MLQ to Pause Rochester Operations
After much consideration, including an analysis of our end of season survey responses and demographic data, Major League Quadball has made the difficult choice to indefinitely pause franchise operations for the Rochester Whiteout, effective immediately.
This decision was not made easily, as Rochester is a city with a rich history and success not just in MLQ but within quadball in general. The Whiteout were part of the inaugural season of MLQ in 2015. In 2018, the team won the North Division and made it all the way to the semifinals of MLQ Championship before falling to the eventual champions. As recently as 2022, Rochester went 6-0 in the regular season and made the finals of the North Division Championship.
Despite all of this historic success, it has become clear that the city no longer has the quadball infrastructure to sustain an MLQ franchise. For the 2023-24 USQ season, there are no longer any official college or club teams based out of the city of Rochester or other cities nearby. The team has also had trouble fielding full rosters for major MLQ tournaments in recent seasons, compromising the competitive integrity of the events and leading to unsafe situations. With Head Coach Alyssa Giarrosso – who has sustained the program with her hard work and dedication in recent years – leaving the team, it became clear to MLQ leadership that the franchise was simply not suited to continue to compete at this time.
MLQ radii will be adjusted to allow for Rochester players to continue to play in MLQ, with the majority of athletes becoming eligible to play for either the Toronto Raiders or Cleveland Riff. The decision to allow for both rather than just expanding Toronto’s radius was an equity decision, as some athletes may not have a passport or the means to travel to another country on a weekly basis.
With this decision, the North Division will once again be a five-team division for 2023. The division will now play under the same format as our other two divisions, with a full round robin of three-game matches. The North Division Championship will be canceled going forward.
The MLQ schedule will be released in January and athlete tryout registration will go live Feb. 1.