Successful Clubs Funding your way to the World Cup Quidditch in

Transcription

The
April 2011

Swamp Cup &
Western Cup
Funding your way
to the World Cup
Quidditch in
New Zealand
Off the Pitch:
Successful Clubs
Monthly Seer
April 2011
Volume 1 • Issue 7
EDITOR IN CHIEF Alicia Radford
COVER PHOTO Gregg Pachkowski
CONTRIBUTORS Laurie Beckoff, Alex Benepe, Nick Burk, Rob
Ciano, Melissa DeVarney, Zara Fishkin, Will
Hack, Dan Hanson, Andrea Hill, Harrison
Homel, Christopher Kostick, Katie Mercurio,
Kristina Moy, Wes Moyer, Kathryn
Mudgway, Laurie Rabin, Alicia Radford,
Abbie Rickard, Molly St. Clair, Katie Stack,
Troy Stanford, Leah Vogel, Luke Zak
ART DIRECTOR Alicia Radford
LAYOUT DESIGN Alicia Radford
Andrea Hill
ADVERTISING Alicia Radford
To advertise in the Monthly Seer, contact
alicia.radford@internationalquidditch.org
The Monthly Seer is published electronically by the International
Quidditch Association. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced without the consent of the IQA.
The International Quidditch Association is a magical nonprofit
that governs the sport of Quidditch and inspires young people
to lead physically active and socially engaged lives. www.
internationalquidditch.org
Contents
1
3
5
6
7
9
10
Letter from the editor
Upcoming events
Welcome to the league!
World Cup VIP pass winner
Recent Games
Quidditch at Staples Center
Magic is Might: News from the Ministry of Magic
The Road to the Cup
13
21
25
26
31
IQA Southern Regionals: Swamp Cup Report
Surf. Sand. Snitches. Western Cup Report
West Coast Offensive
Western Cup to the World Cup
Upcoming Regionals
Team Spotlights
32 33 34
Canadian-style Quidditch takes off at Acadia University
Kiwis form national Quidditch league
Quidditch thrives at Emerson
Off the Pitch
35
37
38
Developing Quidditch
How to succeed in business
The kids are all right: Youth empowerment in the IQA
Lifestyles
39
41
43
44
45
Quidditch Down Under
The man behind the magic: Xander Manshel
Why I Love Quidditch
The Quidditch Comic
How to tell your parents you play Quidditch
Players' Corner
47
49
51
52
Enough is Enough.
Essay: the future of Quidditch
Dear Luke, on fundraising to the World Cup
Two Rulebook Myths
Letter from the editor
Last weekend I had the pleasure and honor of attending the
Western Cup, the IQA's Western Region championships. With
eleven teams it was the largest tournament west of the Mississippi,
and I definitely felt a strong sense of hometown pride, being from
Seattle. When I first started volunteering for the IQA I was as
a regional organizer, trying to keep track of all the teams in the
West (we were the Northwest back then) and bring Quidditch to
as many schools as possible. I "met" (through email, then slightly
nerve-wracking phone calls) Harrison Homel, Tom Marks,
Kathryn Mudgway, and Aaron Sladek in the beginning of winter,
2009. The IQA was poised to become a nonprofit and institute
its first real Regional Director / correspondent program wholly
thought out by Alex Benepe, and those four people had emailed
Alex looking to volunteer.
If you don't recognize these names yet, you will by the end
of this issue. Harrison organized the Western Cup - a huge
undertaking - with the help of Tom and Kathryn. Aaron spent the
entire weekend intrepidly manning the IQA merchandise booth.
I still have the notebook somewhere where we sketched out all
the ideas we had for our region, from Google docs to keep track
of the roster to a big spring regional tournament. I'm so proud,
because we did it. One thing that continues to impress and inspire
me about the IQA - everywhere, not just in the West - is the
dedication and love of what we do. We not only make goals, we
reach them. We exceed them. And in the process of advancing this
great sport we meet the best people and make great friendships,
often with people we've never personally met or just met.
Last weekend was the first time I met Tom, Kathryn and Aaron
in person, after more than a year of working together. They felt
like old friends. So did so many of the great players I was able to
get to know.
The best part of the IQA is our community: the players, fans, and
volunteers who make every event magical and keep my facebook
feed hilarious. Thank you for making our lives awesome. Play on.
Alicia
1
April 2011 • The Monthly Seer
Makers of the Favorite Broom of the IA
The Monthly Seer • April 2011
2
UP C OMING EVENT S
April
April 8, 2011
World Cup Registration
On April 8, World Cup 2011 open registration will
begin, and any high school, college, or adult-aged team will
be eligible to reserve a spot at the tournament. We expect a
tentative cap of 80 teams at the World Cup this year, and after
official member-only advance registration, already nearly 60
teams have signed up, so hurry and reserve your team's spot!
This pre-registration is not binding, so there is no obligation
to attend the tournament until final registration, which will
not begin until early fall.
— Alicia Radford
April 9, 2011
Texas Southwest Classic
Five teams from throughout the Southwest will compete
on Saturdayat the IQA's third sponsored regional tournament
hosted by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
— Alicia Radford
Ball State & Purdue
Spring Invitational
As a warm-up to their fall IQA regional tournament, Ball
State and Purdue will host Webster, ISU, Miami of Ohio,
Grand Valley State, Saint Mary's College, and Michigan State
with many more schools invited to their spring invitational
from 10am - 6pm on Saturday.
— Alicia Radford
April 9-10, 2011
Tri-State Tournament
On April 9-10, Transylvania Quidditch will be hosting the
1st Annual Tri-State Quidditch Tournament in Lexington,
Kentucky. The tournament will consist of pool play on
Saturday afternoon followed by a Yule Ball-style tournament
ball that evening. On Sunday morning, the actual bracketed
tournament will be held. Six teams have already confirmed
their intent to compete for the title of Tri-State Champion!
3
— Kristin Grenier
Sun
Mon
Tue
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April 16, 2011
Hog's Head Invitational
Quidditch teams from the southern United States are
flying into Arkansas for the first Hog’s Head Invitational
tournament this April, hosted by the University of Arkansas
The team is little over a year old but members are excited to
organize the group’s biggest event yet. The tournament will
begin with a captains' breakfast where team members can
mingle and discuss the rules of the game.
Games will take place on two fields laid out on Gulley
Park, a flat expanse of green space surrounded by stands of
trees and a small creek. These offer promising hiding places
for cunning snitches. Members of University of Arkansas’
band, choir and juggling club may mingle among players
and spectators, providing on-site entertainment.
