Quidditch on the Quad: A Recap

In case you missed the posters hanging around campus, the videos on Facebook, and the front page story in the CW, let me inform you that (a) you live under a rock and (b) an incredible event called Quidditch on the Quad took place on Sunday. Groups from all over campus formed teams to participate in this dream-come-true event for any semi-athletic nerd (like myself). Each team chose a country to represent in the Capstone's very own "Quidditch World Cup." The tournament began at promptly twelve noon when Denny Chimes played the Harry Potter theme song (yeah...THAT HAPPENED).

Of course, the science of flying on broomsticks hasn't been quite perfected (scientists, I'm looking at you), so the game was played a little bit differently than in the Harry Potter books. Let me try to quickly explain the basic rules of "Muggle Quidditch" to you...

• First of all, every person must keep a broom between their legs at all times or face a penatly.
• The field is set up much like a soccer field. Instead of goals, three "scoring hoops" are placed on both ends of the field.
• The basic goal of Quidditch, like most games, is to score more points than the other team. Ten points are awarded to a team every time they throw a "Quaffle" (volleyball) through one of their opponent's hoops.
• The other way to score points in Quidditch is to catch the "Snitch." In our version of Quidditch, the Snitch was a cross country runner dressed in gold with a tennis ball attached to the back of his or her shorts. Catching the Snitch awarded your team 30 points and ended the game.
• Each team was composed of seven players, each with a very specific role. Three Chasers were allowed to use the Quaffle to score points. One Seeker was allowed to chase the Snitch. One Keeper was allowed to guard the hoops. Finally, two Beaters were allowed to use "Bludgers" (dodgeballs) to attack other players and attempt to keep them from accomplishing their tasks.

I was a part of Team Uruguay, and we were unfortunately eliminated in the first round by Djibouti. That didn't stop us from playing a couple of pick-up games (which we won) on Dumbledore Memorial Field. I played the role of the Seeker in the first couple of games...and that was absolutely exhausting. I ran cross country in high school, but chasing a golden-clad runner (literally) all over campus with a broom between your legs can be a challenge. In our final game, I played the Chaser position which was absolutely a TON of fun.

I was pretty surprised by the physicality of the game. To be successful on offense, you can't ever stop running and you have to be willing to power your way through opposing defenses. On defense, you have to be willing to get physical to the point of almost tackling the opposing players. Of course, you have to play on both ends of the field if you're a Chaser or a Beater. I'll put it this way...after my only game as a Chaser, I felt like the game had probably lasted about 30 minutes. The official time was 16.

The folks over at Creative Campus deserve a big shout-out for all the work that they put into this event. It was probably was of the funnest things I have done here at UA. If an similar event is held in the future, definitely check it out!

Thanks to Honors College student Blake Basset for the photos in this post.