The Eighth Man

Android App Aims to Improve Stat Keeping

Photo Illustration Credit: Mike Iadevaia Photo Credit: Nicole Harrig

Photo Illustration Credit: Mike Iadevaia
Photo Credit: Nicole Harrig

A new smartphone application could transform how quidditch statistics are recorded and shared. Andrew Axtell’s free Quid Stats app for Android can track individual players’ goals, assists and minutes on pitch.

Quidditch is one of those few sports in which recording statistics has often been discussed but hasn’t really been done. Axtell said he hopes his app will change that by providing an easy and accessible record-keeping platform.

Quid Stats is more than a scorecard. In addition to tracking individuals, it can calculate the +/- statistic, which illustrates how well a team is performing with a specific player on the field.

Axtell said the major benefit of Quid Stats is it can help any team locate holes in their game.

“I created it as a side project and resume builder, but also as a tool for making the [University of Michigan] team better,” Axtell said. “Having numbers after each game was and is helpful for finding out who should be playing more or less.”

Alvin Arnold of the Philadelphia Honey Badgers has used the Quid Stats app in the field before. He said he is excited for what the updated app has to offer but still sees areas in which it can improve.

“[It] seemed we couldn’t record stats for more than one team at once, and there are also no beater stats to record in it,” Arnold said of the beta version.

Now that Quid Stats is out of the beta stages of its development, the app looks cleaner and is more user friendly. However, Arnold said he still struggled with technical difficulties while using Quid Stats.

“The app crashed a lot, which led to clock issues,” he said.

As part of its most recent update, Quid Stats now allows users to download a team’s roster or upload a roster by manually entering names.

“The beta wasn’t necessarily buggy, it just lacked key features like downloading teams from the Internet,” Axtell said.

Longtime head referee Patrick Sheehy said he thinks the application is great for the sport but hopes it doesn’t distract officials from game play.

“I think it’s a great step forward [but] should not be used by the scorekeeper,” Sheehy said. “Their attention is needed to be solely on the game and not divided between an app, the game, the scorecards and whatever scoreboard they are using.”

There are still a few minor setbacks to the application, including its lack of availability on multiple platforms. Currently, Quid Stats is only available for Android devices, although an Apple version is in the works and should be out before World Cup 8, Axtell said.

With the continued development of Quid Stats, quidditch can begin taking the next step into legitimacy as a sport.

To learn more about the app, check out www.play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=local.quidstats. To get your team’s roster in the app, contact Axtell at andrew.axtell@gmail.com.

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