US Quidditch Takes Over Salt Lake City Soon
US Quidditch (USQ) Cup 2022 is almost here. It will be held in the next few weeks, on April 23–24, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
One of the most prestigious Muggle quidditch tournaments, US Quidditch Cup 2022 (also known as USQ Cup 15) will be held at the Regional Athletic Complex. Nearly 70 collegiate and club teams with over 1,200 athletes from the United States will compete in their divisions for the national championship title. This event usually has about 5,000 viewers in person, with more watching via livestream on Twitch.
It’s the first USQ national championship in three years. The last one, USQ Cup 12, was held in April 2019. Another, USQ Cup 13, should have been held in Charleston, West Virginia, but it was canceled like USQ Cup 14, which also should have been held in Salt Lake City. Now, USQ Cup 15 is the first national tournament that will be held there. Clay Partain, Managing Director of Sports Salt Lake, is excited about the event.
Salt Lake is tremendously excited to host the Quidditch Cup this April and roll out the red carpet for all the incoming athletes and spectators! We anticipate the event to bring in over $2.6 million in direct impact, which will have an incredible impact on our community.
At the event, there will be more than 150 games of quidditch. Games will start on Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. MDT, and championship matches will be played on Sunday evening. A detailed schedule should be released soon.
In addition to the games, spectators can also enjoy a fan festival with merchandise vendors, food trucks, and family entertainment. There is also youth quidditch, and elementary, middle, and high school students can attend the youth quidditch activities.
Tickets are already available for presale. For adults, a one-day ticket costs $20, and a ticket for the weekend is $25. A ticket for a youth/student for the weekend costs $15. But these prices are only until April 6 at 8:00 a.m. MDT, when the presale ends. The adult one-day pass will then cost $25, and the adult weekend pass will be $35. For a youth/student, the price remains the same.
There is also an opportunity to sign up as a volunteer. Volunteers don’t have to have any knowledge about the sport, but they are needed for such things as ticket sales, field management, logistics, and more. For serving at least three general volunteer hours, each volunteer will receive free event admission, free lunch, a USQ Cup 2022 volunteer shirt, and a choice of free USQ Cup 2022 merchandise.
USQ also offers USQ members free team and player memberships for volunteering at USQ Cup. The team with the most hours served as volunteers will receive a free team membership and nine free player memberships with an $880 value. Teams with the second and third most hours will receive free team memberships (a $250 value).
Unfortunately, some teams are having problems attending the event due to travel costs, despite fundraising for months and seeking funding from schools and community organizations. In response, USQ has created a new grant program for this event to cover part of a team’s travel expenses. USQ has finances for the grant program from a combination of sources, such as donations.
In addition to the team registration fee grant, which covered the $450 registration fee for USQ Cup for over two dozen teams, USQ has dispersed nearly $20,000 in grants to members and teams this season, the highest amount ever. Our goal is to give out at least another $5,000 in direct financial aid, more if funds allow.
