Since Harry Potter made its first appearance in 1997, it has started a craze among its fans. Harry Potter fans have found ways to bring the magic world into the real world. Many people both young and old have grown up pretending to be witches and wizards, waving wands around and wearing pointed hats. This is only the beginning of the fan craze. In the past couple years; universities have started a Quidditch team. It has now spread world-wide and now there is a World Cup competition. Universal Studios has jumped on the Harry Potter train and created a Harry Potter world. They opened up a new studio that lets people transform their fantasies about the Harry Potter magical world into reality.
According to ARMiller’s Harry Potter Glossary, the definition of Quidditch is broomstick soccer; seven players on each team: three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper, a Seeker; four balls: a Quaffle, two Bludgers, a Snitch; and six tall goal posts. “The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. The Keeper flies around the hoops to stop the other team from scoring. The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That’s why you have two Beaters on each team. It’s their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. The Golden Snitch is the most important ball of the lot. It’s very hard to catch because it’s so fast and difficult to see. It’s the Seeker’s job to catch it. The Seekers have to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team’s Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. They game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught.”
Everyone in the wizarding world knows of Quidditch. That is, everyone except Harry Potter. He was thrown into the wizarding world after being invisible the thirteen years of his life. After entering the wizard world, Harry soon began to learn to fly. On his first lesson, Harry exhibited significant Seeker qualities. He became the youngest Quidditch player at Hogwarts in a century. It is because of Harry that the Gryffindor House team finally beat the Slytherin House team who had gone undefeated for MANY years.
Throughout the book series, there are many scenes with Quidditch matches. The movies portray the matches like they really can happen in real life. Because of the combination of these sources, HP fans began imagining themselves playing this game. That is where Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont first began Muggle Quidditch. It is an adaptation of the fiction Quidditch.
The equipment in Muggle Quidditch varies depending on venue. Three circular goals are placed on either side of the field. The goals are often hula hoops held up by PVC pipe. All players are required to carry a broom between their legs at all times. Slightly deflated volleyballs usually act as the Quaffle, and dodgeballs serve as the Bludgers. While the Snitch is simply a tennis ball contained in a sock tucked in the waistband of the Snitch runner. The Snitch runner is a neutral player affiliated with neither, team dressed in all gold or yellow, sometimes adorned with wings. After release, the Snitch runner is allowed to roam an area beyond the playing field. When played on a college campus, the range is often the entire campus. The seekers search of the runner around campus; if they failed to catch him, he returns to the field after a specified time. Unlike fictional Quidditch, the capture of the Snitch is worth only 60 points, making it possible to win without being the team that catches the Snitch. Also, the game ends after a specified time, whether the Snitch has been captured or not.
(next couple paragraphs I will write about the Belmont Quidditch match that is happening April 1, 2012. I cannot write about it yet since it hasn't happened. I will take field notes and video it for my video presentation.)