— Andrea Hill
l
ed
UP C O M I NG E V E NT S
Thu
Fri
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7 8
3 14 15
0 21 22
7 28 29
Sat
April 23, 2011
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April 17, 2011
JHU vs. UMD
The University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins
University will face off in exhibition matches at the UMD
campus. The event is open to the public and the teams
hope to use the matches to build awareness of Quidditch
in Maryland.
— Alicia Radford
Utah Youngster Tourney
Are you between six and twelve? Do you want to
play Quidditch without waiting until high school or
college? Then your patience has paid off. The UQO is
proud to announce our first ever Youngster Tourney!
Boys and girls elementary school age all across the state
are invited to come and play Quidditch at South Ridge
Park in Taylorsville on Saturday, April 23. High school
and college age Quidditch players are asked to invite
their younger siblings, nieces and nephews, and everyone
else who can make it. Youngsters will be sorted into two
teams via a sorting hat, and will play a couple of games
before being resorted creating entirely new teams for the
last games, each estimated to last about 15 minutes. The
IQA rules regarding physical contact will be modified to
ensure safety, and additional referees will be appointed
to promote fair play. Don’t forget to tell youngsters you
know, and we’ll see you there!
— Nick Burk
April 28-30, 2011
Butterbeer Classic
The Vassar College Butterbeer Broooers will host their
third annual Butterbeer Classic on Sunday from 11am-4pm.
Geneseo, NYU, Stony Brook and Amherst are confirmed
attendees, with the possibility of the Badassilisks and
Villanova joining the fun.
— Alicia Radford
Ohio State Tournament
Quidditch at Aeternitas
Aeternitas, a new Harry Potter convention in Laconia,
NH, is proud to have IQA Quidditch presenting a one
hour panel on How to Create and Manage Your Own
Quidditch Team, followed by a 90-minute Wizarding
class, Introduction to Flying. The Wizarding class will
include an exhibition match between two IQA teams,
followed by scrimmages where players can teach the game
to attendees and coach scrimmage teams in open matches.
— Kristina Moy
Ohio-area teams will travel to OSU for an evening
tournament, the first one hosted by OSU.
— Alicia Radford
4
N EW S
News
Welcome to the League!
New March team sign-ups
West Potomac High School (Alexandria, VA)
Hendrick Hudson High School (Montrose, NY)
Woodgrove High School (Purcellville, VA)
King High School (Tampa, FL)
Little Miami High School Panthers (Maineville, OH)
Scarsdale High School (Scarsdale, NY)
Eagle High School (Eagle, ID)
T.L. Hanna Quidditch (Anderson, SC)
Amherst Animagi Quidditch Team (Amherst, MA)
East Brunswick (East Brunswick, NJ)
Lake Superior State University (Sault Ste Marie, MI)
The Pelicans (Petersburg, VA)
Winnacunnet High School (Hampton, NH)
Emergency Ambulance Service (Long Island, NY)
Twinfield Quidditch Team (Plainfield, VT)
The Sage Colleges (Troy/Albany, NY)
Team Formerly Known As Cape Coral (Cape Coral, FL)
URI Rhody Ridgebacks (Kingston, RI)
5
The Hun School Horcruxes (Princeton, NJ)
San Pedro High School (San Pedro, CA)
The Ministry Officials (Portsmouth, Hampshire)
Needham Rockets (Needham, MA)
Emerson (Emerson, NJ)
Lake Travis Quidditch (Austin, TX)
Milton High School Quidditch Club (Milton, GA)
Washington College (Chestertown, MD)
McGill-Toolen Quidditch Club (Mobile, AL)
Univeristy of Maine Farmington (Farmington, ME)
Hudson High School (Hudson, MA)
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)
Name Pending (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
WeHo Team (West Hollywood, CA)
Qatarockz (Philippines City, Zamboanga City)
Anthena Association (Lesparre Médoc, France)
Fleet Town (Fleet, Hampshire)
Hippogriff Heroes (Holmes Chapel, Cheshire)
NE W S
World Cup VIP pass winner:
L
Jessica is a 19-year old TAMIU student. || Provided
$11.99
Jessica Leija
ast month, to celebrate the IQA's first birthday as a nonprofit company, the
IQA held a contest: anyone who donated $10 or more in honor of the IQA's
birthday was entered into a drawing for a VIP pass to the 2011 World Cup,
which includes VIP seating at every match and access to the exclusive VIP area
with free food and beverages. Nineteen year old Jessica Leija from Eagle Pass,
Texas, is the winner.
" Quidditch is a childhood dream come true," Jessica said. "Since I first read
about Quidditch becoming a real sport for muggles to play, I was ecstatic. Not
only was my favorite book series coming to life through motion picture films, it
was also to be active at the university level as a sport. Quidditch is a hot topic to
discuss with fellow Harry Potter fans, and a fantastic way to make new friends!
And as one of the fastest growing sports among colleges, the world appears to get
smaller as we interact even more."
What is Jessica most excited about for the 2011 Quidditch World Cup? "Seeing
all the action: the many teams competing for victory, the spirited fans going wild
for their favorite team, and the wonderful, magical atmosphere that will engulf
Randall’ s Island that weekend. Winning the VIP Pass has me super excited and
anxious to fly out to NY for the cup! Since I’ m currently forming the Texas A&M
International University Quidditch Team, most players and members haven’ t
seen a game of Quidditch. When word got around campus that I won the VIP
Pass, the news even encouraged more people to become interested in Quidditch
and signing up for the team. I really can’ t wait to see all the teams that make it to
NY, see all the action, and hang out with Harry Potter fans who waited years for
Quidditch come this far." Congratulations Jessica! n
$14.99
IQA & World Cup T-Shirts: Just because you can’t fly doesn’t mean you can’t look fly. Get yours.
6
R ECENT GAME S
Recent Games
With hundreds of Quidditch teams all over the world, there's no way we could cover all the recent
games that have been going on. But here are a few highlights.
APRIL 3, 2011
River City Invitational
The River City Invitational was the first tournament hosted by
the Virgina Quidditch League. The VA Quidditch Champion is the
VCU Wizengamot. The University of Richmond Acromantulas
placed second and the JMU Mauraders placed third.
Virginia Tech is a new team and their first game against
another school was at the RCI, which also made the RCI their first
tournament! JMU has played a few games before but this was also
their first tournament. Both University of Richmond and VCU are
seasoned teams and have played many games, against each other and
other teams. They also both attended the 2010 Quidditch World
Cup. VCU also attended the 2009 Quidditch World Cup.
