# Australia national quadball team

The Australian national quadball team, known as the Dropbears, is the representative national team in the sport of quadball for Australia. The team made history in 2016 when it won the 2016 IQA World Cup, becoming the first, and currently only, non-United States Quidditch World Champions.
Australia made its international debut in 2012 at the IQA Summer Games in Oxford, UK, and is one of only 4 countries to have competed in all 5 IQA World Cups. To date, the Dropbears are the only team to ever beat the United States at an international level.
The team is regulated by Quadball Australia and is a national member of the International Quadball Association.

## History

The Australian national team, known at the time as the 'Australian Olympic Quidditch Team', made its debut in 2012 at the International Quidditch Association Summer Games held 8 July 2012 in Oxford, England. Scheduled to coincide with the 2012 Summer Olympics, the tournament later became the first iteration of the IQA Quidditch World Cup. Australia placed third of the five teams competing, defeating Canada 60*-50 in the Bronze Medal match.
The first official National Squad was formed in 2014 in the lead up to what would retrospectively become the second IQA World Cup, known at the time as Global Games. The national team, adopting the official nickname "The Dropbears", was one of seven participating countries at the tournament held 19-20 July 2014 in Burnaby, Canada. Australia earned a spot in the final by defeating France, Mexico, Belgium, the UK, and Canada in pool play, before losing to the United States 210*-0 in the final and walking away with the silver medal.
The third international quidditch world cup was held 23-24 July 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany, where Australia was one of 21 teams competing. The team defeated Germany, France, and Canada in pool play on day 1, progressing to bracket play on Sunday, where they beat Canada and France to earn the spot in the gold medal match.
A repeat of 2014 saw Australia and defending champions the United States facing off in the final. After a long and tightly contested match, the Dropbears eventually claimed Gold with a snitch catch, defeating the United States 150*-130. The 2016 World Champion Dropbears squad was coached by Gen Gibson and captained by James Mortenson.
This historic win took the international quidditch community by storm, being a significant upset against Team USA who were previously undefeated in the entire history of the sport. This match remains the first and only time that the US team has been beaten at an international level.
The Dropbears finished 5th at the 2018 World Cup, held 27 June - 2 July 2018 in Florence, Italy, after being defeated by the United States (the eventual winners) in the quarterfinals. The fifth IQA World Cup was scheduled to take place in 2020 in Richmond, United States, but was delayed to 2021 and then again to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia was subsequently invited to attend the 2022 European Games, an international tournament hosted in the off-years between the World Cup. This was seen as controversial by some due to the fact that the tournament is specifically designed for teams based in Europe and since Australia has a strong international record they therefore went into the tournament as a favourite despite never competing in it before. However, the IQA defended allowing both Australia and Hong Kong to compete due to the lack of an equivalent continental games tournament in their region. Australia finished third at the tournament, defeating Norway 140-120* to claim the bronze medal.
The fifth world cup took place 15-16 July 2023 in Richmond, United States, where Australia finished 7th after being defeated by Belgium (the eventual bronze medalists) in the quarterfinals.
In 2024, the Australian Development Team, known as "Aurora Australis", was formed, making their international debut at the Quadball Nations Cup. The tournament, an international-level elite tournament designed for development teams and emerging players, took place 5 - 6 October 2024 in Salou, Spain, where Australia finished 6th overall after being knocked out in the quarterfinals by Team World.
The 2025 IQA World Cup location was announced in October 2024, to be held 11-13 July 2025 in Brussels and Tubize, Belgium.

## Competitive record
### IQA World Cup

| Competition | Position |
| 2012 Summer Games | 3rd of 5 |
| 2014 Global Games | 2nd of 7 |
| 2016 World Cup | 1st of 21 |
| 2018 World Cup | 5th of 29 |
| 2023 World Cup $^†$ | 7th of 15 |
| 2025 World Cup | TBD |
$^†$ The 2020 World Cup was initially postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19, and later further postponed to 2023.

### European Games

| Competition | Position |
| 2022 European Games | 3rd of 20 |

### Nations Cup

| Competition | Position |
| 2024 Nations Cup | 6th of 20 |
Australia participated as "Aurora Australis", their official development team.

## Australian National Squad

As of June, 2024, the current standing national squad consists of 44 members.
The 2025 World Cup team will be selected from among the National Squad.

