GRAZZINI Maxime
Konstanzer Straße 38
80809 München, GERMANY
+49 179 40 99 346
maxime.grazzini@gmail.com







IQA



Application for the position as Rulebook Team Member

Dear Sir or Madam,
I started Quidditch 6 years ago in Toulouse, France. What started as a fun time to meet people and eat cakes slowly grew into a love for this sport. While Quidditch has its flaws, it is the only game to offer such a gameplay, and such a community. I could go for an hour about why Quidditch is awesome, but now is not the place.
Having always been into ruling, I started learning Quidditch rules very early and became an assist ref, but I started getting really into reffing a year ago and am now a head ref in Munich, Germany. I’m also the creator of the http://quidditchreftraining.azurewebsites.net/ website.
For me, the refs are a very important part of the match, while also being the only unimportant part. What I mean by that is that the refs should aim to make the game as little about them as possible, by ruling quickly and clearly,  using NHNF, delayed penalty, short stoppage and trusting their colleagues. The game should be about the players and spectators, and the refs should simply ensure that fairness and sportsmanship are respected. “Show yourself early so you can be invisible later”.
A good rulebook and rulebook team should aim to provide those tools to the refs. If I am accepted in the team, I will try to have us ask ourselves what we want a quidditch game to be like, what principles we must always remember when discussing other topics. Those are mine and probably not shared by everyone (and I’m not saying they should), which is why it’s important that the team first have this discussion.
If I am accepted in this position, my goals will be the following:
-	Create more tools for new refs and players to learn the complicated parts of the game. The issue with refs usually is in a lack of confidence or knowledge to properly do their jobs. Having better tools to provide experience outside of real matches would go a long way.
-	Have “referee’s appreciation” and unclear rules be more consistent among different refs. Too many refs will apply wrong ruling, be too harsh or too lenient. Sometime it’s because of a lack of experience, but sometime it’s also because that’s how everybody in the country does it, or because that’s how the game “should be”.
Those two motivations were the main drive behind my website. Having more tools to learn the rules in a fun and efficient way would do wonders for the sport, especially in small tournaments.
-	Make the rules more consistent and fairer, while making the game more interesting to watch and play. MLQ rules modifications are very interesting, but I would also address some inconsistencies that exist in today’s rulebook. For example, a quaffle that cross a line may or may not trigger a reset used or a turnover depending on the situation. While some scenarios need the extra complexity, others could be simplified.
-	Finally, women. As players and refs, women face a lot of challenges men don’t. A central pillar of Quidditch is mixing the genders. Reaching out to women refs and players, making the game more adapted for them and less men-centric, and offering more opportunities for women to face those challenges is very important if we want the sport to thrive.
I am very interested in sharing my point of view on the sport with other players and team member and help moving Quidditch in a better direction, so that this community can keep growing and everyone can have fun in it. If I am accepted, I’ll do my best to push those ideals.
Please reach out to me if you would like to discuss some of those points, or if I need to explain myself more clearly. I would be more than happy to exchange.
Sincerely,
Maxime Grazzini