The Virginia Quidditch League plans on having a Virginia
Quidditch Tournament every year.
— Troy Stanford
W
L
PT Scored
PT Allowed PTDF
Quaffle Points
Snitch Points
UofR
4043012031034090 (3)
CNU
22200250-5017030 (1)
JMU
13190230-4013060 (2)
VT
04120370-2506060 (2)
VCU
312001703014060 (2)
The Virginia Quidditch
League River City
Invitational in
Richmond, VA. ||
Wes Moyer
7
R E C E NT GA ME S
MARCH 5, 2011
Texas A&M Classic
A Texas Tech Chaser dives for the Quaffle. || Melissa DeVarney
Standings
W-L Goals Scored Goals Agnst. Differential Overtimes
Louisiana State University5-0
4901803102
Texas A&M University - Maroon 3-2
390
280
110
1
Texas A&M University - White
3-2
250
120
130
1
Texas Tech University2-3
210310-1001
University of Texas1-3
220240-201
Sam Houston State University
0-4
60
530
-470
0
MARCH 5, 2011
Utah Snow Cup
Utah's Quidditch teams converged on March 5 for the Snow Cup, the
tournament that would decide which team Utah would send to represent
the state in the first annual Western Cup. The Utah Quidditch Organization
tracks points all season and the team with the most points at the end of the
season wins. The University of Utah Crimson Fliers won the tournament
and the Cup with a point lead of over 300 to their closes competition. Left:
A Crimson Fliers player jumps through a hoop - really. No photoshop here.
Below: the Crimson Fliers attempt to score.
8
R ECENT GAME S
Quidditch at Staples Center
The University of Southern California played the Los Angeles
Kings mascots in the first match in a professional sports arena
By Harrison Homel
M
arch 5th is a day for the annals of
Quidditch lore. Quidditch took a
great leap forward, and entered, for
the first time, a national sports arena.
In the bowels of Staples Center, the
University of Southern California Quidditch
team waited nervously to walk onto the ice.
A lion, flanked by an eagle and a wolf, stood
nearby, clutching their brooms. Wait, what?
This singular scene took place just before
the halftime show during a Los Angeles
Kings hockey game. How does one reach the
Staples Center on a broomstick? It was the
King’s mascot, Bailey (the aforementioned
lion)’s birthday, and to celebrate he and
his mascot friends decided, as one does, to
play some ice Quidditch. USC was happy
to oblige. In pads and helmets, listening to
the roar of the crowd, the team couldn’t
help but marvel at their surreal position.
The scene was streaked with normalcy:
the team joked and talked. They explained
the game to passing staff. They posed for
pictures inevitably destined for Facebook.
The ensuing hockey game, the incessant
concerns (“What if I fall on my ass in front
of all those people?”), and the mascots who
demonstrated their impressive ability to
talk smack without actually talking, ensured
that these respites were brief. Soon enough,
the team marched out to meet their furry
challengers before a packed house.
9
For about five minutes, frozen in the
minds of the players like their fingers to the
brooms they gripped, USC made history
before thousands of excited spectators.
And, perhaps most importantly, they didn’t
fall. Blessedly, two periods in, the ice was
cut up enough to run on in their athletic
shoes. As you might have guessed, the rules
were loosely enforced, but the mascots did
seem relatively interested in playing by
them. The knockout effect may have fallen
by the wayside, but not one animal left his
broom. The field of play had been narrowed,
making for a fast-paced and crowded game.
When USC scored the first and only goal,
the crowd broke into cheers. Watching
from the floor or from the nosebleeds
via the jumbotron (the jumbotron!), the
spectators seemed to enjoy themselves
thoroughly. They weren’t the only ones.
USC’s grins seemed as permanent as those
on the other team. Even when a whale took
down the Snitch and brought his team the
victory, not one human player seemed to
care. Champions walked off that ice, with
a bounce in their step that had nothing to
do with the newfound traction below their
feet. n
S P OT L I GH T O N T H E H AR R Y P OT T E R FA NDO M
By Kathryn Mudgway
O
nce any type of saga is introduced into pop culture, a fandom usually tags along with
it. In the Harry Potter fandom, a project called Wizarding Life Magazine (www.wizardinglife.com) was
created by Xavier Austrone in 2010 (around the time of Halloween) and is completely run by a staff of
volunteer writers and editors from all over the world. A truly international group of dedicated people,
Wizarding Life publishes articles daily and is written from the point of view of the witches and wizards from JK
Rowling’s beloved series. A magazine written by witches and wizards and for witches and wizards, articles cover
every aspect from advice to Wrock (canon and non-canon)!
On March 1, 2011, Wizarding Life launched a project called "Magic is Might" in honor of the upcoming premiere
of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”—which is expected to hit theaters world-wide this July. A timeline
strictly based on the events that happen in the seventh book (1997-1998), the interactive viral campaign event started
out with a pamphlet written by early staffers (aka Dolores Umbridge) called “Mudbloods & the Dangers They Pose
to a Perfect, Pureblood Society" and will finish off with the Battle at Hogwarts and Kingsley’s speech. Taking on
Wizarding Life’s concept, articles for the campaign are published daily as well but differ because they are all from the
point of view of the Ministry of Magic. Interested in finding out more? Please head over to www.magicismight.co.uk
for more news from inside the Ministry.
I was recently able to catch up with Xavier about the project, and here was what he had to say:
Kathryn Mudgway: What was the initial goal for
creating this project?
Xaxier Austrone: A good friend, Andrew Bates,
recommended that Wizarding Life launch a similar
alternate-reality game to that of The Dark Knight's,
which involved the use of posters, cellphones, bowilng
balls and voicemails... but of course, a volunteer-powered
'free' effort would be entirely digital. And we wanted that
for Harry Potter.
KM: What aspects of Magic is Might (MiM) do you
think separates it from other viral campaigns?
XA: Magic is Might differs from other viral campaigns
because it immerses you in the fictional environment.
Instead of advertising a product or service through
viral channels, Magic is Might is more of an interactive
experience, involving the fans themselves to complete
certain tasks or figure things out in order to achieve new
information.
KM: How can fans get involved? What other project
ideas (in regards for MiM) do you have in store for the
future?
XA: Plans for MiM's future are under close guard, but
I can release select keywords rather than a statement, such
as "children's books," "potterwatch," and "the kidnapping
of Luna Lovegood."
KM: What if one wants to become a staff member?
What is it like being a staff member and what expectations
do they have to live up to?
