Running with Broomsticks

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Author: Alexa Soriano

The Quidditch team is back and will officially begin its third season later this semester. Comprised entirely of Muggles, the team will host its first tournament in November and is looking to compete against neighboring schools.

Even though Quidditch is a rather unconventional sport, the rules are relatively simple. The game starts when the referee calls, “Brooms down. Eyes Closed. The Snitch is loose.”

Players close their eyes as the Snitch runs away to hide. The Golden Snitch is played by a person in gold who runs around with a ball in a sock tucked into the back of his or her shorts.

In the center of the field sits the Quaffle (a partially deflated volleyball), along with three Bludgers (rubber four-square balls). When the referee calls “Brooms up,” the players rush forward to grab them, just like in dodgeball.

After this initial chaos, the game continues as members try to score by throwing the Quaffle through the goals.

Quidditch, conceived by fantasy novelist J.K. Rowling, is the magical sport played by characters in the famous Harry Potter series.

In 2005, Middlebury College, in Vermont, founded “Muggle Quidditch,” or Quidditch for the non-magical population, as an intramural sport for avid Harry Potter fans.

Since then, the sport has flourished. Now, over 200 colleges across the country are a part of the International Quidditch Association (IQA), a nonprofit organization that promotes the sport through tournaments like the Quidditch World Cup.

Although the sport has only been at Occidental for two years, it is swiftly gaining popularity. The team currently consists of 26 players with Caroline Osborn (junior) and Aylia Colwell (senior) standing as captains.

When you ask either of them about the Quidditch team, their eyes light up.

“It sounds ridiculous, and it is ridiculous … but it’s actually really hard!” Colwell said.

The players must be able to run around on broomsticks while also carrying the balls necessary for scoring.

Also, the brooms they run with are not just any household tool – they are carefully crafted replicas of those in the Harry Potter films, called Scarlet Falcons. “It’s really hard to get used to running with the broom between your legs […] you have to be in shape to play […] it’s a lot of running,” Colwell said.

Since so-called Muggles have no access to magic, Quidditch is exhausting and aggressive. The rules of the game have been modified several times in the East Coast Cup because of how violent players have become while playing the sport.

With many students attending practices, the upcoming season is looking promising. The more people who participate, the more scrimmages the team can have.

“Our new recruits and returning players never cease to impress me with their enthusiasm, athleticism and energy,” Osborn said.

This year, the team also has access to Patterson field for practices and has doubled its practice time.

The team is trying to garner support from the school to help form the West Coast equivalent of the East Coast Cup to include 8 to 12 schools.

Los Angeles has a relatively small Quidditch community compared to the East Coast. The team hopes more schools will want to get involved in the sport if they can organize a formal West Coast Cup.

“All the other sports are getting precedence because we’re not really a real school sport yet,” Colwell said.

Despite the team’s unofficial athletic status, the players are taking the competition seriously. They are preparing for a tournament on Nov. 20 that will coincide with the release of the latest Harry Potter film. Arizona State University and Moorpark College are already interested in being a part of the tournament, and UCLA and USC may join as well.

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