“I thought to myself: Looks like the IQA needs some help!”
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Friederike Reimerin action for Looping Lux Leipzig at the 2019 German championship.
© Frederik Hinrichs
Every so often, the International Quidditch Association (IQA) faces criticism from within the quidditch community. IQA insider Friederike Reimer, until recently head of the IQA’s HR Department, explains why the international governing body tends to have an image problem and shares her personal perspective on what is happening in international quidditch.
In this MUS interview, she talks about the mental strain of her volunteer position, but also about the joys of working in an inherently international environment. Rike Reimer is convinced that many of the IQA’s problems stem from a shortage of staff, especially concerning the communication. For the Looping Lux Leipzig player, this is closely linked to a deep-sitting mentality problem in the quidditch community. Other topics addressed in the interview concern the issue of racism related to a possible World Cup in the United States and the question of whether an international quidditch tournament can be carried out in Turkey.
MUS: The first question at the moment has to be: When do you think we will have quidditch matches again?
Rike Reimer: I am really hoping for summer. Maybe the quidditch league can start again at that point. But I am skeptical concerning international tournaments.
In contrast to other unpopular sports, quidditch did not have any competitions in late summer 2020 when the infection rate was low. Do you think this was a good decision?
I think it is hard to make comparisons. If you look at it from an international perspective, you see that there is currently quidditch being played in South America, because it’s summer there at the moment. But as I said, it is hard to compare. We were at least allowed to practice again in Germany in summer and autumn, which was not the case in all countries.
Until recently you worked with the International Quidditch Association (IQA) as head of their Human Resources Department. What made you quit this position?
On the one hand, I want to focus on different things in my life now, and on the other hand I just do not have as much energy for this kind of work anymore. I held this position for two years and throughout this time, there was never really time for a longer break. There is no denying that working with the IQA has become a strain on my own mental health. That being said, quidditch as such has of course not seen the last of me yet.
Mental health is a recurring topic in the context of quidditch volunteering in governing bodies. Could you tell us more about your specific experiences?
First up: While it has been mentally taxing, the positive aspects outweigh this by a lot. The decision to join the IQA has been one of the best decisions I have made over the past years. I learned so much and was handed a lot of responsibility, so I definitely would not want to miss this time. I got a lot more confident and learned many new things, like how to coordinate an organization’s annual report. These are all experiences and skills that I can now include in my CV when applying for jobs.
Nevertheless, there are of course negative elements. Public appreciation is important for me to be satisfied with my own work in the governing body, and if said appreciation is missing, it’s not great. However, the main reason for me was that the work itself was taxing. I was, for instance, part of a committee dealing with harassment within the quidditch community. Reading those reports isn’t easy, emotionally. And of course, there is more administrative work the higher you get within the organization’s hierarchy, which is just not as much fun. Mental health suffers a bit from that, especially when it is already relatively low due to the current pandemic.
The logo of the International Quidditch Assosiation.
Source: https://www.iqasport.com/
“It is a vicious cycle”
How did it even come about, that you joined the IQA 2 years ago?
I wanted to do something for the sport in general. Two years ago, the IQA faced a lot of public criticism. There were memes circulating in the quidditch community that made fun of the IQA. I am an outcome-oriented person, so when I saw that I thought to myself: Looks like they need some help – let me see if I can contribute in some way. So, I started working with the IQA and my work actually became very extensive within a short period of time. I did not expect that I would be able to fill a leadership position, I was still pretty young at that point after all. But my example shows how fast you can move up and accomplish your goals within the IQA if you have the energy and motivation for it.
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You said that the IQA had faced public criticism. Up until now, the IQA, like governing bodies in many other sports, does not exactly have the best reputation. How could this be changed?
That’s true. The IQA still does not have the best reputation. However, I do think that some things have changed for the better. If we compare the situation to 2016 for instance, there have been many positive movements, including personnel and leadership structures. The IQA is in a better position now than it was after the World Cup 2016. We got a lot more international and the United States are not as dominant within the IQA anymore. But of course, public perception is always also a question of communication. If the communications department is short-staffed, you cannot tell the world about all the IQA’s accomplishments. It is unfortunately a bit of a vicious cycle.
It is a well-known problem that many positions within the IQA are vacant because nobody applies for them. Why is it so difficult to get people excited for these positions?
Part of it is the communication problem I just mentioned. But it also goes beyond this to a more fundamental issue. We as a sport have grown a lot over the past years, and that growth comes with so much organizational and administrative effort, that unpaid volunteers cannot really stem it anymore. At the same time, we are still so small that we cannot pay anyone for their work in the governing bodies. Additionally, it is very common in the quidditch community that a lot of people benefit from the hard work of a few. The sheer amount of work the organization puts into quidditch tournaments often remains unseen. And as long as that is the case, it is a lot easier to ignore the whole issue and to just participate in quidditch without contributing to its organization. This is where the communication problem comes in again. Due to being short-staffed, the IQA can only communicate what is absolutely necessary. But this also means that all the other things that IQA volunteers dedicate a lot of time and effort to remain invisible. It just does not become apparent how great the work with the IQA actually is.