XA: Magic is Might is no longer looking for staff, but
we encourage the public to interact with our characters
on Facebook, as well as keep watch for online events
which require their participation.
KM: Do you have any favorite moments so far? Final
thoughts?
XA: Our website server has crashed three times due to
heavy amounts of traffic after publishing on MuggleNet
and MTV Movies Blog. We're a few weeks away from
reaching half a million hits. n
10
The Road
to the Cup
11
THROUGHOUT 2011
THE IQA IS HOSTING
SIX REGIONAL
TOURNAMENTS IN
NORTH AMERICA.
TEAM SCORES
WILL BE USED TO
DETERMINE SEEDING
AT THE WORLD CUP.
12
THE ROAD TO T HE CU P
MARCH 18-20, 2011
IQA Southern Regionals:
Swamp Cup Report
A
By Alex Benepe
fter spending the last few months presiding over tournaments in the
freezing northeastern cold (Harvard's February Finland Invitational
takes that prize), it was a unique pleasure for me to watch players
bludgeon each other in brilliantly sunny, eighty degree weather while
I myself enjoyed the shade of a Southern Magnolia tree inundated
with Spanish Moss. I'm talking about the Swamp Cup, of course. The IQA's
first sponsored regional tournament was hosted by University of Florida,
a 50,000 student school located in the flat but verdant college town of
Gainesville, FL.
The tournament itself broke the record for longest Quidditch tournament
to date, boasting more than 21 hours of playing over three days (World Cup
2010, by comparison, was 18.5 hours over two days). But with just six teams
in attendance, this meant playing time for the teams - serious playing time.
Facebook statuses in the days after the tournament, besides being extremely
enthusiastic, followed a common thread of, "Swamp Cup is responsible for
my inability to move today."
13
S WAM P C U P RE PO RT
14
The Teams
University of Florida
Hosts University of Florida not only broke
their backs organizing the tournament but also
performed extremely well, despite finishing
fourth. Their most recognizable feature was
Beater coordination, which gave them a very
strong defense as well as knack for consistently
catching the Snitch. How they managed to
finish in any other position than first place is
still a mystery.
EQUIPMENT AND GOODIES
The UF team was well prepped for the tournament with several "Florida
Gator" pop tents for shade, two massive sound systems, their modern, minimalist
"brooms" (essentially PVC pipes, which were used on day three; Alivan's
brooms dominated the other days), and enough food to feed an army. My top
hat is completely off to Cristy Cruz who custom-designed dozens of Harry Potter
cupcakes with characters' faces.
FUN IN THE SUN
University of Miami
University of Miami (also known as "The U")
shrugged off a barrage of party school jokes
from the announcers (who, me?) and stormed
to the top of the pile to finish the tournament
in first place and take home the trophy. Their
team had a fantastic Seeker and intimidated
the other teams with aggressive Chaser tactics.
Well at least I was intimidated.
15
While the games were highly competitive and thrilling to watch, the
tournament stood out for many of its other qualities and events.
Hilarious Announcing - I was consistently joined in the announcers booth
by a host of hilarious and entertaining people, mostly from the UF and CofC
teams. Topics ranged from socialism and anarchism to design software, and
occasionally, what was happening on the field. Top announcing moment was the
blow-by-blow description of the LARPers sword fighting off-field on day three,
and a wardrobe analysis of several small children taking turns shooting the Quaffle
between games (who knew that L.L. Bean boots were designed for aerodynamics
and have multiple heat settings?).
Pool Party - Gainesville is blessed by a never-ending sea of apartment
complexes that each have their own massive swimming pool. UF hosted a pool
party (which turned into a fifty-person hot-tub session) that turned perfectly
rowdy by the end of the night.
Univ. of South Florida
University of South Florida (The Bulls) looked
like a clear favorite on day one. They had one
of the cleanest passing games and universally
stomped all comers in the early games of the
tournament. I'm not sure what happened on
days two and three but they somehow lost
momentum and ended in third place. This did
not in any way eclipse the fact that they had the
largest on-team cheering section and some of
the best posters around (including "We have
Master Beaters" and something along the lines
of "Quidditch: Better than Vampire Baseball").
Miniature Tanks - what happens when 60 people standing in a circle, get
down on all fours, and crawl slowly to the other side of the circle, while chanting
"miniature tanks," all at the same time?
Walks in the Woods - Kanapaha Park, the setting for the Swamp Cup, was
a gorgeous park with natural swamp land and plenty of tree-line paths and deep
woods. Several teams and groups of players took breaks between matches to enjoy
the natural environment.
TOURNAMENT
On day one USF dominated the tournament, beating many of their opponents
by over 100 points, with UF in a close second. On day two Ringling entered the
fray and performed well, staying solidly in the middle of the pack. UF began to
do much better, especially when a few teams succeeded in beating USF's superior
passing strategy. By the end of day two, Charleston had withdrawn, Cape Coral was
eliminated, and UF moved up to first place. On day three everything went topsyturvy. UF lost one of their matches in an early Snitch grab while Ringling and
Miami surged forward and passed USF. UF beat USF in their final game but their
points differential was too low for UF to move into semi-finals. Finally, it came
down to Ringling and the University of Miami in a best-of-three championship,
which Umiami clinched in two games.
Unusually for a Quidditch tournament, Umiami was presented with a real
trophy at the closing ceremony, along with trophies for the second through fourth
place finishers. After speeches and a ceremonial soaking of tournament organizer
Hannah Pohlmann, all teams went home happy with their performance.
College of Charleston
College of Charleston entered the tournament
at a strong disadvantage due to nine players
suddenly dropping out of their lineup the
day before the Swamp Cup, and they had to
withdraw early on Saturday when several
players had an emergency and needed to head
back to South Carolina. Nonetheless, they
played with some of the best spirit, belting out
Das Racist's "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco
Bell" before each match, and they brought
some real pizazz to the pool party Friday night.
16
TOP PICKS
Everyone worked hard, played well, and had a great time, but keep your eye
out for these stand-out players at World Cup 2011:
Sean Snipes, Sean Pagoada, Mike Fischer (USF)
Ringling College of Art + Design
Ringling College of Art and Design withstood
an even more withering hail of jabs from the
announcers for being an art school, particularly
on day three when the talking heads
discovered an endless supply of Photoshop
jokes: "I think he's rendered a goal there,
wouldn't you say Bob?" They took it in stride
and played dominantly, no doubt helped by
three towering players who took turns playing
Keeper. Ringling made it all the way to the
finals, where Miami defeated them in the first
two matches of a best of three championship,
but exhibited a much better game than at
World Cup IV, which they left 0-3.
