The Quidditch Premier League is thrilled to present the 17 managers who will be leading our teams to glory next summer!
Gavin Hughes - Scottish Thistles
Gavin Hughes began playing quidditch in 2015 with the Falmouth Falcons, who he captained and coached to the most successful season in their history, before moving to his hometown club, the Glasgow Grim Reapers, in 2018. He returns to the Quidditch Premier League for a third year, having played for the Northern Watch in the inaugural season and managed and played for the Scottish Thistles during last year's campaign. He is also currently the head coach of the Scottish National Quidditch Team and Scotland Expansion Manager at QuidditchUK.
Timur Zakirov - Northern Angels
Timur Zakirov is the manager of the newly formed team – the Northern Angels. Currently he plays for the Manchester Manticores but has been out with an injury for the whole season, so has applied for the role of manager to get his dose of quidditch . He is excited to embark on this new venture, and whilst he is slightly nervous about it, he believes it will be a great success. He hopes that he can take this team as far as possible and show everyone that northern quidditch can be both high quality and entertaining.
Elliot Fisher - Northern Watch
Elliot Fisher has been playing with the Northern Watch since its inception in 2017, and currently plays for Velociraptors Quidditch Club. With a desire to improve quidditch in the north and improve on the team’s recent placements, Elliot will push a focus on physical play that he hopes will take the Watch to their rightful place on the podium.
Josh Armitage - Yorkshire Roses
Josh has been playing for his home club, the Leeds Griffins, since early 2014. Initially starting his Quidditch Premier League career as captain for the Yorkshire Roses during their debut season, he lead the team to 5th place at the 2017 championships. His continued contribution to the team as a coach has seen the development of many key players in Yorkshire quidditch. Josh has also played a minor role in the conception of Sheffield Quidditch Club and in the early development of the York Horntails. Josh plans to bring the team together and develop them through a tailored coaching program, making sure each player is able to make the most of their time on the Roses.
Kyle Bolderson - West Midlands Revolution
Kyle Bolderson is from Newcastle-under-Lyme, and has been playing quidditch for two and a hald years. He joined Derby in 2016 and signed up to the first Quidditch Premier League season, making it onto a really talented squad with the West Midlands Revolution. They lifted the trophy that year and it inspired Kyle to sign up the following year and earn another medal. This in turn encouraged him to coach the Derby Daemons this season and to sign up to manage the Revolution this year. He’s really excited to see what he can do with the talent from the region, hopefully shining a light on some less known players and earn another medal. The Revolution gave him a taste for winning, and he’s not stopping now.
James Thanangadan - East Midlands Archers
James Thanangadan is the returning manager of the East Midlands Archers, and will be looking to bring a wealth of coaching and playing experience to the role alongside a desire to constantly improve both themself and the team. After a personally successful 2018 Quidditch Premier League season that saw them end with the most assists and the second most goals scored across the league, they are keen to go again with Archers and improve the teams final standing, one that they felt didn’t reflect the true improvements of the team over the season. James is particularly looking forward to avenging the defeat to the Eastern Mermaids, now that both teams are in the same division. One thing is certain: arrows will fly this summer and Europe better watch out.
Heather Dimmer - Welsh Dragons
Heather Dimmer has just finished a maths degree and is currently working in banking. Alongside quidditch, she attends Empire LRP and volunteers for the IQA. She started playing last year and has found it really fulfilling so far. She loved playing for the Welsh Dragons last season and she want to see this raise the profile of the sport even further in Wales.
Hannah Ridley - Eastern Mermaids
Hannah Ridley started off playing for Keele, where she both coached and captained the team during her time there. This season, she is enjoying playing for Velociraptors QC, and won her first gold medal in quidditch at Northern Cup 2018, something she hopes to emulate with the Eastern Mermaids in 2019.
Harry Smith - Southeast Knights
This is Harry Smith’s third season in the Quidditch Premier League, having played for the Yorkshire Roses previously. He is currently also playing for London Quidditch Club, and has a further three years of playing experience with the York Horntails. It’s fair to say he likes to throw himself into this sport and that he can’t wait to do the same with the Southeast Knights.
Charlie Strickland - Southwest Broadside
Charlie Strickland is a third year History student at the University of Exeter. He is in his second year of captaining Exeter Quidditch Club and is also working with QuidditchUK this year as a scout for the national team setup. He played for the Southwest Broadside last year, something he describes as ‘a proud and exciting experience’, but promises that this year will be even better. There is more talent in depth in the region than ever before, and a real desire to show that their 5th place finish last year was a sign of successes to come in the future. This year he will build the Broadside’s most competitive squad ever and he is confident that they will challenge the other strong teams in the UK South Division.
Seb Waters - London Monarchs
After spending the last two seasons coaching the West Midlands Revolution and London Monarchs, Seb Waters is looking forward to taking the reigns as manager for this season. London has the deepest talent base in the UK and he is looking forward to trying to showcase that talent at not only the top level in the UK, but also against the European teams.
Natasha Ferenczy - London Lions
Natasha Ferenczy is really excited to be the first manager of the London Lions. She knows what makes a great coach and leadership team and is confident that she will build a competitive, exciting squad from the outstanding talent London has to offer. To help the team excel she’s looking to bring a great coach on board that will support and develop players. Natasha has been playing quidditch for nearly six years now and feels it’s time for her to make use of her experiences and passion for the sport to bring the Lions the success that this new team deserves.
William Nouvel - Paris Lumières
William Nouvel is 25 years old and comes from Paris. He has played as a keeper and a seeker for Paris Frog for two years. Outside the sport, William manages a team of educators and doctors that work with autistic children. He is very excited to be one of the 2019 Quidditch Premier League managers, and very much hopes to bring the trophy to Paris.
Amaury Moulin - Lille Géants
Amaury Moulin started playing quidditch in April 2017 with the Tournai Thestrals, where the team participated in its first Belgian Cup. Since January 2018, he has played with the Lille Black Snitches with whom he participated in the 2018 European Quidditch Cup. He made the pre-selection of the Belgian national team in 2018, and mainly plays keeper or chaser, as well as being a starting seeker. He loves the sport, but also the values that drive quidditch. He is very happy to have been chosen as manager for the Lille Géants for this very first European edition of the Quidditch Premier League, and will do his best to take the team to new heights.
Nicolas Dehez - Brussels Atoms
Involved with quidditch for three years, Nicolas Dehez is one of the founders of the Liege Leviathans and now plays for the Brussels Quidditch Club. His aim is to make quidditch known as a modern sport in which everyone can find their place and develop. He is excited to meet you with the Atoms on the field!
Kieran Smith - Amsterdam Pride
Kieran Smith has been playing quidditch for three years, and has led teams at no fewer than seven fantasy tournaments. Last season, Kieran represented the Welsh Dragons, an experience they describe as ‘one of (if not the) greatest moments of my life’. Now playing for the Dom Tower Dementors in Utrecht, Kieran has a strong knowledge of Dutch quidditch and wants to ensure the Amsterdam Pride has an atmosphere and team rooted in the Netherlands.
Nicholas Hirst - Cologne Talons
Originally from Australia, Nicholas Hirst now lives in Berlin. He served as on the Quidditch Australia board for two years, was the tournament director for the inaugural State Shield in 2017 and was the Australian national team (the Dropbears) manager in 2016 and 2018. Nicholas is incredibly excited to start working with the Quidditch Premier League and manage the first German team, the Cologne Talons.