“There might be money problems”
What was your favorite moment or biggest success of your IQA career?
A difficult question. Publishing the annual report was definitely a great moment. But it mainly came with the thought: ‘Luckily it’s done now.’ I think in general there was not one moment, but rather a lot of personal interactions on a very human level, that stand out. We often stayed for another hour after our meetings to just have a chat. And then you are sitting together with people from five different time zones and just talk about this and that. Those are the beautiful moments.
The IQA always steps into the spotlight during Quidditch World Cups which normally take place every two years. The World Cup that was originally planned for 2020 has since also been called off for 2021. Isn’t there a risk of the sport dying out in smaller quidditch nations like Brazil or South Korea, if there is no international competition for two years?
I don’t think that the sport will completely die out in those countries, but their development might be stunted. As part of our work with the IQA, we have been in touch with many national governing bodies over the past months. We did notice that some countries are struggling a bit. In some smaller quidditch nations the community is not very active right now and it can be difficult to reach the right people in the first place. For some countries, there might even be money problems, if no tournaments can take place.
Critics might claim that the official explanation is a pretext and that the IQA wants to duck the responsibility of deciding whether to deprive the United States of hosting the World Cup due to its problems with racism, as was demanded by some. What do you have to say to those critics?
I think that critique misses its mark. Throughout the decision process on where to host the next World Cup, national governing bodies (NGBs) were included more than ever before. In the end, it was not the IQA alone who took the decision, but the IQA together with the member NGBs. Personally, I also did not encounter this kind of criticism. Instead, the NGBs mainly seemed to be relieved to have certainty in their planning. Talking about the issue of racism in general, I do think that the IQA reacted quite well. We formed a temporary BIPOC committee (BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, People of Color; find more information on the committee here) which currently concerns itself exclusively with the question of whether the United States are acceptable as a host for World Cup. There is, however, still a lot of potential for improvement on this issue within the IQA, and we hope that the people on the BIPOC committee can get the ball rolling at this point.
“I think the German governing body has quite a bit of influence”
What kind of potential do you see specifically?
We have a department within the IQA that focuses on diversity and inclusivity. I see more possibilities here, as this is an issue that affects many different areas. This includes offering support to member NGBs to become more inclusive, but also the IQA’s own human resources. A very important issue as well, concerns events. An example is the question, whether it’s possible, as an LGBTQ-inclusive sport, to have the European Games or the World Cup take place in Turkey. The issue of diversity and inclusivity touches upon many different parts of the IQA and we hope to be able to recruit some people from the BIPOC committee to keep working with us on it.
The question of tournaments in Turkey is always hotly debated in the quidditch community. A big quidditch nation on the one hand, a political climate that is openly anti-LGBTQ on the other hand. What is your stance on the issue?
It is an extremely difficult topic. When you ask yourself the question, if the country is safe enough carry out a tournament in it as an LGBTQ-inclusive sport, there will always be a degree of uncertainty. As will be in many other countries. Personally, I probably would not want to have an international tournament take place in Turkey, but there are surely circumstances under which it is possible. I do not want to commit myself to one option or the other here.
At international tournaments it is still the rule that per team, a maximum of four players of the same gender can be on pitch at any given time. This rule was changed in Germany, where up until the seeker floor, the maximum has been reduced to three players of the same gender. One of the goals is to promote women. What do you think of this change?
Personally, I have spent a lot of time on the sideline in large female chaser sublines, which is why I see this change as very positive. I think it’s a big step towards gender equality.
Do you think the German rule will establish itself internationally at some point?
I surely hope so. When I look at the size of the German governing body within the international community, I think that we have a great deal of influence. A strong German presence at international tournaments which enforce this rule can be important. I think we have a high visibility there.
Talking about rule changes: Could you imagine quidditch without brooms?
No, I can’t imagine that.
Do you think this could realistically happen soon?
No, I can’t really imagine that either.
What is next for your own quidditch career? Now that you have retired from working with governing bodies, will you focus more on your own athletic goals again?
I am approaching it rather relaxed for a start. I did not play at all over the past year, as I was first abroad and then Covid-19 prevented any sport anyway. And my athletic focus shifted a bit away from quidditch and towards climbing and bouldering. But I will continue playing quidditch. The few practices we had in Leipzig before the lockdown confirmed that quidditch is still my true love.
The interview was conducted by Daniel Knoke.
Thanks to Juliane Schillinger for helping translate.