These three are at the top of the list because they not only distinguished
themselves individually, but worked as a veritable triumvirate and
exemplified the term "passing game." Sure, they tended to send one player
far downfield to poach the hoops, but completing those long passes is no easy
trick in Quidditch, and this isn't soccer so there are no offsides. Opposing
teams would do well to keep a Beater back to hold them off. NB: Snipes also
turned out to be an epically entertaining and hard-to-catch Snitch.
Jordan Utsman, Carly Batson, Hannah Pohlmann, Byron
McCoy, Dre Clements (UF)
UF Beaters Utsman, Batson and Pohlmann were the flip-side to USF's
chaser triumvirate, continually frustrating their opponent's offensives and
maintaining serious control of the Bludgers. They also fully committed
to their shots, consistently putting their full force into it, a rarity among
Beaters. Meanwhile McCoy (who made the cover of the Gainesville Sun
being hoisted to the heavens by his team) stood out as one of the best Seekers
in the tournament, catching the Snitch in close to 100% of the matches he
played in. Clements, sporting "The Doctor" on the back of his jersey, played
a distinguished Chaser game, no doubt supplemented by his experience as a
rugby player. If UF continues to develop these assets along with the rest of
their team, they'll be in a great position for World Cup 2011.
Bryan Bae, Tommy Eyester, Danielle Garone, Alex Terry
(RC)
Cape Coral High School
Cape Coral High School was the only high
school (although almost all of the players
were seniors) and performed admirably well,
especially considering several players learned
the game the previous week. They were
completely beloved by the rest of the teams
(some of whom worked aggressively to recruit
the young talent for their schools) and came
very close to advancing to the final day of
the tournament. They were disappointed but
came out anyway to watch and help ref. Their
chaperones seemed ready to go.
17
Bae demonstrated by far the best Chaser skills in the tournament. He was so
nimble on his feet that his Bludger evasions often left him stranded in enemy
territory while his fellow Chasers were sent packing. Check out the cover
photo to see the massive air he got on each of his shots. As mentioned above,
Ringling had some of the best keepers, including Eyester and Terry, who
frequently took the ball coast-to-coast to score. Garone led the team well as
a co-captain and dominated on the field as a Chaser, going toe-to-toe with
opposing players twice her size.
Christina De Nicola, David Moyer, Hernan Martinez
(UM)
De Nicola established a reputation for ferocity early on in the tournament
that clearly played to her advantage as an aggressive Chaser. Moyer played a
Seeker game just as strong as UF's McCoy, making the winning snatch again
and again. Captain Martinez gets recognition here for his strong playing and
more importantly strong leadership in bringing his team to first place.
18
Arty Lis, Mitchell Irvin, Kristina Kraig (CCHS)
Seeking ain't easy, but Lis and Irvin made it seem like it was (Lis
even gave me a long discourse on why the Snitch should be worth
50 points). Kraigstood out as a skilled and brave Chaser, going up
against college seniors like it was no big deal. But really it's not fair
to just showcase three players here because the entire team was
awesome. but to quote ze French, "such is life..."
Cullen Kavanagh, Keegan Smith (CofC)
While the Charleston team had fewer games in which to distinguish
themselves, Kavanagh stood out brilliantly for his unrivaled ability
to launch the Quaffle consistently and with admirable accuracy
(occasionally scoring) from half-field or farther. Nicknamed "the
Cannon," Culler might just be the talk of the town again at World Cup
if he can improve his accuracy, not an easy feat with a semi-deflated
volleyball. Smith stunned players on all teams by periodically bodily
diving through the hoop with the Quaffle to score. Unfortunately,
the hoops tended not to remain standing. It will be interesting to see
if this tactic remains when the hoops are made of titanium some day.
Zachary Cornett, Nicholas Wright, Ally Levy
(Snitches)
Wright, known around Gainesville as "Pretty Nick," played most
of his games entirely nude save a pair of short shorts and kept
the Seekers at more than arm's length with his distance runner
endurance and track running acceleration. Levy surprised everyone
with a late appearance as a Snitch in the tournament, utilizing a
spinning technique that even the great Rainey Johnson would
admire. Cornett, shirtless, with genuine wing tattoos on his shoulder
blades, won the hearts and minds of all the teams for his spirited
performances and caped banner waving.
Hannah Pohlmann, Nick Murado, Bridget Siegel,
Paul Kraff, Rob Rankin, Ashley and Arien
Pohlmann was a master artist in her ability to compel college students,
particularly her friends, to action at early morning hours to organize
the tournament. Murado spearheaded the best reffing I have ever
seen at a tournament. The play remained rough and competitive
but not a single serious injury or hospital trip ever occurred. He
established a reputation for citing even the most minor violations,
including substituting in an illegal manner, so watch out if he's your
ref at World cup. Ashley and Arien deserve the medal of honor
for scorekeeping every single match throughout the tournament
(and keeping the hapless announcers informed as to what the score
was...). Siegel provided invaluable reffing and logistics support
and proved equally efficient as Pohlmann at rallying the troops,
while Kraff and Rankin (USF and UM respectively) demonstrated
reputable refereeing that earned them verbal accolades at the closing
ceremony. n
19
Scores
PRELIMINARY ROUNDS
UF 40 10 USF
UF 110 30 UM
UF 20 50 UM
UF 60 30 R
UF 70 0 R
UF 20 30 CCH
UF 90 30 CCH
UF 80 50 COC
USF 60 70 UM
USF 20 40 UM
USF 20 40 UM
USF 30 40 R
USF 190 100 CCH
USF 60 10 CCH
USF 170 80 COC
USF 160 30 COC
UM 60 0 R
UM 60 70 R
UM 10 30 CCH
UM 160 0 COC
R 70 30 CCH
R 70 50 CCH
R 90 60 COC
CCH 50 110 COC
FIRST PLAYOFFS
UF 70 30 USF
UF 0 40 UM
UF 50 60 R
FINALS
UM 90 20 R
UM 60 20 R
UM defeats R, 2-0
USF 50 70 UM
USF 110 40 R
UM 20 50 R
Top Picks
Clockwise: Carly Batson,
UF Beater. Cape Coral's
Kraig Lis. USF's vertiable
triumvirate. Dre Clements
drives the Quaffle
downfield.
|| Provided
20
APRIL 2-3, 2011
Surf. Sand. Snitches.
Western Cup Report
C
By Alicia Radford and Alex Benepe
heviot Hills Park, just a ten-minute drive from UCLA’s sprawling
campus in the heart of Los Angeles, bustled with hectic but energized
pre-tournament activity on the warm, cloudy morning of April 2.
