News

What's Going on in North Myrtle Beach This Weekend?

by Lindsay Garten | April 4, 2014

With World Cup VII coming this weekend, there’s no doubt that North Myrtle Beach, S.C. is preparing for this 80-team event that is expected to attract 5,000 spectators. While the quidditch tournament’s biggest stage has a full lineup of events planned, including kidditch games and two live concerts, World Cup has not gone unnoticed by the local press and a minor league team. The City of North Myrtle Beach, which is co-sponsoring the event, has several large events planned for the weekend.

In addition to the tournament, there are other events planned to get spectators excited for the World Cup. Tonight the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a minor league team for the Texas Rangers, will be hosting Harry Potter night, in what the team has dubbed “a quidditch World Cup welcome and pregame exhibition.”  

At the City of North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex, the same site as the tournament, the city will also celebrate opening day for its youth baseball and softball teams.

“Forty-nine teams with over 500 players will be introduced and recognized by the Mayor and City Council as their season will be officially opened,” said Matt Gibbons, the superintendent of sports tourism/athletics for the City of North Myrtle Beach. “This weekend is a great example of the city’s vision when designing and building the new park. It is an honor to host an event like the IQA World Cup. We embrace the opportunity to showcase our city, facility and hospitality. We are excited to get our youth baseball/softball season underway and can’t think of a better time to do that than alongside the World Cup.”

The local press has also picked up on the enthusiasm surrounding the event. Logan Anbinder, the IQA’s marketing director, was interviewed by two local radio stations, Hot-Talk WRNN and WMFD (ESPN’s Wilmington, N.C. affiliate), to discuss this weekend’s event.

Kara Olson and the Coastal Carolina Quidditch Team have also been promoting the event locally by posting fliers and participating in community outreach events.

“I have gotten the Coastal Carolina University team to head to one elementary school for a demonstration and to the North Myrtle Beach Library to talk with one of their groups,” Olson said. Today, the team will make a presentation about the World Cup at the Cultural Arts Day at Carolina Forest Elementary.    

North Myrtle Beach is thrilled to host the event in its new facility.

“We just want to emphasize our excitement for the World Cup and our partnership with the IQA,” Gibbons said. “It has been a great experience for our staff to have worked with the IQA staff in organizing and planning the WC. We think it’s a great event and hope that this is just the beginning of a long partnership between the IQA and North Myrtle Beach.”

In keeping with the momentum of promoting the World Cup, the IQA was on WPDE Good Morning Carolinas, a local news station, starting at approximately 5:15 a.m. and continuing until 6:45 a.m., with four 30 minute long segments. An additional media session will take place from 9-10 a.m. featuring players from the University of Ottawa Gee Gees and Maple Rush, the Silicon Valley Skrewts and the University of Sydney in Australia.

The IQA has received several dozen requests for press passes as well, so be on the lookout for many articles over the weekend.

Now it’s time for a special edition of Quidditch in the News- Pre-World Cup Edition:

March 29, 2014

The Long Beach Funky Quaffles’ magical season has been extended as they managed to come up with the money to compete in the seventh annual quidditch World Cup, inspired by the game played in the “Harry Potter” book series. MORE

Eighty teams from more than 20 states and three nations will participate in the World Cup in North Myrtle Beach. The seventh annual World Cup comes to the North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex April 5-6, according to city spokesperson Pat Dowling. MORE

March 30, 2014

Quidditch has not yet gotten into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary but the word sounds just as it looks, and anyone who wants to see this growing global sport has a world championship to take in Saturday-Sunday near North Myrtle Beach. MORE

Residents of North Myrtle Beach Harry Potter fans should check out the International Quidditch Association’s World Cup VII, which will be taking place April 5-6, according to Myrtle Beach Sun News. MORE

April 2, 2014

It's a sport based on fantasy that, with a couple creative changes, has come to life in a big way.

For Central Michigan Universities Quidditch team, the path to the International Quidditch World Cup is no less magical. MORE

April 3, 2014

Central Michigan Quidditch team based on Harry Potter sport returns to World Cup. MORE

Whether you're grabbing a broomstick and playing, or sitting in the stands to watch the event, the Quidditch World Cup is coming to North Myrtle Beach and events kick off this weekend. The event that usually takes place in Florida, New York or Vermont is taking off for the first time in the Grand Strand. MORE

PRESS RELEASE: Quidditch World Cup 2014 starts this weekend in North Myrtle Beach.

Harry Potter inspired sport brings 80 teams and 5,000 attendees to two-day tournament. MORE

More than 80 teams from the U.S., Canada and even Australia will compete for the Quidditch World Champion title at the new North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex this weekend. MORE