Who Wants to be a Wizard

Do you like flying . . . on brooms? Do you wish you could chase after magical flying snitches all day? Do you wish you were a wizard? If you answered yes to any of the above questions then Quidditch may be the sport for you. What’s that you say? Quidditch doesn’t exist in the real world? Well have I got news for you! The sport of Muggle Quidditch is sweeping schools around the world. While there is no flying (except on your feet), there are brooms, you can chase after a snitch runner, and you can ALWAYS wish you were a wizard.

Muggle Quidditch is a worldwide sport that is most popular at colleges and universities. The International Quidditch Association, founded in 2007 at Middlebury College in Vermont, has over 1000 teams and prospective teams from over 13 nations around the world. They are registered as a non-profit organization, have their own newspaper, The Seer, and they host the Qudditch World Cup at one of the many participating campuses across the world.

Muggle Quidditch usually takes place in an open field usually on a college campus somewhere. At either end of the field there are three hoola-hoops at varying heights. There are three different types of balls: the quaffle which is used to score, the bludger which is used to hit the opposing team, and the snitch which is worth 150 points. Each team has three Chasers, one Keeper, two Beaters, and one Seeker. The Chasers are the equivalent of forwards in soccer, their job is to pass the quaffle between them and score in the opposing teams hoops. Keepers are like goalies and aren’t allowed to stray too far from their goal. Beaters are like defence; they try to hit the other teams Chasers with the bludger and keep their own Chasers from being hit. The Seeker chases after the snitch; the snitch being also known as the person with wings who runs all over campus the whole game. Quidditch is a surprisingly accessible sport despite being from the wizzarding world, and Canadian universities like McGill and Ryerson have their own teams.

If hearing about the beautiful sport of Muggle Quidditch has piqued your interest, if you now dream of the wind in your face as you wallop a ball at someone, or if you still just really really want to be a wizard, remember– it’s within your reach (except for the wizard part). Now get on your brooms and fly!