Tournament organizer (“Chief Emperor Mugwump Supreme Wizard
God Son of God” as the announcers later dubbed him) Harrison Homel
directed the proceedings from under his stylish bowler hat, running on
twenty-five minutes’ sleep, as eleven college Quidditch teams from four
states – California, Utah, Arizona, and Massachusetts (we’ll get to that later)
ran warm up laps around the fields or stretched.
The two-day tournament was played on two fields, with day one
devoted to round robin play and the results used to determine seeding for
the single-elimination bracket on day two. The Western Cup was the largest
Quidditch tournament west of the Mississippi, and although the Western
Region gets much less press than the Northeast or South, it is definitely the
next up-and-coming region. Every team played at a very high level with
an emphasis on strategy, passing and Beater work over brute force and
excessive tackling.
21
W E S T E R N C UP RE PO RT
Brooms up for Western Cup champions Arizona State University. || R
ob Ciano
22
The opening ceremony consisted of each team running a victory
relay lap, carrying a lumos-lit wand. Then teams gathered around
the trophy, an aluminum foil and wine bottle creation topped with a
pewter Quidditch-playing Harry Potter figurine, as Harrison led the
teams in successive cheers until the magic of the morning released a
live dove into the sky, which flew triumphantly off (and safely back
home to its perch).
The tournament began in earnest, with two fields of play and
teams split into round robin groups for day one. The results from
day one were used to seed a single-elimination bracket for Sunday.
While tournament champions ASU dominated throughout day one,
several other teams set themselves apart from the competition. At
the end of Saturday UCLA led with points, scoring 350 with USC
in close second (340) and Cal Berkeley third (270). Although ASU
was the only team to finish the tournament undefeated, they won
with fewer points than some of the other teams on day one (ASU
finished the day with 210 points). UCLA won all four of their
games on Saturday and beat the Silicon Valley Skrewts 140-10 in
game three. Similarly, USC handled San Jose 110-0 and the Silicon
Valley Skrewts 130-80, though they later lost to the Utah Crimson
Fliers 110-50. USC made it all the way to the finals, where they were
defeated by ASU.
IT'S CHILL
That's how one Berkeley player described the atmosphere of the
tournament. Over the course of the weekend nearly 500 spectators
took in the action, many of them families who heard about the event
in the LA Times or from an early-morning radio interview with
tournament director Harrison Homel. While competition on the
field was fierce, off-field teams got to know each other, enjoying the
fine weather and browsing the Whimsic Alley and IQA merchandise
tables. The Harry Potter Alliance was also in attendance taking books
for a book drive. Hagrid even made a cameo appearance.
Los Angeles is famous for its food trucks, and although Saturday's
food trucks pulled out at the last second, on Sunday players were
treated to a Mediterranean food truck with a line stretching over
fifty feet.
“We're here to have a good time and enjoy the festivities,” said
Emerson player Jared Kowalczyk. He was part of the seven-player
“Emerson West” team, made up of Emerson College players doing a
work-study program in LA. “Emerson East” is a three-time World
Cup team that always places well. The Emerson West team had a
much different attitude. “Playing with seven people is a strategy most
people don’t use because it’s really bad,” said Chaser Mike Gray, “but
we stuck with it.” Emerson's enthusiasm was contagious. “There was
so much love between all the players,” said spectator Katie Mercurio.
TAKING IT COAST TO COAST
One tactic many of the best teams used to their advantage was
sending their Keepers “coast-to-coast” to act as an extra offensive
player – and very often those charges ended with a goal. These
Keepers, included USC’s Number Number (so called because his
jersey read ##), Emerson’s Dan Hanson, and ASU’s Willie Jackson.
“Having your Keeper be an offensive presence is a huge
23
advantage,” Keeper Dan “Sheggings” Hanson said. His teammate
Jared Kowalczyk added, “it’s a sneak attack. Making an offensive
break catches the opposing team off guard – but now teams are
starting to watch out for it.” While sending Keepers so far down
field can leave your hoops in danger of a fast break by the opposing
team, there are ways to minimize the risk. “I felt safe going all the
way up because our Beaters controlled two Bludgers almost the
whole game,” Hanson said.
“I remember a time when Keepers just didn’t do that,” said
Emerson Chaser Mike Gray. “You’ve gotta be aware. Is it a trend?
Definitely.”
KIDDITCH
.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoon the fields were cleared and
shortened for an open game of “Kidditch” for anyone “dressed like a
kid – or even kids dressed like adults.” On Saturday the Bruins faced
off against the House Elves, who were playing for their freedom.
Most of the spectators at the Western Cup were families, so each
team had a deep bench and a better-than-usual grasp of the rules.
The star athlete of Saturday’s game was the Snitch, a boy with so
much stamina that no less than a dozen different Seekers cycled
through to try and catch him, including one young boy who wasn’t
on either team; he’d just found a broom on the ground. Sunday’s
match ended in a tie, and though a very precocious Seeker argued
that the game should go into overtime, in Kidditch everyone wins.
THE VICTORS: ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
ASU is probably the only competitive Qudiditch team in the
world with a perfect record: they’re three for three in intercollegiate
tournaments and have an overall record of 18-0. After driving seven
hours they played a more physically aggressive game than most other
teams and were impossible to shut out. Team captain Alexis Bristor
was presented the trophy by her younger brother as the team posed
for pictures. Even with a long drive home ahead of them and, for
many players, 7:30am Monday classes, “just being here and playing
Quidditch was amazing,” said Beater Shay Ryan. And of course, “the
feeling of winning is glorious.”
THE FUTURE OF WESTERN QUIDDITCH
With the 2011 Western Cup over twice as large as the 2010 Cup
and new teams forming all the time, the future of Western Quidditch
looks increasingly mobile. Harrison Homel closed the tournament
by pledging that the profits from the Western Cup would be used to
provide a sponsorship for one Western Region team to compete in
the World Cup this fall. Look out, East Coast. “What the IQA should
take away from this is that the West Coast is getting better,” UCLA
player Saby Milla said. “Get ready for some West Coast style.”
With or without a sponsorship, ASU, UCLA, Berkeley and others
are already planning how to make the cross-country trip. To date the
first and only time a West Coast team competed on the East Coast
was at the 2008 World Cup, when the University of Washington
placed tenth out of twelve. 2011 should be a different story.
