National Championship Quadball Cup Kicks off April 18-19 in Roseville

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP QUADBALL CUP BRINGS ALMOST 60 TEAMS APRIL 18-19 TO PLACER VALLEY SOCCER COMPLEX

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – US Quadball, the association that oversees the fast-moving and full-contact sport that evolved from the Harry Potter novels, will hold its annual national championship tournament Saturday and Sunday (April 18-19) at the recently opened Placer Valley Soccer Complex in west Roseville.

Almost 50 mixed-gender teams, from the Bay Area to the New England region, will compete in the 2026 Quadball Cup, which has never been west of Utah since starting in 2007.

Games start at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and continue into the early evening at the Placer Valley Soccer Complex, 2600 Westbrook Blvd.

A single-day ticket for adults is $35, or $55 for a two-day pass. Tickets for children 12 and under are $20 and $30 for a two-day pass. Fans are encouraged to bring blankets or pop-up chairs, and they can bring their own food and drinks. A VIP ticket is $150, and includes after-party entry, a pop-up chair, discount on merchandise, trading cards, special seating areas and parking spaces.

A vendor village with five food trucks – from favorites like Authentic Street Taco and Snowie Delite – a margarita garden also with beer and wine, and booths selling quadball merchandise and player trading cards are just part of the experience.

“It’s a sports event with a festival vibe,” said US Quadball CEO Amanda Dallas, who encourages fans to enjoy and learn about the sport. “It’s not just about the sport; it’s about the community.”

Quadball, formerly known as quidditch from the best-selling Harry Potter novels and subsequent blockbuster movies, is a combination of dodgeball, flag football, lacrosse and rugby that requires players to carry a plastic pipe between their legs to represent a broom.

“It’s really a great blend of so many sports,” said Amanda Bortner, a member of the Lost Boys, a club team from Los Angeles. “It’s competitive and has so many quirks. It’s a fun game to watch.”

Bortner will be among the 1,000 athletes, all from outside the Sacramento region, who will compete at US Quadball Cup. Teams are divided into competitive club and college divisions.

The athletes along with several hundred fans – from family and friends to folks just curious about the sport – will attend the two-day tournament, generating at least $2.5 million for the Placer Valley economy, from booked hotel rooms to busy restaurants.

“We’re proud to welcome more than 1,000 visitors to experience our brand-new Placer Valley Soccer Complex during the US Quadball Cup,” said Roseville Mayor Krista Bernasconi. “As our sports tourism sector grows, it gives us a powerful opportunity to showcase everything that makes Roseville such a vibrant and inviting destination.”

Bringing the annual championship to the community is a hard-earned win for Placer Valley Tourism, the naming-rights sponsor of the soccer complex. The organization has hosted US Quadball’s national qualifier tournaments five times since 2013, including the past two years.

But the US Quadball Cup, with about four times more players and a much-larger economic impact, has been the mission in recent years.

The Placer Valley Soccer Complex, a state-of-the-art facility with 10 artificial-field turfs with LED lighting and pavilions that opened in November, was the game changer for US Quadball.

“Placer Valley Tourism has been a part of quadball for more than a decade, but we needed an outdoor sports complex that could host the US Quadball Cup,” said Kim Summers, CEO of Placer Valley Tourism and @the Grounds, home of the Roebbelen Center. “US Quadball Cup is the first major adult tournament at the soccer complex and will help showcase the type of events that we can host.”

The soccer complex’s artificial-turf fields, preferred by many quadball players, and the large shade covers with misters were strong selling points, said US Quadball CEO Amanda Dallas. A hard-to-beat location – a half-hour from the Sacramento International Airport and a few hours from the Bay Area, South Lake Tahoe and Yosemite – also helped.

For some of the players “this is an opportunity to see a place they have never traveled to,” said Dallas, a former quadball player and coach. “There are wineries, hiking opportunities and you’re not far from San Francisco.”

But before hitting trails or tasting wines, players are focused on the games – and the titles.

“I’m excited to see how we stack up against the other teams,” said Molly Potter, who lives in New York City and plays for the New Jersey Dice. “US Quadball Cup is the best version of the sport.”

Quadball started in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont. While the name has changed from quidditch, the game has remained relatively the same. Sometimes described as “whimsical” -- for example, a team from Wisconsin wears white uniforms with black spots that resemble dairy cows – players are serious about the sport, including dishing out and taking some brutal hits much like rugby.

Each team has seven players on the pitch (field), with no more than four individuals of the same gender identity at the same time. Players, regardless of their gender, deal with the same challenges, from getting hit by a dodgeball – sometimes rather hard – to being tackled.

“You learn how to take the hits,” said Bortner, who embraces the physicality of the sport. “It’s not intimidating; it lets me be more intense. You don’t feel diminished. Everyone has a role on the team.”

A deflated volleyball is tossed through hoops on the field for scoring, three dodgeballs are used to hit opponents and a late-in-the-match addition of a yellow flag representing a golden snitch to be captured from an elusive official are all part of the sport. (You can learn more about the basics of quadball on the US Quadball site https://www.usquadball.org/how-to-play.)

“It’s a very unique, fast-paced, full-contact sport,” said Christian Krieger, who started playing quadball in 2013. “Sometimes it feels like there are three games going on at once.”

Quadball players, from college students to business executives and doctors, say the one-of-a-kind sport caught their attention, but the close-knit community is just as, if not more, important.

“The community and friendship are what keep many people around,” Bortner said. “They’re very welcoming and inviting.”

And the community is critical for the future of quadball. The sport enjoyed fast-paced growth for more than a decade but has been slow to recover following the pandemic.

“The West is definitely a target market,” Dallas said. “California is a great place to grow the sport.”

The US Quadball Cup in the Sacramento region, especially near UC Davis and Sacramento State, is part of the plan.

“The West has some competitive teams and strong communities,” said Krieger, a coach of the UCLA team who will also play for the Lost Boys at the tournament. “This is the first nationals on the West Coast, and it’s super important.”

The US Quadball Cup is also important for Placer Valley – and Placer Valley Tourism. Games will be livestreamed on the US Quadball YouTube channel, allowing fans from across the country to watch games and view the soccer complex.

“US Quadball Cup is a great opportunity for the community, local businesses and the sport,” said Placer Valley Tourism’s Summers, whose marketing team has become a major player in sports tourism on the West Coast with the Roebbelen Center. Placer Valley Tourism is the naming-rights sponsor of the soccer complex. “The US Quadball Cup is just the start of bringing major events to the soccer complex – and much more to the community.”

About Placer Valley Tourism 

Placer Valley Tourism is a Business Improvement District that serves South Placer County and the cities of Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln. The BID operates to help generate incremental room night stays in hotels within Placer Valley Tourism’s geographic footprint through various conferences and youth and amateur sports events. PVT aims to coordinate community and sports events with the best hospitality options in the region. Placer Valley Tourism is a nonprofit and classified as a 501(c)6. For more information, please visit https://www.placertourism.com/.

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