From the Daily Prophet of 6 August, 2000
Down to five
United says goodbye to two seekers in first cuts
By Mike Thalia
PUDDLEMERE, England -- Harry Potter moved two steps closer to his all-but-preordained place with the Puddlemere United Quidditch Club on Saturday afternoon.
Two Seekers were among the 16 players who were released as manager Glenn Watson trimmed his list of potential players for the first time following his team's last public practice. That leaves just four Seekers to compete with the Boy Who Lived as United's training camp swings into its second week.
"The players who will be here tomorrow are all strong players," said Watson, who announced the cuts shortly after Puddlemere left the pitch Saturday. "Literally all of them have a good chance to make the final 20."
"I'm just glad I'm coming back tomorrow," was Potter's only comment when asked about the hardly surprising revelation he had made it through the first round of cuts.
But there was one unexpected name among those who will not be at Nimbus Arena this morning.
Gwen Ayres came into camp with the second-most first-team experience of any of Puddlemere's Seekers. She was expected to mount a strong challenge for a place on the reserve team, but instead, she failed to distinguish herself amid United's fierce competition at the position and is heading home.
"I have to admit I'm somewhat disappointed with my showing," said Ayres, who spent the summer of 1997 as a backup for the Welsh national side. "It's not that I played badly. I put a great deal of effort into not making any mistakes and there I succeeded. But at the same time, I didn't stand out. At this level -- with this club -- that's what it took."
Said Watson, "Both (Seeker's coach) Perry (Holmes) and myself think Gwen is a steady flier. Unfortunately, that's not what this club is looking for this season. With all the skill and flair we have at Seeker she needed to show us more."
Having played nine first-team games in a season and a half as Holyhead's first reserve (1997-99) and caught the Snitch 10 times with the all-female club's second team last winter, Ayres should have no difficulty finding another position. Even before Puddlemere began training the 26-year-old was contacted by several German and Dutch clubs with conditional offers should she not make it with Puddle U.
"It may work out for the best that I was cut so early here," Ayres said. "Now I have time to catch on elsewhere before the season starts."
The same cannot be said for the other Seeker released Saturday, Karl Svenssen. The young Swede did distinguish himself with United, but only by crashing three times in flight drills.
"I am not upset," said Svenssen, who will likely have to wait until the Nordic League's summer season for another tryout. "I knew I had no chance to make the team. I am lucky to have had the chance to train with such players as Harry Potter and Samuel Diop."
Potter has been the star of Puddlemere's first five days of training, drawing huge crowds and wowing them with daring and skilful flying. If he wasn't beforehand, the departures of Ayres and Svenssen make the Boy Who Lived all but a lock to earn a place on the United squad. With only five Seekers remaining in camp, he has to beat out just two to assure himself the right to stay.
"Harry's right where we expected him to be," Holmes said. "He's shown a lot of talent and control in the air and smarts when it comes to finding the Golden Snitch."
Potter's competition is formidable. Diop has displayed the form that made him the league's top Seeker a year ago and appears determined not to give up his two-year hold on the team's first position. Last year's backup, Gregg Knapp, and a pair of new teenage player, Rebecca Stephens and Ekaterina Petrova, have also provided glimpses of potential excellence, but none of them has yet to rival the performance of Potter or Diop.
"We'll have three -- at most, four -- Seekers when we make it to September," Watson said. "It's not that we don't have the talent to keep more, but the 20-wizard roster is a real limitation. As for who's staying and who else is going, I'm starting to have some idea, but we'll have to wait and see how the rest of training goes."
Quidditch League of Great Britain and Ireland rules allow clubs to have no more than 20 fit players under contract at a time during the season. Twelve (typically two Seekers, two Keepers, three Beaters and five Chasers) may be in uniform for any first-team match, while all are eligible to compete in the reserve team's midweek games.
Puddlemere had 32 players signed for the season entering training, and as expected, they made up the vast majority of those who made it to the second week of training. Only two contract players, Ayres and French Chaser Francois Carpentier, were among the 16 let go Saturday. Stephens is the lone Seeker among the seven remaining non-roster invitees.
"We invite unsigned witches and wizards to camp so we can see and compare as many players, especially young players, as possible," Watson said. "Most of them don't make it through the first week, but occasionally you find a diamond in the rough."
In addition to the five Seekers, there will be six Keepers, 11 Beaters and 15 Chasers returning to Puddlemere today.
One thing that won't be back at Nimbus Arena this morning is the crowd. After five days of open sessions that drew an estimated total of about 9,000 supporters to the stadium to see the Boy Who Lived, Puddle U closed its doors to the public Saturday.
"I would never have believed how exciting this is," said 18-year-old Mandi James, who attended all five practices and was particularly impressed by Potter and Diop's first head-to-head Snitch hunt (won narrowly by Diop) that ended Saturday's session. "I wish I could come every day for the rest of the summer. It's worth it to see Harry."
"It's been fun having so many people here to see us train every day, but in a way I'm glad this week is over," Watson said after Saturday's crowd of 2,435 had left the stadium. "Tomorrow we can start working on tactics and playing simulatedmatches. That's when the real work begins."
The club will hold private practice sessions for the rest of the month, though fans will be welcomed back for two home exhibition matches (Saturday and 19 August). Nimbus Arena officially opens for the season with Puddlemere's 9 September home debut against Caerphilly.
By then, the future of Puddlemere's potential players will be decided. But in the mind of James and supporters like her, Harry Potter's fate is set already.
"I'm coming back here for the Caerphilly match and I'm going to watch (Harry) win," she said. "It's going to be a blast."
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Mike Thalia covers Puddlemere United for the Daily Prophet. Owl him at
A/N: Many thanks go to my betas -- Promethean Alchemist, LadyChi and Nancy -- for their hard work and to Kagome for keeping me motivated.
And for the record, gossip columnist Erato Steele makes her debut in Article 16.