To our wonderful community:
After countless meetings over the past few days, we have been forced to make a difficult decision. We have made it with the complete cooperation of the participating teams, NGBs, and D2 committee. Due to the current situation brought upon the world and the impact that this coronavirus has on the availability of the committee, teams, their players and volunteers, it has been decided to postpone the European Quidditch Cup 2020 Division 2 from March 28th – 29th 2020, to September 12th-13th 2020, in Brescia. Some things concerning the event will change, such as a mandatory Stay & Play policy, so please keep reading.
During the past few days, several teams had reached out to let us know that some of their players, or in some cases, all of their players could not make it to the tournament due to their workplaces or schools enforcing a travel ban. This same situation applied to some of our committee members. Furthermore, even if we did not postpone the event right now, we were not sure that our event would not be cancelled by the council as many sports events in Lombardy are being cancelled right now.
A significant value in quidditch is fair-play and being respectful to each other. We, Quidditch Europe and the D2 committee, decided that we could not host a tournament where many teams would be facing problems to attend. After talking to the teams, they also agreed that in such a case, postponing would be better. European Quidditch Cup Division Two is one of the two biggest European tournaments, and we must do our best to give our attendees the best tournament they can get. This means everyone should be able to attend without issues and keeping everyone’s well-being at heart.
We are really excited to move forward with this event in September. We are also making some updates to the tournament. In September, the tournament will have a mandatory Stay & Play policy. This means you must stay in one of the hotels that are provided by us. More information about this can be found on the website.
We have prepared an FAQ that will hopefully answer most of your questions.
Lastly, I want to thank the entire committee, the teams and the NGBs for all the work you have done in the past few days. This has not been the easiest thing to do. It has never happened before. But we worked together amazingly and we have come to this solution.
I want to thank especially the Brescia side from the committee that dealt with all of our requests. Also a shout-out to Pauline and Andrés who helped with many of the things.
Always remember: We are Quidditch Europe. All of us. Thank you for your trust, patience and love. We could not have done this without you.
FAQ
🆀 – When will the postponed event be?
🅰 – The postponed event will be September 12th to 13th, 2020 in Brescia, Italy. We chose this date because this was the option given to us by the venue. We really wanted to stay in the same venue as planned, so we took the only option available.
🆀 – Will the tournament still be at the same location?
🅰 – Yes, the tournament will still take place in the same location as it was meant to. However, the tournament will now have a stay & play-policy. Read more about the stay & play-policy below.
🆀 – Help! My team cannot attend the tournament on the new date!
🅰 – Teams will have the possibility to forfeit their spot for the tournament and receive a full refund until March 20th. After that date, you will have the possibility to get a 50% refund until April 1st. Any teams forfeiting their spot after that date will not be able to receive a refund. If your team wishes to forfeit their spot, contact us via quidditcheurope@gmail.com and add gameplay@eqc2020.org and d2@eqc2020.org in cc.
We want to be honest with you why this is the case: This is specifically done for merchandise. The front of our merchandise has already been printed and we only have a specific amount of time to get the back of our merchandise printed. We want to at least try to have all the correct teams on there.
New teams that have to sign-up after April 1st, will have a lower team fee according to when the original team forfeited their spot, and we will offer you something in return to compensate for the merchandise issue.
We are saddened by the impact COVID-19 has had on international events, and we recognise that some teams will not be able to afford to go to the tournaments new date.
If you need advice on how to gather funds for the postponed tournament, please let us know and we can refer you to the correct people.
🆀 – What about other refunds?
🅰 – We will keep the team fee of the teams that do not drop out. They will not be asked to pay another team fee. For refunds about the team fee, see the question above.
Teams who have booked their accommodation at one of the hotels we provided one the website, will be eligible for a voucher that can be used for a booking at the postponed tournament. More information about that can be found lower or on “Division 2 – Players”.
If you did not book your accommodation with one of the provided hotels, we can offer you a written statement that the tournament was postponed. Both airlines and accommodations are a little bit more easy-going on cancellations in this current situation. You can request this written statement through quidditcheurope@gmail.com.
Pre-bought merchandise will also not be refunded, but you will receive the merchandise at the postponed event.
Lunches, however, will be refunded. We will get in contact with teams about this later.
🆀 – Will you refund my travel expenses?
🅰 – Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds for travel expenses. We recommend calling your airline as soon as possible to see if you can get a refund or a partial refund.
🆀 – What happens with my pre-ordered merch?
🅰 – You will receive your merchandise at the postponed event. You will not be refunded.
🆀 – What happens with my lunch orders?
🅰 – You will be refunded for your lunch orders. You will be contacted later about this.
🆀 – What about the rosters and the rosters deadline?
🅰 – The roster submission deadline will remain the same, with the change that teams are allowed to submit a full team roster. Rosters will be locked in until the event, the new final roster deadline of 21 players, will be August 30th. If a player of a qualified team wishes to transfer to another team in the meantime and play the postponed European Quidditch Cup with the old qualified team, they can do such a thing. However, they cannot play with the new team at the postponed European Quidditch Cup.
The teams invited to the events will not change. However, NGBs must keep frozen full team rosters of the next three eligible teams, from the moment of postponing. If a team decides to forfeit their spot, the spot will be offered to the NGB’s next eligible team. If they accept, the frozen roster will be requested from the NGB.
Teams must follow the Quidditch Europe national and international transfer policies for EQC.
