Issue 4 - April 13, 2024
covering nontraditional, emerging and niche sports with a focus on women and LGBTIQA+ people
Issue 4 - April 13, 2024
Hello and welcome to the fourth issue of Beyond the Big 5!
US Quadball Cup 2024 is this Weekend!
About 60 teams across a whopping five divisions are competing at the US Quadball national championship this weekend in Round Rock, TX. All games on pitch 1 and 2 are being livestreamed on YouTube. Here’s the full schedule. And here’s some reading (plus listening) material on who’s competing:
Fast Break News: profiles on all divisions
From Abraham Beningson: profiles on club teams
Third Bludger Interference: hot takes podcast
The Eighth Man’s Podgame Huddle: D1 college preview
Want my predictions? I think Warriors will win club, but it’s possible Bosny pulls one over them and earns their first title. All it takes is 1 game. For college D1, this is Creighton’s year. I remember the first time I saw beater – and now team captain – Madi Namanny take the field at an official tourney. She was with Creighon’s B team at the time, Blue Jay. She had been playing for just 2 weeks, knocked the socks off everyone. Now she’s on the US national team developmental academy and is one of the best college beaters in the league.
For college D2, my heart says Baylor. They’re teaming up with Oklahoma State this weekend (joint teams like this are allowed in USQ). You should never sleep on the southwest in quadball. They hit harder, they hit faster, and they never quit.
For club open, I’m rooting for the Second Stars, which is Lost Boys’ new development team. Their chaser Qalil Ismael is one of the best new club players I’ve seen this season. For college open, which is just two teams, I hope they both have a great time.
Mini Watch Guide for Day 1
The livestream schedule for USQ is pretty good. I could write a book about each game and why you should watch… but it’s the night before nationals and I’m finally in a position to sleep for more than 1 REM cycle before it. So I’ll keep this brief. All times are in CT.
8am, pitch 1 - Mizzou vs UT (college D1)
Mizzou is a top team with arguably the least depth out of their competitors, but they have a lot of heart. UT is rebuilding and could pull off an upset.
9:10am, pitch 1 - Mile High vs Seattle Sirens (club champ)
Full disclosure, this is my team. I’m not playing this weekend. Seattle historically comes out swinging first game of the day. They struggle against highly physical teams, though, and woof does Mile High bring that energy. Rookie chaser Markus Lewis on Mile High is one to watch; he’s one of Mile High’s top scorers. For Seattle, chaser Elizabeth Nolen is making her club nationals debut and is a fierce defender and cutter to hoops.
10:20am, Pitch 2 - UTSA vs ASU (college d1)
2023 D1 champ vs D2 champ. ASU has put in the work this season from D2 last year to now in the top 10 D1 teams. UTSA is still very good. USNTDA player Milena Sousa is the one I’m most looking forward to watching from UTSA.
10:20am, Pitch 4 - Warriors vs NY Slice (club champ)
This game isn’t on the USQ livestream, sadly, and honestly you should probably be watching college over club. But I love mess. Quadball club mess is some of the best. NY Slice was formed in 2023, featuring a core of players mostly from the Warriors, also Philadelphia Freedom. Last year, they had Molly Potter on their team… who is now on the Warriors. And beater Phil Cain on Slice is BFFs with chaser Lindsay Marella on Warriors. If you get to watch this, especially in person, bring the popcorn.
5:20pm, pitch 1 - Boston University vs Baylor (college D2)
Fast Break News ranked BU number 1 in D2 for good reason. They’re solid. But this could be Baylor’s time to shine.
7:40pm, Pitch 2 - Boom Train vs Texas Hill Country Heat (club champ)
Boom Train has grown A LOT in the last 5 years. Pre-COVID, they lost to Texas Cavalry in a total shut-out. Now they’re a top 5 team. They’re ready to play 3 max, and starting with last summer’s MLQ Chicago Prowl season, have been on an incredible trajectory. Heat is the club champs from 2022. They’re a pot 2 team, possibly underranked.
New Podcast Episodes
Episode 5: Aubrey Johnson and Episode 6: the League Perspective, Part 1 are both out! Aubrey is a player on Salt Lake City Hive and this weekend is competing with Utah Venom. For episode 6, I interviewed USQ co-gameplay managers Thomas Chang-Davison and Sarah “Phantom” Kneiling about their approach to rule and policy making around gender, and how their own experiences as players factor into that.
Other Sports News
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament broke viewership records. Something like 18 million people watched the finals between South Carolina and Iowa – and it was on a Sunday afternoon!! Dawn Staley, coach of South Carolina, remains a hero.
A new women’s pro rugby league is forming, Women’s Elite Rugby. It’ll start in 2025.
If you don’t want to watch quadball or just have extra time on your hands, both the Premier Ultimate League and the Western Ultimate League have games on Saturday.
In Closing
I love quadball!
Beyond the Big 5 is written by Mary Kimball.