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GOLDSBORO, N.C. — The Travel and Tourism Department for the City of Goldsboro and Wayne County, also known as Visit Goldsboro, is proud to announce the US Quidditch organization has chosen Goldsboro as their host city for the 2019 and 2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. The tournament will take place at the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex on November 9-10, 2019, and November 14-15, 2020. This is the first time US Quidditch has brought an event to North Carolina.

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship is one of the organization’s larger tournaments attracting as many as 25 teams and about 500 additional spectators to the host city.  The Visit Goldsboro office estimates 200 room nights and $185,000 in economic impact to be generated from this event each year. Past Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships have been hosted by Howard County, Maryland and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Quidditch originated as a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter book series. The sport evolved into reality when a freshman at Middlebury College in Vermont laid the foundation for the sport’s rulebook and the very first game of quidditch was played in October 2005. Over the last 14 years, the sport has grown into a widely respected, physically intense sport. Quidditch is a mixed-gender contact sport with a unique mix of elements from rugby, dodgeball, and tag.  A team is made up of seven athletes who play with brooms between their legs at all times. While the game can appear chaotic to the casual observer, once familiar with the basic rules, quidditch is an exciting sport to watch and even more exciting to play. The US Quidditch official rulebook is available free for download here.

US Quidditch hosts seven regional championships each year with the intent to showcase the growing sport in different areas around the country and increase awareness the USQ organization. USQ includes official club teams at collegiate and club levels that compete over a year-long season. The regional championships are part of the qualification process for teams attending the annual US Quidditch Cup, which will take place on April 18-19, 2020, in Charleston, West Virginia.

“Our office saw this as an exciting opportunity to bring new visitors and their families to Goldsboro, as well as provide a great experience for our residents. Quidditch is a unique sport, and Goldsboro is a unique city,” said Ashlin Glatthar, director of travel and tourism for Goldsboro-Wayne County.  “USQ wants to grow their sport’s awareness, and we want to continue growing our Goldsboro-Wayne County awareness. We felt our organization’s commonality coupled with our premier sports venue made us a great fit as a host, and we’re honored USQ felt the same.”

The US Quidditch selection process required interested hosts to submit an intent to bid form, bid snapshot form, and a formal proposal no later than February 15, 2019.  Approximately 10 destinations competed for the chance to host the 2019 and 2020 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. After review, the USQ office chose three finalists and scheduled site visits to the possible host cities. Goldsboro hosted the USQ staff on June 19, 2019 for a site visit, which included a visit to the Bryan Multi-Sports Complex, local hotels, and historic Downtown Goldsboro.

Sarah Woolsey, executive director for US Quidditch said, "We were very impressed with Bryan Multi-Sports Complex on our site visit. It has several great features, including turf fields and permanent lights. Goldsboro put together a fantastic bid and we're excited to be hosting a USQ event for the first time in the state of North Carolina."

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship is free of charge and open to the public, and more event details with game schedules will be released soon. Additional information about the sport and the USQ organization is available at www.usquidditch.org.

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CONTACT:

Ashlin Glatthar
(919) 734-7922
aglatthar@goldsboronc.gov