Y41 Ravenclaw Quidditch Tryouts

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Sawyer's breakfast sat heavy in his stomach as he surveyed the pitch for the nth time, readjusting his new captain's badge again where it'd gone a little lopsided on his Quidditch robes. Sawyer had never been in a real leadership position and the idea of being responsible for how the team did was making him just a little queasy. He knew the team hadn't finished in the best place last year, but Juniper had still gotten them into the finals and Sawyer could feel the pressure to follow that up with another good season. Not to mention the idea of trying to replace her sat strangely with him.

"Right, hi everyone," Sawyer said with a little wave as the team and potential new members gathered on the pitch. "I'm Sawyer, Ravenclaw Keeper and Captain and I promise I'm definitely more scared of you than you are of me," he said glibly, hesitating to see if the joke landed before continuing on awkwardly. "Anyway, uh, returning team members, you already know your spots so get in the air and just run through your paces; new team members please give me your name and position and then show us what you've got," he finished with a nod, twisting his broom handle in his hand before motioning for everyone to get started.

Chaser	@Branson Archer
Chaser	@Niklaus Eliot Easterling
Chaser	@Xiuying Huang
Beater	@Finn Madison
Beater	AVAILABLE
Keeper	Sawyer Carnahan
Seeker	@Hamish Reid
Alternates	AVAILABLE

Out of Character:

Welcome to Ravenclaw tryouts!

• Returning team members must post an attendance post to retain their spots.
• New members or returning alternates please have your char state their name and desired position before posting your tryout RP
• First years interested in trying out require captain's permission to post so please PM me for more information
• Any other questions, please feel free to PM me!

Good luck!

 

[Finn Madison]

Finn had more reasons than ever not to return to the Ravenclaw Quidditch team this year. The fact that he wasn't actually any good at Quidditch loomed heavy as ever over his head, only compounded by a game of Odette's he had watched over the holidays. Seeing his sister play, it was unlike anything he could even imagine accomplishing off his own merits. But then there was the added complication of this year's captain. While they had played well together for the last half of the year, Finn was fairly sure Sawyer resented him for how their fling had ended, and he wasn't sure how happy the younger boy would be to see him here. But quitting the team now would feel like giving up, so Finn had gathered his nerve and made his way to the pitch, listening quietly to Sawyer's speech. He gave the captain a nod once the speech was over and kicked off to help put the new hopefuls through their paces.

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish always had mixed emotions returning to school. But he did enjoy it here, something he was grudgingly admitting to his brother. He walked down to the Quidditch try-outs, determined to practice and do better this year than he had last year. He stretched, before taking off into the air to begin searching for the snitch. He felt like he'd done alright by the time they'd landed, so with a small wave to the captain Hamish headed back for the castle.

 

[Branson Archer]

Branson knew quidditch would keep him busy in the stress of OWLs, so he very eager turned up to the pitch. He was glad with who was the new captain, knowing the boy would do well. He nodded in understanding and then got on his broom and shot up into the air.

 

[Xiuying Huang]

Xiuying was pumped and ready for the new year and couldn't wait to get started on quidditch. She listened and nodded as the new captain spoke, before taking off to the air, while also getting some practice.

 

[Valeria Iglesias]

Valeria had joined the quidditch team in the year prior as an alternate, she had been looking for an easy way to get involved and to meet people, which this very much had been. She'd thought about giving it up, now that she had friends, had boys to chase and lots of other things to be doing, she didn't need quidditch, but she had enjoyed it. Having always been alone there really was something to the collective sport. There was enjoyment to be had over the team spirit and while an alternate also didn't have to worry about any pressure, which was something she liked. She knew others might clamour for a spot, but Val would be perfectly content to always be an alternate, she might always have to try out, but she had no pressure afterwards, she could just enjoy herself and her spot on the team.

