I love Harry Potter. I know that the Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated by Lord Voldemort. I know who Dobby is and I know all about the Triwizard Tournament. I admit all of this and yet, I must say that I am still shocked to learn that hundreds, thousands of real-life Muggle Quidditch teams have been assembled across the world.
College and high school students are taking the wildly popular world of Harry Potter out of the conventions and out of the libraries and they are taking over college campuses. If you don’t know what Quidditch is, then I’m going to have to point you in the direction of Amazon, where you can purchase the full Harry Potter series. Read it, maybe even watch the movie, and then come back because I can’t possibly tell you everything there is to know in one post!
Quidditch is a fictional sport from the Harry Potter books and movies. Witches and wizards play the game on flying broomsticks which clearly isn’t possible for us muggles (non-magical folk), however, brooms are still used as props.
Muggle Quidditch is played with 7 players on each team: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Seeker and one Keeper. In addition to both teams, there is a “Snitch” who runs around campus and tries not to be caught by either team’s Seeker. Once the Snitch is caught, the match ends. While the Seekers search for the Snitch, the rest of their team engages in the score-building portion of the game. I could try to explain the role of six goals, a quaffle (big round ball) and bludgers (little round balls) but instead I’ll just re-direct you to the International Quidditch Association.
Colleges and high schools across the world are adopting Quidditch teams. Among the U.S. colleges are:
- Penn State University
- Harvard University
- Wichita State University
- Ohio State University
- University of Oregon
- University of Washington
- University of Oklahoma
Among the U.S. high schools with Quidditch teams are:
- Notre Dame High School, Sherman Oaks, CA
- Vashon Island High School, Vashon, WA
- Troy High School, Fullerton, CA
- Wichita High School, Wichita, KS
- Eagle River High School, Eagle River, AK
- and so many more…
Muggle Quidditch- is it a bunch of Harry Potter nerds stuck in fantasy-land or a dream come true?
image via movieline.com
posted on December 3rd, 2010
by Theresa,
Tags: Harry Potter, harvard university, ohio state university, penn state, Quidditch, Sports, university of oregon, University of Washington
Posted in Sports | 7 Comments »
November 8th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
[...] sport inspired by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has continued to grow since the first non-fiction game of Quidditch was played at Middlebury College in 2005. This year, the International Quidditch Association will [...]
October 21st, 2011 at 1:01 am
[...] seems that Koester isn’t the only one who now prefers Quidditch, a fantasy game with players who ride on broomsticks, to other [...]
December 6th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
With the alarming obesity rates, I’m just glad that more people are getting more active in sports, even if they come from a fictional novel
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:31 pm
[...] fourth annual Quidditch World Cup will be held this coming weekend in New York City at De Witt Clinton Park. NPR reports [...]
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Although the big universities get more attention for having Quidditch teams, the sport actually got it muggle start at small liberal arts schools.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Okay Ill admit it, I love it, I want to play.
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, but even I think this is a bit much. Maybe a cute idea for a kids birthday party activity, but a full-time sport? Hmmmmm….
I’ll grant, at least they’re up doing something active and social and not just slumped in front of a video game!