W E S T E R N C U P RE PO RT
The Teams
UCLA
USC
Arizona State
UC Berkeley
Moorpark
Silicon Valley Skrewts
San Jose State
San Diego State
Utah Crimson Fliers
Emerson West
Occidental College
Top left: San Jose and USC fight for
possession; by Rob Ciano. Top right:
homemade UCLA posters; by Katie
Mercurio. Middle: "Le Bron Weasley"
charges San Diego's Keeper. Bottom:
the back of Moorpark College's
uniforms; by Katie Mercurio.
24
West Coast Offensive
An Eastern perspective
on the Western Cup
Sheggings (n.) - shorts
worn over leggings.
By Dan "Sheggings" Hanson
B
efore the Western Cup, I had lost four games in my year and a
half long Quidditch career at Emerson. This past weekend alone,
I lost five. And I couldn’t have had a better time.
The Western Cup was different than any tournament I’d been
in before. And it wasn’t just the palm trees behind us as we lined
up to start games. On the field, there was the usual high level of
competitive intensity, and the familiar wave of Harry Potter
references from the commentators. But off the field, it felt more
like one big party among friends than an elimination tournament.
Camaraderie between Quidditch teams has always been a great thing
about our sport, but the Western Cup took it to the next level. The
tournament’s small size—eleven teams—allowed every team could
get to know each other a little bit. After a physical and exhausting 60
– 0 loss against the Utah Crimson Fliers on Saturday, it could’ve been
the start of a bitter rivalry. Instead, Emerson and Utah developed an
alliance of sorts, cheering wildly for each other throughout the rest
of the tournament, and when we were both eliminated, we hung
around and swapped stories… and Mike’s Hard Lemonade. That
was the spirit of the entire tournament. Losing teams and winning
teams genuinely congratulated each other on spectacular matches. I
couldn’t help but be more impressed than disappointed as San Diego
stopped my own team’s momentum and turned it around for a sixtypoint comeback win.
I don’t believe that there’s been a single Quidditch tournament
in history with such an even level of competition. Every team had
25
the feeling that they could beat any other team out there. A trophy
had never been so up for grabs. In fact, out of the thirty plus games
played in the tournament, only four were within 30 points before
the Snitch grab. That means about 90% of games were decided in
the final second, a huge increase in close games from the World Cup.
There were a handful of players that made a name for themselves
with their play—or rather, a name chosen by the commentators from
UCLA. But those of us at the tournament won’t soon forget the
dominant speed of Berkeley’s Dwyane Wade… the full-field threat
that was USC’s Keeper, Number Number… the unstoppable force
that was Occidental’s Tony the Tiger… ASU’s Curly and his dunk
from the ground… and my very own Sheggings. And then there
was one name that in two short days rose above the rest to become
the most famous of the tournament. Not Alex Benepe, not Alicia
Radford, not even Harrison Homel, the distinguished gentleman
in charge of the tournament… but Tom. Tom, wherever you are,
you’re our hero!!
Okay, enough with the inside jokes—the point is that there was a
palpable Quidditch culture in Los Angeles this weekend.
Any sports fan—no matter how judgmental they are of
Quidditch—would appreciate the down-to-the-wire gameplay, the
dramatic and triumphant Snitch grabs, and the hair-raising goals
and saves. The Western Cup was a showcase of the best parts of
Quidditch: great gameplay, and the shared culture of the players, the
volunteers and the fans in this new sport of ours. n
Western Cup to World Cup
By Dan Hanson
It would be a financial miracle if all eleven of these teams made it to the World Cup, but they all deserve to be there. Here’s my opinion as a
wannabe Quidditch scout—unfortunately I didn’t get to see enough of every team to put together a scouting report, but there are the teams
who I played and saw who should make the trip to New York, along with their Western Cup rank, record, strengths and weaknesses:
(1)Arizona State (8 – 0)
They have: Smarts, skills, size, balance, clutch play
They need: Physicality
I stand by my assertion that the tournament had an even playing
field, but that’s not to say that ASU didn’t dominate. They proved
they know how to win, and it felt like they controlled every game.
That will go a long way against the elite World Cup teams. With
playmakers worthy of tournament MVP at every position and the
best demonstration of communication at the tournament, they could
join the World Cup elite. I say to ASU: get ready for a more strategic
beating game, but most of all, World Cup offenses and defenses are
much more physical. You will be taken down with clean tackles, and
don’t look for a call.
bracket after winning 60 – 10 in their first meeting. Playing the
Crimson Fliers, their offense felt unstoppable and their defense felt
impenetrable. This is definitely World Cup caliber team. Maybe
I’m just biased because the Utah team ended up being Emerson’s
biggest fans, but seriously—they held the champs scoreless until they
lost by ten on the Snitch grab, and they handled second-ranked USC
110 – 50. They were a very well-balanced team with skills at every
position that could make some serious national noise with a bigger
bench.
Occidental College (2 – 5)
They have: Balance, playmakers
They need: Consistency
USC looked like a different team between the semi-final and the
final. They proved they can control a game with the Quaffle and
Bludgers against an excellent Berkeley team, pulling off a huge win.
They are a better team than the score showed in the final. Their
offense struggled to move down the field with more than one or
two players, a credit to ASU’s Beaters and defense. USC gave up
possessions with long-range shots. So, to USC: don’t depend of fast
breaks. You have the athleticism to beat a defense with your passing.
They have: An unstoppable chaser
They need: Bludger control
Maybe it was just because I was Keeper, but pretty much all of my
attention was focused on the giant readheaded dude charging down
the field at me, cutting and spinning through our strong defense
and shooting too hard for me to have any chance of making a save.
But Occidental was definitely stronger than one player, or else
they wouldn’t have scored sixty points on us. The key seems to be
shutting down their offense—UCLA and ASU held Oxy scoreless.
Bludger control is even more critical against Oxy than most other
teams, to stop “Tony the Tiger” and force their offense into matchups
so that defense is actually possible. A Snitch-switch fooled Oxy out
of a Snitch grab that would’ve eliminated eventual champ ASU.
Their 2 – 5 record is completely misleading. That’s how tough this
tournament was.
(4)UC Berkeley (4 – 3)
Emerson (1 – 6)
(2)USC (6 – 1)
They have: Speed, depth
They need: Time
Berkeley could’ve taken it all. They had the biggest bench of any
team at the cup, and a quality bench at that. A big team can make
a big difference in the World Cup—Berkeley has the highest ceiling
of any team at the Western Cup, and I expect them to be the most
improved come November. Dwyane Wade (sorry, never got your
real name) would get my vote as Western Cup MVP. Cal, Berkely,
Golden Bears, whatever we call you… you belong on the World Cup
stage.