Valeria looked to the new captain and waved to the boy. She wasn't sure who she'd expected to be captain but it hadn't been him, though she did like him and had no complaints that it was. She had her broom in hand and eventually stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Val, but you know that already, trying out for beater again," she said. She gave the boy a little giggle and a wink before getting on her broom and flying up into the air. She was better versed now, more practiced in how to be a beater. She struggled sometimes, it could be a nightmare to find the bludgers or hit them in the right direction but she had gotten better at it. She hit her first bludger right towards one of the other people trying out and was glad when it hit directly. She then was following one of the other players vaguely, and managed to hit a bludger away from them. She missed badly the next bludger she went to hit and failed a few more times to either hit or hit in the right direction. She had mixed success but felt she flew better than the previous try-out. She felt was a little more of a team player which she couldn't have been before and was certainly because of the time she'd spent on the team. Eventually the try-out was brought to an end and She flew down to the ground pretty pleased with that performance.​

 

[Niklaus Eliot Easterling]

Niklaus wasn't sure whether he really should go there. Maybe leaving team would be smarter? Tho, he just came there, he had entered the team, he wasn't going to quit it that fast. Not until he graduated. Two more years to go. He didn't say anything, just gave a short nod at Sawyer since he was the captain now. He probably had to congratulate him as well. Tho, for now, Nik was just gonna do his work on the pitch and kinda rate the people trying out.

 

[Sefina Drage]

Sefina had been absolutely grounded during the winter break. She loved to read, she was intelligent, so why had she finished the term with such awful marks? Her parents were so disappointed, it was obvious they’d expected more out of her than Tilly. Sefina thought it was more than unfair to lose her books for the break- all books, that is, except the ones that were assigned for school. As if she hadn’t read these cover to cover already. Her parents simply didn’t understand that she wanted to learn what she was interested in and not what her professors made her do.

Although Sefina had never taken an interest in Quidditch like her older sister, maybe someone in her family would be proud of her if she could at least make the team. Perhaps it was positively mad, yet she found herself walking down to the pitch when tryouts were scheduled. She grabbed a school broom from the supply shed and made her way to the Ravenclaw Captain.

The girl lifted her head, looking the sixth year directly in the eye, something that pushed her out of her comfort zone. “My name is Sefina Drage,” she announced, “trying out for seeker.” It was the most she’d said to someone since returning back to Hogwarts. Sefina figured that she didn’t need to be loud and chatty to make a spot- she just needed to be quick.

She looked up at the other players already in the thick of it. Taking a deep breath, she shot up into the air, the rickety school broom vibrating beneath her. She searched the pitch, struggling to dodge bludgers as they vaulted towards her. Somehow, she managed not to get hit, swerving and twisting and ducking to avoid eating iron. Keeping her eyes out for a small winged ball made it all the more challenging. While it was difficult, the normally quiet, shy Ravenclaw felt a rush of excitement she hadn’t since she had been sorted last year.

And then, there it was. Sefina leaned into her broom and vaulted towards the glint of gold. Her heart raced as her fingers closed around it. Maybe she was just lucky. Or maybe this was something she could be good at. She grinned to herself and raised the snitch above her head, feeling its wings beating against her palm. Hoping the captain had seen it, she set it free, closing her eyes for a second so she could lose sight of it. Clearly, it wouldn’t be as fun to hunt the snitch if she knew where it was going.

For the rest of the tryout, Sefina played catch and release with the snitch. While it would be a bonus to make the team, even as an alternate, she supposed she could always come back and do this on her own time; even if she was stuck using the school’s equipment. When the tryout was over, Sefina thanked the captain quietly for the opportunity, put the broom back in the shed, and walked off the pitch feeling a little happier than she had all winter.

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Out of Character:

Tryouts will close in approx 48 hours so get your posts in now! First years are also now welcome to try out.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan heard a lot of people talking about quidditch but no one had really explained what it was or how to play it, at least in a way that made much sense to him. When he heard about try outs he decided to maybe take a look and see what it was all about. He hadn't really intended to try out but someone handed him a broom to use and suddenly he was in front of the captain. "Um, my name is Ethan Alexander." he said unsure. He tried to remember what little he knew of the game and tried to think of one of the positions. "I'm trying out for keeper." he said finally. It was the only one he kind of understood. It was just like being a goalie, right? He wasn't as confident on a broom as everyone else seemed to be and he was eternally grateful Ernie had let him try it a bit before coming to school. But he had never been this high before and he felt like it would be impossible to let go of the handle. One of the chasers came right at him and he flinched and the quaffle went right past him. He was not doing a very good job. But he took a deep breath and tried to relax, and not think about how high he was. When the next one came at him he made an attempt to stop it but missed just barely brushing his fingers. It took a few more times before he was able to catch the quaffle but he held it up as if he had just won the game and tossed it back to the other players. He caught a few more before the end of try outs and wasn't feeling too bad about his performance considering he hadn't even meant to try out at all.