## International Squad Lists
### IQA World Cup 2025 (Brussels, Belgium)

The squad for the 2025 IQA World Cup was announced on December 13, being coached by current national head coach Tom Russell.
* Player
* Aaron Sibel
* Alex Cunningham
* Arabella Barr
* Ashan Abey
* Ava McConnell
* Brandon Frison
* Cameron Walker
* Caroline Crawford
* Hannah Walravens
* Harrison Jones
* Isobel Rennie
* Jakob Sutherland
* Joshua Lindley
* Kelsey Collins
* Luke Derrick
* Maddi Moulton
* Madeleine Bell
* Max Brenner
* Nathan Morton
* Nicki Redman
* Olivia Coleman
* Rajtilak Kapoor
* Samantha Chittenden
* Sarah King
* Vicki Huynh

### Quadball Nations Cup 2024 (Salou, Spain)

The squad for the 2024 Nations Cup was coached by Tom Russell and captained by Rajtilak Kapoor and Ava McConnell. QNC rules limit the number of players a team can name who competed at for any country at the most recent IQA World Cup.
| Player | Number | Notes |
| Rajtilak Kapoor (Co-Captain) | 7 | |
| Ava McConnell (Co-Captain) | 15 | |
| Ashan Abey (withdrew) | n/a | Also named as an Assistant Coach |
| Giacomo Agbugba | 3 | |
| Arabella Barr | 99 | |
| Brendan Briscoe-Hough | 16 | |
| Zale Briscoe-Hough | 57 | |
| Kelsey Collins | 89 | |
| Alex Cunningham | 42 | |
| Jack Emerton-Bain | 29 | |
| Cooper Fitzgerald | 4 | |
| Vicki Hunynh | 22 | |
| Chloe Kneebone | 39 | |
| Xavier Luna | 18 | |
| Maddi Moulton | 23 | |
| Kimberley Parry | 86 | |
| Chris Peak | 28 | |
| Caitlin Rapson | 27 | |
| Nicki Redman (withdrew) | n/a | Injured prior to tournament |
| Liz Schultz | 94 | |
| Aaron Sibel | 35 | |
| Eloise Taylor | 11 | |
| Phil Vankerkoerle | 34 | |
| Charlotte Wen | 8 | |

### IQA World Cup 2023 (Richmond, United States)

The squad for the 2023 World Cup was captained by Samantha Chittenden and coached by Luke Derrick.
| Surname | First Name |
| Chittenden | Samantha (Captain) |
| Morton | Nathan (Vice-Captain) |
| Astalosh | Natalie |
| Bell | Madeleine |
| Brenner | Max |
| Coleman | Olivia |
| Crawford | Caroline |
| Creffield | Ruth |
| Derrick | Luke |
| Frison | Brandon |
| Hockey | Kaysanne |
| Jones | Harrison |
| Lindley | Jessica |
| Lindley | Joshua |
| Mayling | Callum |
| Redman | Nicki |
| Spann | Simon |
| Sutherland | Jacob |
| Walker | Cameron |
| Walravens | Hannah |
| Vinet | Edward |
* Reserves
* Ashan Abey (replaced Baldeep Uppal, named as a reserve)
* Joe Dodd (replaced Gary Hague, named as a reserve)
* Nicola Gertler
* Ava McConnell (replaced Kaitlin Taylor, named as a reserve)
* Gary Hague (named in initial squad, pulled out prior to final team selection)
* Kaitlin Taylor (named in initial squad, pulled out prior to final team selection)
* Baldeep Uppal (named in initial squad, pulled out prior to final team selection)

### IQA European Games 2022 (Limerick, Ireland)

The squad for the 2022 European Games was captained by Samantha Chittenden and coached by Nicola Gertler, Tim Scott, and Kim Govier.
| Surname | First Name |
| Chittenden | Samantha (Captain) |
| Morton | Nathan (Vice-Captain) |
| Abey | Ajantha |
| Bell | Madeleine |
| Brenner | Max |
| Collins | Kelsey |
| Derrick | Luke |
| Gertler | Nicola |
| Hague | Gary |
| Hockey | Karysanne |
| Huang | Harry |
| Jones | Harrison |
| Lindley | Joshua |
| Mannering | Michelle |
| Mayling | Callum |
| Morton | Nathan |
| Rennie | Isobel |
| Sutherland | Jacob |
| Taylor | Kaitlin |
| Walker | Cameron |
| Walravens | Hannah |
| Vinet | Edward |
* Reserves
* Baldeep Uppal
* Caroline Crawford
* Matt Tingle
* Sanju Valrav

