sawyer was putting in a good effort. He even managed to grab a few shots outright to throw back out to the chasers before the practice was over, feeling very accomplished as he touched even if his shoulders and arms were starting to ache from holding at attention for so long.

 

[Juniper Zumwalt]

Juniper was a little peeved as she made her way back to the pitch for the year. While she had definitely proven herself as a two time dueling champion AND by being asked to co-lead a club, she wasn't asked to help co-lead Quidditch. She thought her beater skills were more than enough to show Minnie that she would be a benficial co-captain. Plus, it would even up her responsibilities against Lysander since he also led a club and was a captain. She'd just have to focus that much harder at knocking him out of the sky this year. Maybe he would be injured so much that he'd have to retire from his quidditch career early. Either way, she put on a forced smile as Minnie greeted them, taking to the air and quickly chasing after some bludgers, hitting them towards the Ravenclaw hopefuls to see if they truly deserved a spot.

 

[Hattie Thorne]

Hattie was excited to be back for her last year at Hogwarts. She was most excited for quidditch and wanted to do her very best in it this year as it would probably be the last time she would ever play. The girl tied her hair into a high ponytail as she made her way with her broom to the quidditch pitch for the tryout session. Minnie was already there, ready to address the group as captain. It was probably more sad for Minnie to be leaving as she had carried the team for so long, but Hattie was just happy that she was still there and ready to play. As Minnie told everyone they could start, Hattie went straight up into the air, doing some laps of the pitch to warm up first as she watched all of the younger students try out. Some of them were quite good, and Hattie was glad for this as it meant Minnie would be choosing good players to continue carrying the team when she left. Eventually, the tryouts were over and Hattie gave Minnie a beaming smile before leaving the pitch and heading back up to the dormitory to clean herself up.

 

[Finn Madison]

If Finn hadn't known what he was doing on the Quidditch pitch for tryouts last year, he definitely didn't know what he was doing coming back. He had tried out mostly to impress Odette, see if the skills his oldest sister had taught him would stand up to the test of playing at Hogwarts. But Finn had never been very confident on a broom, and last year had absolutely been proof that he hadn't somehow osmosed Odette's professional Quidditch skills in the time he had lived with her. But despite his misgivings and embarrassment when it came to his own performance, here he was again.

Finn had spent a good portion of the holidays practicing with Odette when she had free time, and though he didn't think he was that much better, he did have to admit she was a good teacher. A lot of the mistakes he had made last year made more sense to Finn, though identifying his errors and adjusting for them were two different things. But it was somehow enough. Enough to bring him back to the pitch for a second year in a row, bat gripped tight in hand-me-down gloves he had inherited from Odette... a little too tight for his hands, maybe, but they felt lucky. Maybe he could channel some of the power that had made her such a force on the pitch. "Finn Madison, trying out for Beater again." It was hard not to let his voice shake when he addressed Minnie, knowing how seriously she took all of this. He took a moment to calm himself before mounting his broom and kicking off. Nothing else to think about now. Just him and the bludgers. Finn gripped his bat tightly and shot towards one of them, heart racing as he adjusted his angle slightly and swung, and to Finn's relief the change of angle did the trick. His bat hit the ball hard, and he watched it go sailing clean through one of the goalposts. He had actually made a shot he was aiming for, better than almost his entire time on the team so far put together. In substantially better spirits Finn continued on, making several more shots than he had in his previous tryout, and by the time it was time to land he actually almost felt confident. Like maybe somehow this whole thing hadn't been a huge mistake. He was sure he would feel different though, come their first match against a real opponent.

 

[Xiuying Huang]

Xiuying had been waiting for this for a very long time. The girl had a passion for Quidditch and had always wanted to play for a Quidditch team for a long time and today was finally the day where she was able to try out, after waiting a year of not trying out due to the rule that first years couldn't try-out for the team. Xiuying had been a bit nervous for the try-outs though. She was going to be okay if she didn't make the team. Being an alternate would be cool too. But she was more worried at the fact that she was going to make a fool of herself in front of her schoolmates. Xiuying had been practising as much as she could during her break, hoping that all this practice in her break would maybe pay off.

