Everyone loves when moments in their favorite book or movie becomes a reality, but when fans get to participate, it makes it all the better.
Felician is one of many universities throughout the United States that started playing a sport that seemed impossible to play: quidditch.
This fictional sport from the award-winning series Harry Potter has become a club sport for universities all over the country, getting so popular that they have their own committee called U.S. Quidditch.
This sport is one of many club sports being added at different colleges and universities all over the country. Club sports are a way for students to compete against other schools without having the commitment or vigorous schedule that varsity athletes have.
Quidditch is just like you would see in the movies, but without all the magic and flying broomsticks. Each team has seven active players: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker, according to U.S. Quidditch.
To relate it to real sports, the chasers are like the offense and the beaters are like the defense. The keeper is similar to a goal keeper while the position of the seeker cannot really relate to other sports. The whole point of the seeker is to capture the snitch, which they do by grabbing the ball off the snitch. Here’s the catch: the snitch is an actual person.
While the seeker is chasing the snitch around the field, the chasers are trying to get the quaffle into a hoop, which is being guarded by the keeper. The beaters are able to use bludgers, which they use to hit the opponent, making them drop whatever ball they have and returning back to their goal.
If you think it is confusing right now, it will take a quick turn. This sport has to be played with a broom in between your legs, just like they did in the "Harry Potter" movies.
“Don’t be fooled by the broom,” said Brendan Fernandez, a junior who helped start the team at Felician University in Rutherford, New Jersey. “It’s just one huge game of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’”
Quidditch teams all over the country are made up of students from all different age levels who also have a wide variety of different abilities. The smallest person can take down the biggest guy in a blink of an eye, and the game could go from 0-0 to 90-0 in a matter of seconds.
“It is more fast-paced than any sport I have ever played,” said Jared Morrison, a junior chaser for Felician's team. “I have played many sports like basketball and baseball, but none compare to the pace of this game.”
Not only is this a sport where people come to play a fast paced game, but they also come to have a good time with friends, which is what club sports are all about.
There is even a World Championship for collegiate Quidditch that takes places in the spring semester, and that is where every team wants to be.
If your school has a team and you want to be a part of it, or you want to start a team at your school, talk to the director of intramural sports, who will give you all the information that you need to know to be a part of the team!