 

[Sutton Spencer]

Sutton honestly was not sure what she was trying out for the Quidditch Team. She had very little interest in sports, well in the real world in general. But after seeing her younger sister Zee and younger brother Eston practicing all break, she wanted to give it a shot. She needed to get out of her own little world, which was something the sixth year Ravenclaw struggled with. She had a hope that this would help, give her some excitement in the real world, be a hero of sorts.

The blonde girl entered onto the Quidditch pitch, having not been here since her first year at Hogwarts. She had not been bad at flying but had not thought much about it until this recent break. Maybe this would be her new adventure after all. She had to listen to her Divination readings, that told her she was meant to travel. Was this a form of traveling?

Sutton listened as the Quidditch Captain described how this would work. She was nervous. That was obvious. But she had to do her best. She had to channel her inner Zee. "Hello" She said brightly. "I'm Sutton Spencer and I will be trying out for the beater position" She said flashing a happy grin on her face. The words felt like they were coming from another person entirely. She had only practiced beater to help Zee over break. She would much prefer something else. But she did not really know much else. This position was all she practiced as.

When the captain announced it was time to go, Sutton swung her leg over the broom. This was just like her story, a book that she could get absorbed into. The Ravenclaw kicked off the ground, a little shaky at first. Get into character. You are Zee. You are a pro. You are the hero She thought in her mind as she steadied herself. It reminded her of break, which made her smile. This made her feel closer to her younger sister.

The practice or well try outs continued. Bludgers were rather tricky. Sutton remembered her days playing softball as a child, her father loved the muggle sports. She used the bat in her hand to hit the bludgers away at first. By half way through the try out, she had managed to figure out how to target them. Thinking about how annoying some of the people in her family where Kita She managed to hit the bludgers towards the people in her mind. She was certainly getting the hang of this. She continued to hit the terrifying flying ball with a mind of it's own. She was writing her own story, right here right now. She let out a loud laugh as the bludger went towards player after player, missing some, hitting others. It was freeing in a way. This may have been what she was missing.

Sutton did not want to touch down as the try outs came to an end. Her hand was slightly sore, but she felt rather proud of herself. She let out a breath as her feet once again hit the ground. She had tried out. She had made her own story. She had done something outside of the fantasy books that she read. She felt, even more so, that she had done a good job. If nothing came of this, at least she had tried.

 

[Michael Watson]

Oh, what the hell, why not, Michael thought, putting aside his notes and jogging over to grab a broom. He had flown a little bit, like, once, but it couldn't hurt to at least try out. No way he'd get in, but he could at least get involved in the team and try and help them out as much as he could. Batting wasn't his thing, although he had more of the stature for it, so he figured the best spot to try out for was...

"Kia ora, I'm Michael Watson, and I'd like to try out for chaser." It was the closest looking to rugby from what he'd noticed, so he could at least use those skills to his advantage in grabbing and passing the ball. And he was a pretty good fielder, if he said so himself. He nodded to the captain, forcing down his own nerves as he mounted his broom, taking to the sky and doing his best not to look too shaky. He mostly succeeded, thinking it all through carefully. He certainly wasn't as confident in the air as he was on land, but he was able to rush in and grab the quaffle a few times, intercepting a couple of passes and only almost falling off like three times. He almost charged right in to the keeper, but remembered to try and throw the ball to the goal instead. He missed the first couple, still getting the hang of trying to throw while airborne, but after a couple of tries he really started to get it, even managing to get a shot or two past the keeper. Hopefully he'd at least shown potential to be considered a reserve, that with practice and leaning more he'd be a vital member next year.

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Out of Character:

Try-outs are now closed! Thanks to everyone for trying out, lineup will be posted here and in the Ravenclaw common room shortly.

EDIT: Here's your Y41 team!

Position	Player
Chaser	Branson Archer
Chaser	Niklaus Easterling
Chaser	Xiuying Huang
Beater	Finn Madison
Beater	Sutton Spencer
Keeper	Sawyer Carnahan
Seeker	Hamish Reid
Alt. Beater	Valeria Iglesias
Alt. Seeker	Sefina Drage
Alt. Chaser	Michael Watson