<ditch season is off to a flying start here at Carleton. Last Saturday, September 26th, Carls descended on the fields behind the Rec Center to ride broomsticks and throw balls through hoops.
Quidditch, the beloved sport of Hogwarts wizards and witches in the fictional universe of Harry Potter, has been adapted to the muggle sporting world.
While the brooms don’t fly and the balls don’t have minds of their own, students still flock to this magical sport. The team structure is similar to that of a soccer squad and the objective is to score the most points by throwing balls through a hoop or by catching the ‘golden snitch.’
Unlike in Harry Potter, of course, the golden snitch here is comprised of a fast runner not affiliated with either team who is free to run anywhere and whom each team’s seeker is attempting to catch. Catching said seeker gains one’s team points and signifies the end of the match.
The games, which were hosted by Fitness house, began at 3pm Saturday and were played between four teams of seven students. Saturday marked the third time Fitness house had hosted a Quidditch tournament since its arrival on campus two years ago.
Milana Socha ‘14, manager of Fitness House, said that one goal of the games was to encourage outdoor activity in a unique and fun way.
“Part of the goal of Fitness House is to show people that leading a healthy, active lifestyle can be fun and that there are a lot of things besides running or lifting weights that you can do to get active.”
Socha said that she and her housemates planned to organize another Quidditch tournament in the Spring.
“I’d love to see that be a larger tournament; we’re considering introducing and advertising a larger prize in addition to [what is normally given to victors] a cup.”
Others did not appear quite as enthralled with the prospects of playing Quidditch. When asked if she had any memorable thoughts she’d like to share about the sport after her first match, Maureen Kahn ‘14 remarked, “Not particularly.”
So-called ‘Muggle Quidditch,’ this sport has enjoyed widespread participation across colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Middlebury College originally modified the sport from the version ubiquitous in Harry Potter to a game playable by the less magically inclined percentage of the population. In 2007 Middlebury hosted the first Quidditch World Cup, marking the bound of Muggle Quidditch into the inter-collegiate realm.
This year 100 teams will compete for the 2012 World Cup, which will be held on Randall’s island in New York over two days in November. Socha expressed the hope that Carleton might one day compete in the World Cup.
So get out the brooms, because we’re expecting a sweep.