The Ravenclaw made her way down to the Quidditch Pitch, a broom from home in hand. Even if she didn't make it on the team, she had always thought it was always a good idea to at least have your own broom with you just in case. Xiuying had made it a little early, as she wanted to make the impression on the captains that if she came a little earlier, the more eager she was. She listened carefully as the captain had explained what was going on and what they needed to do during the tryouts. Xiuying stepped forward. "Xiuying Huang, trying out for chaser," Xiuying says with a smile, and immediately got on her broom and pushed herself up into the air. Once she was up in the air, Xiuying had managed to get her hands on the quaffle and flew around for a bit, before attempting to throw the quaffle into the hoops. Her first few attempts had made it through the hoops and there were some attempts in which didn't make it, which Xiuying had felt a bit embarrassed about. However, near the end of the try-outs, she had managed to get a couple more in. The girl also managed to pass the quaffle to her teammates a couple of times. When the tryouts were over, Xiuying made her way down to land and was grateful to be back on land again. She quickly gave a smile and thanked the captain, before making her way back to the castle.

 

[Chloe Chan]

Chloe was ready for her final year at Hogwarts. She couldn’t believe time had flown so fast. After she had gotten ready to go to her last quidditch tryouts at the school, she grabbed her broom and checked herself one last time in the mirror before she left, arriving at the pitch promptly. She sent a small smile towards her roommate, a little sad she hadn’t asked her to be co-captains - but then again, she hadn’t asked anyone, not that she really needed the extra help. Chloe would still be there as a helping hand in case she needed it, however. When Minnie was done speaking, the prefect mounted her broom and was up in the air in a matter of moments. She flew a few laps as warm-up, helping whoever was trying out as beater. ​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish was surprised when he received permission to try out for the team. But knowing his brother, Seamus had surely already done the same. After another rough nights sleep, Hamish walked down to the pitch with the others. He stood straighter as it was his turn to announce himself. "Hamish Reid. I'm trying out for seeker," he announced, before taking off with the others. He let out a soft breath, feeling nervous, but he turned to focus on the skies. It wasn't long before he caught the snitch the first time. He showed the captain before releasing it and starting all over. He managed to catch it two more times before practice was over. He set back down on the ground, stretching before walking away with the rest of the team.

 

[Thalia Pourroulis]

Thalia was excited for the new year and what it would, hopefully, bring. She felt like she was a little bit more out of her shell now, the more she was at Hogwarts and the more she forced herself to socialise. She was getting comfortable being on the quidditch team, although sometimes she still felt a little out of place. Especially without Tee on the team with her this time around. She arrived to the pitch for the tryouts, needing to guarantee her spot. The Ravenclaw was not about to give up on the sport, it gave her something to focus on besides school work and her social anxiety. Once Minnie was done, Thalia mounted her broom and kicked off from the ground. As soon as she had finished her laps, she went over to help those trying out for chaser, sending them a small smile of encouragement. She knew what it was like to be in their position. They were probably nervous too. At the end, when Minnie gave the signal that the time for tryouts was up, Thalia flew back down to the ground and waved to the older girl before she headed back up to the castle. ​

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Try-outs will close this time tomorrow, any last minute people wanting to try out should aim to do so in the next 24 hours.

 

[Axel Zhefarovich II]

Axel was happy to see he wasn't the only first year who'd been allowed to try out. He recognized the kid with glasses from his dorm room, but he hadn't really learned anyone's names just yet. Well, he had but he hadn't committed any to memory. Axel picked up a school broom, and then spoke to the captain. "I'm Axel and I'm trying our for Keeper." His mom didn't play at all but he'd learned a lot from his uncle who was amazing at quidditch.

Axel rose into the air and wobbled his way to the hoops, moving with more confidence with every moment in the air. Taking a deep breath, Axel centered himself and then became extremely overwhelmed as the players began to practice. They were good! Like really good, and though he'd practiced with family, he'd never really taken it top seriously like these players were. Axel moved quickly to the right and missed a quaffle by just a bit. He caught the next one, though his hands stung through his gloves when he did. Axel tried to keep a brave face though and tried his best.

By the end, he had saved a few and missed a few. He landed, gulping down the water he was offered. That had been much, much harder than he'd expected it to be. Axel left the pitch, having no hope for having made the team.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Try-outs are now closed. I'll be back later with the results.

 

[Professor Minnie Calida]

Positon	Player
Seeker	Minnie Calida, Captain
Keeper	Sawyer Carnahan
Beater	Chloe Chan
Beater	Juniper Zumwalt
Chaser	Thalia Pourroulis
Chaser	Branson Archer
Chaser	Hattie Thorne
Alternates	Finn Madison, alternate Beater; Xiuying Huang, alternate Chaser; Hamish Reid; alternate Seeker