### IQA World Cup 2018 (Florence, Italy)

The squad for the 2018 World Cup was captained by Callum Mayling and coached by Gen Gibson and Daniel Fox.
| Surname | First Name |
| Mayling | Callum (Captain) |
| Andrew | Arlyta |
| Astalosh | Natalie |
| Culf | Andrew |
| Derrick | Luke |
| Frison | Brandon |
| Kemister | Neil |
| Menkhorst | Cassia |
| Merry | Emily |
| Morton | Nathan |
| Newton | Miles |
| O'Brien | Jonathon |
| Osborn | Dameon |
| Osmond | James |
| Rawson | Taya |
| Rodhouse | Dean |
| Round | Clementine |
| Spann | Simon |
| Tasman | Deni |
| van Kaathoven | Nikita |
| Williams | James |
* Reserves
* Samantha Chittenden
* Anthony Hogen
* James Hyder
* Harrison Jones
* Rajtilak Kapoor
* Stella Naylor
* Isobel Rennie
* Edward Vinet

### IQA World Cup 2016 (Frankfurt, Germany)

The squad for the 2016 World Cup was captained by James Mortensen and coached by Gen Gibson.
| Surname | First Name |
| Mortensen | James (Captain) |
| Allen | Nicholas |
| Astalosh | Natalie |
| Culf | Andrew |
| Derrick | Luke |
| Fox | Leslie (replaced Tash Keehan) |
| Growse | Jarrod |
| Keehan | Tash (named, withdrew due to injury) |
| Hyder | James |
| Kemister | Neil |
| Lee | Shu Ying |
| Mayling | Callum |
| Menkhorst | Cassia |
| Monty | Hannah |
| Morton | Nathan |
| Osborn | Dameon |
| Osmond | James |
| Rawson | Taya |
| Sneddon | Miles |
| Tasman | Deni |
| Thomas | Caitlin |
| Williams | James |
* Reserves
* Samantha Chittenden
* Oscar Cozens
* Nicola Gertler
* Carolyn Themel

### IQA Global Games 2014 (Burnaby, Canada)

The squad for the 2014 World Cup was captained by James Hyder.
| Surname | First Name | Number |
| Hyder | James | 64 (Captain) |
| Bell | Dom | 6 |
| Berkowicz | Emmanuel | 3 |
| Brown | Cameron | 8 |
| Culf | Andrew | 23 |
| Derrick | Luke | 21 |
| Diep | Minh | 9 |
| Gordon | Rhiannon | 88 |
| Hunter | Katherine | 1 |
| Ingold-Dawes | Corey | 2 |
| Kapoor | Rajtilak | 712 |
| Monty | Hannah | 10 |
| Morton | Nathan | 17 |
| Osborn | Dameon | 47 |
| Osmond | James | 15 |
| Papadam | Arfy | 22 |
| Parker | Alli | 4 |
| Rawson | Taya | 62 |
| Stubberfield | Katelyn | 13 |
| Williams | James | 32 |
| Young | Shane | 7 |

### IQA Summer Games 2012 (Oxford, England)

The squad for the 2012 IQA Summer Games was captained by Katherine Hunter.
| Surname | First Name |
| Hunter | Katherine (Captain) |
| Armstrong | Matt |
| Baum | Josh |
| Butera | Michael |
| Crane | Beth |
| Filippellp | Katie |
| Tucknott | Robbie |
| Washington | Sam |
Note: This list is incomplete.

### Most Caps

| Caps | Player | Span |
| 6 | Luke Derrick | 2014 - Present |
| 6 | Nathan Morton | 2014 - Present |
| 5 | Samantha Chittenden* | 2018 - Present |
| 4 | Harrison Jones* | 2018 - Present |
| 4 | Rajtilak Kapoor*^ | 2014 - Present |
| 4 | Callum Mayling | 2016 - 2023 |
| 3 | Natalie Astalosh | 2016 - 2023 |
| 3 | Madeleine Bell | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Max Brenner | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Kelsey Collins | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Caroline Crawford* | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Andrew Culf | 2014 - 2018 |
| 3 | Brandon Frison | 2018 - Present |
| 3 | Nicola Gertler* | 2016 - 2023 |
| 3 | James Hyder* | 2014 - 2018 |
| 3 | Joshua Lindley | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Ava McConnell*^ | 2023 - Present |
| 3 | Dameon Osborn | 2014 - 2018 |
| 3 | James Osmond | 2014 - 2018 |
| 3 | Taya Rawson | 2014 - 2018 |
| 3 | Isobel Rennie* | 2018 - Present |
| 3 | Jakob Sutherland | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Edward Vienet* | 2018 - 2023 |
| 3 | Cameron Walker | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | Hannah Walravens | 2022 - Present |
| 3 | James Williams | 2014 - 2018 |
*includes one or more appearances as a reserve
^includes one or more appearances as part of Aurora Australis