HKU Quidditch Club ceased to be a university club and changed its name to Hongkong Hydras Quidditch Club
Our Association has been notified by the HKU Quidditch Club, our Club Member, that it ceased to be a university club and changed its name to "Hongkong Hydras Quidditch Club" on 18 March 2020. The decision was made in the Annual General Meeting of the club on 18 March 2020, after members of the quidditch community in Hong Kong were consulted about the future of the club in a forum co-organised by our Association and the club on 29 February 2020.
Our Association welcomes the change in positioning of the club, and wishes it all the best in recruiting new players for our community and participating in overseas inter-club tournaments.
HKU Quidditch Club released the following statement on its Facebook page on 18 March 2020:
"The HKU Quidditch Club has decided to change its name to “Hongkong Hydras Quidditch Club”, in order to reflect our change in positioning from an HKU-based club to a club for everyone.
Our Club was first founded in 2015 by Willy TAM, and was subsequently re-established by Chris LAU in 2018 with an ultimate aim of being affiliated to the Hong Kong University Students’ Union (“HKUSU”). Over these years, numerous HKU students and alumni have played the sport of quidditch in the events organised by the Fly for Equality Project or our Club, and we are very proud of our achievement in promoting quidditch and gender equality in HKU.
However, we have not been able to organise most of our events since November last year due to the social events and the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. We have thus not been able to recruit enough members to sustain our future operation as a club in HKU. We therefore decided to start a new chapter by re-positioning our Club, and would no longer pursue our application for affiliation to HKUSU.
It has long been the case that our Club welcomes players who are not HKU students, and a significant number of players who participate in our Club’s activities are not HKU students. Our re-positioned Club will continue to welcome players from all walks of life. Quidditch will always be an inclusive sport, and our Club will always be an inclusive club.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the students, alumni, departments (especially the Equal Opportunity Unit and CEDARS) and staff of HKU who supported us. You will always be part of our history and are always welcomed to play quidditch and cooperate with us. We would also like to thank all the teams and clubs that we have played against: Seoul Puffskeins, Edo Quidditch, Katayaburi Quidditch, Sydney City Serpents, Azabu Stirring, and Baba Vikings. We would also like to thank the players from Damasara Dementors who played in the exhibition match in January 2018.
We look forward to welcoming you in our coming try-outs and trainings, and playing against you in the coming tournaments, as Hongkong Hydras Quidditch Club!"
The new Executive Committee of the club comprises of the following persons:
- Chairperson: Ananya PRASAD
- Secretary: Jessie HO
- Treasurer: Takumi TAKESHIGE
- Promotions Secretary: Owen YIP Tsz Hin
- Social Secretary: Kelvin NG Wai Hei
- Coach: Sidharth SRIRAM DHARMAPADAM
- General Secretary: Keith JONES
- Advisor: Chris LAU Kwun Shing
Should you have any enquiries, please contact the Hongkong Hydras Quidditch Club at hkhydras@gmail.com.