Harry Potter never had to sign a sports release waiver, but you may have to if you plan to compete in any upcoming International Quidditch Association (IQA) matches. Founded in 2007 by Middlebury student Alex Benepe, the IQA recently held its fourth annual World Cup on November 13th and 14th in Dewitt Clinton Park in New York City. Boasting 46 teams and 757 competing athletes, the Cup culminated on Sunday the 14th with a win for the Middlebury team, who defeated Tufts 100-50, despite Tufts catching the Snitch.
What began in 2005 as a Middlebury-specific intramural sport with rules derived from the Harry Potter books by a “Quidditch Commissioner,” student Alexander Manshel, has now become quite literally an international event. The IQA website displaying a list of hundreds of participating high school and collegiate Quidditch clubs stretching from the original Middlebury team to that of the New College Institute of Management in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
If you can succinctly explain the rules of Quidditch, whether played with magic or in its “Muggle” (or “Ground Quidditch” form), you’re a better witch/wizard/magically-empowered person than I. A cursory reading of the 54-page International Quidditch Association Rulebook (Version 4.0) reveals that Ground Quidditch is—like its magical equivalent—played in teams of seven using a Quaffle (a volleyball), several Bludgers (dodge balls), and a Snitch (“a tennis ball held inside of a [yellow] sock carried by a snitch runner”), and that is already way too much like a real sport for me to pay sufficient attention. However, just as something horribly violent consistently happened to Harry at almost every match, Muggle Quidditch also allows a significant amount of physical contact (albeit ground-level), enough to keep hockey, football, and rugby fans alike interested. The official rulebook permits “charging” as well as tackling, and players are advised to invest in a mouth guard or protective goggles along with their cape and broom. In fact, according to DNA info, forty players were injured on the first day of the tournament alone.
As of yet there are no plans for a Wesleyan Quidditch team, but the IQA is nothing if not encouraging to enterprising Potter-fanatics. People interested in more information can consult www.internationalquidditch.org for a detailed and entertaining guide to the game, complete with diagrams of keep measurements and directions regarding the proper construction of goal hoops. Quidditch is a movement kept alive by pure practitioner support and enthusiasm, be they fans of the wizarding world or just people who choose not to take their athletics quite so seriously. And let’s face it: an imaginary sport might be more successful at Wesleyan than any of the real ones.
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