Rosters are frozen and players cannot be added or removed from the roster for the event. Should, due to extenuating circumstances, a team want to change the roster they must contact the event gameplay director, who will be reviewing the request together with Quidditch Europe. This may only be requested in special cases, and not due to regular transfers.
Quidditch Europe relies on the NGBs to follow these rosters and transfer policies correctly and truthfully. If any NGB is found to have wrongfully or untruthfully altered the rosters or has been found to be the main culprit in breaching policy, then all teams of that NGB will be disqualified.
This roster policy has been made because we are playing the delayed tournament of the 2019-2020 season.
🆀 – If the teams change, will there be a new group draw?
🅰 – No, we will not be having a new group draw. There are a couple of possible situations outlined below.
- An unseeded team forfeits their spot: their spot in the group will be taken by the team replacing them.
- A second seed team forfeits their spot:
- If there is a team from the same NGB in the unseeded pot, that team will move up to take the spot from the second seed.
- If there is no team from the same NGB in the unseeded pot, the next team in line from that NGB will be invited to the event.
- If there is no team from the same NGB in the unseeded pot, nor a team from the NGB able to replace them, the spot will go to the team in the unseeded pot from the NGB that’s next in line for a seeded spot.
The following NGB can receive a seeded spot in this case: Czech Republic
Should more NGBs have to move up, this spot will be drawn from the unseeded teams currently already qualified for EQC Division 2.
- A first seed team forfeits their spot:
- If there is a team from the same NGB in the second seed or unseeded pot, that team will move up to take the spot from the second seed.
- If there is no team from the same NGB in the second seed or unseeded pot, the next team in line from that NGB will be invited to the event.
- If there is no team from the same NGB in the second seed or unseeded pot, nor a team from the NGB able to replace them, the spot will go to the team in the second seed pot from the NGB that’s next in line for a first seed spot.
The following NGBs can receive a first seed spot in this case (in order): Poland, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands and Denmark. - Should a second seed spot become vacant due to a team moving up into first seed, this spot will be replaced following regulations 2a and 2c.
🆀 – What about volunteers and officials?
🅰 – We understand that this might not be the easiest situation for volunteers either. We want to deeply apologize for this situation. Sadly, this decision was taken with the best intentions at heart. We understand that you will also lose money from this and once again we would like to apologize for this.
🆀 – Will I have to sign-up again as a volunteer or official?
🅰 – Yes. Your application will be deleted from our systems and we will reopen sign-ups again, closer to the event. Perks will be adjusted to match the postponed event.
🆀 – What does the stay & play policy mean?
🅰 – The policy states that in order to participate in a particular event all teams are required to book a minimum of two nights in hotel rooms in one of several tournament-approved hotels. Failure to do such a thing will result in a financial penalty of € 70 per player (two nights).
A Stay and Play policy is among the most effective tools we have to ensure overall event quality. One of the main reasons cities bid on sporting events like ours is because of the positive economic impact they have on their area. A big driver of economic impact is hotel nights. By having a Stay and Play policy, Quidditch Europe is able to guarantee host cities that our events will have a tangible effect on local businesses within their service area. It encourages greater city support of our events in terms of both amenities and financial contribution. This commitment of room blocks also increases the number of potential hosts that are likely to submit bids. Lastly, a Stay to Play policy leads to lower rates for teams on hotel packages.
The main organising partner (Maurizio Argetta) arranged conventions with local 3, 4 and even 5-star hotels. The deal? €35 per person per night, including breakfast each morning.
- Hotel Master (via Luigi Apollonio 72, 25128 Brescia BS) – € 35
- Hotel Vittoria (via Dieci Giornate 20, 25121 Brescia BS) – € 35
- Hotel Igea (viale della Stazione 12/A, 25122 Brescia BS) – € 35
- Hotel Regal Residence (viale Europa 2/b, 25124 Brescia BS) – € 35 (Only offers apartments)
Your reference for your bookings is:
Francesca Giorgioni
+39 030 768 7200
eventi@hotelvittoria.com
Within this Stay & Place policy we also offer a low-cost option to teams that are financially struggling, at the Cascina Maggia (via della Maggia 3, 25124 Brescia BS). However, there is only room for two teams and in order to set this deal, no other team could accommodate there. If you are a team that is financially limited, please reach out to us through d2@eqc2020.org
🆀 – But what if the tournament has to be postponed again?
🅰 – If we still have to cancel tournaments after that much time, we’re certain that it’s not quidditch you’ll be worrying about ;). However, if this really occurs, proper measurements will be taken.
🆀 – I don’t agree with the postponement of the event.
A: Sorry. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience. This decision was made with everyone’s wellbeing at heart. During the past few days, several teams had reached out to let us know that some of their players could not make it due to the travel ban. Furthermore, even if we did not postpone the event right now, we were not sure that our event would not be cancelled by the council as many sports events in Lombardy are being cancelled right now.
🆀 – Will there be trading cards?
🅰 – Yes.
🆀 – I still want to go to Italy at the end of March to play, can I?
🅰 – Yes! Bombarda Brixia Quidditch Club is hosting a mini-tournament this weekend at the EQC D2 venue. Contact them via email at the following address: bombardabrixia@gmail.com. There are 4 reserved spots for European teams who want to join. However, we feel inclined to mention that if you have booked accommodation through our partner hotels and use your hotel booking during this weekend, you will not be eligible for a voucher for the postponed event. More information about this event will be released by BBQC via their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bombardabrixia/.
🆀 – I can’t find the answer to my question, where can I ask it?
🅰 – You can message the Quidditch Europe Facebook page, or send an email to d2@eqc2020.org.