Utah (3 – 3)
They have: Personality, the best uniforms… oh yeah, and a great
team
They need: Depth, luck
I was pretty surprised when Utah lost to UCLA in the elimination
They have: Experience, wisdom, legal ability to drink
They need: Sobriety?
Emerson College’s Los Angeles campus had just enough players to
make a team. We seven seniors thought our careers were done,
and we returned to try our luck against all these fancy new Western
teams. Six games and three overtimes later, we were torn to pieces...
so yeah, they’re good. But now Emerson East is out to avenge us!
So let’s see some Western Cup teams matched up against our parent
team in World Cup 2011!
Will one of these teams open up a can of manifest destiny on
Middlebury and finally dethrone them? Not without serious
practice between now and November. But every one of these teams
proved to me that they could have made last fall’s World Cup 24team elimination bracket. We’ll be lucky to get a chance to see them
in November if they’re lucky enough to be able to make the crosscountry haul. n
26
TOP PICKS
Kirby Cool (UCLA)
Kirby Cool – his real last name – was a powerhouse Seeker and
Snitch. According to the announcers he trained by chasing greased
gazelles. They went on about his training regimen, which involved
running from Kenya to Ethiopia at six o’clock in the morning.
But really, how does he do it? “I eat my green eggs and ham in the
morning,” Kirby said in an interview from the announcer’s booth.
“It’s all about preparation. You have to be as entertaining as possible,
that’s the philosophy behind it.”
Charlie Capron (USC)
USC Keeper Capron was a household name by the end of the event,
but he wasn't known by his name - instead the announcers and the
audience worshipped him as "Number Number," AKA ##, which
was emblazoned on the back of his jersey. Capron, like a strangely
disproportionate number of Keepers at the Western Cup, constantly
took the Quaffle coast-to-coast, but unlike the others, he did it with
a near 100% success rate. Watch for this West Coaster take it coast
to coast on the East Coast in New York this fall.
Willie Jackson and Alexis Bristor (ASU)
"This guy is the best player in the Western Cup," remarked Emerson
coach and pinch player Mike Gray, a four-year veteran of the
Quidditch World Cup. He was talking about Jackson, the Keeper
for ASU, and one of the main factors behind their dominance. "I
like to take players to the ground," said Jackson, who uses some
serious muscle mass to overpower his opponents, but he plays a very
clean game. He also moves with impressive speed, building so much
momentum on his coast-to-coast runs that on at least one occasion
the opposing Keeper simply "chose life" and dodged out of the way.
Captain Bristor distinguished her self as a very strong player as
well, putting a solid level of points on the board as Chaser and also
generally leading her team to victory.
Zombie Gorilla and Christman (SVS)
Christman (that is his real last name) demonstrated some son-ofgod-like abilities in his passing and moving game, scoring major
points and playing good defense as Chaser for the Skrewts. Zombie
Gorilla (real identity unknown) was a ferocious Keeper, dominating
his side of the field and holding off many attacks.
Viet Tran and Amanda (SD)
Seeker Tran distinguished himself early on in the tournament for
some serious speed and Snitch grabbing ability, allowing his newly
formed team to upset many larger and more experienced teams. In
27
an interview he swore by his diet as the secret to success and credited
his team. Seeker Amanda demonstrated some excellent passing and
ball running skills that helped the Devil Snares considerably.
Lillian McCleod and Heather Ranschau (CF)
The Utah Crimson fliers had such an all around powerhouse
team that it is hard to distinguish just one or two players. Their
Chasers and Keeper demonstrated some of the best passing in the
tournament and they excelled at alley oops, dunks, and moving coast
to coast - and had some powerful Seekers to boot. To top this, their
beaters, McCleod and Ranschau, consistently controlled two of the
three Bludgers (a sign of good Beaters and the hallmark of a good
team) and used them extremely effectively to keep their opponents'
points low.
Dan Hanson, Jared Kowalczyk, Mike Gray
(Emerson)
Western Cup attendees might not recognize Hanson's name, but
they will surely recognize the name bequeathed upon him by the
announcers. "Sheggings," so named for his cunning (and admittedly,
actually relatively normal) technique of wearing shorts OVER his
underarmor leggings. Hanson was a superb player who excelled
at receiving passes close to his opponents' hoops and slamming
or sometimes even spiking the Quaffle in. Gray, also known as
"Batman," was the other side of the coin, moving the Quaffle well and
making lobbing passes to Hanson and other teammates. Kowalczyk
stood out for making some superb snatches throughout the event,
and attributed his success to God and his family during an interview.
Unfortunately all of these players will be graduating this year after a
four-year career on the Emerson Quidditch team.
Michael Field (Occidental)
A good head taller than the rest of his team and most opposing
players on the pitch, Field, or "Tony the Tiger," used his height,
speed, and ball handling to dominate the, well, field, as Chaser for
Occidental.
Sean Robbins and "Dwayne Wade" (UC Berkeley)
Sean Robbins, AKA "Sugar Feet," "Tiny Dancer" or "The
Leprechaun" made waves on the field with some seriously fast
footwork that allowed him to dominate both as a Chaser and Seeker
(not to mention some superb cameos as a Snitch). "Dwayne Wade"
tore up the field with the Quaffle, somehow managing to smash
through every defense and get the ball through the hoops in even
the most challenging and seemingly impossible circumstances. His
trademark was to swing the Quaffle high above everyone's head and
use his long wingspan to keep it out of the defense's reach.
Standings
Team
W
L
PT Scored
PT Allowed
ASU80400100
USC62510390
UC Berkeley34400400
UCLA52410150
Utah Crimson Fliers 3
3
270
160
Occidental25220350
Emerson15300450
San Diego42390370
San Jose 0690 430
Silicon Valley Skrewts2
5
260
530
Moorpark College
21140 130
Legend "Number Number" makes his
signature coast-to-coast sweep with a
Utah Chaser hard at his heels. Below:
Emerson Seeker Jared Kowalczyk
snatches the Snitch. || Katie Mercurio.
28
Harrison Homel, Tom Marks, Kathryn Mudgway,
Cambria Wells, Aaron Sladek, Alexis Bristor,
Caroline
These are the people who truly made this tournament happen.
Harrison worked tirelessly for months, always enthusiastic, always
pragmatic. Tom became the hero of the weekend: a UCLA player who
never was able to play in the tournament, Tom became Harrison's
right-hand man, handling administrative tasks and head reffing most
games, where he showed an impressive command of the rulebook
down to the minutiae. Kathryn spent the entirety of the tournament
in the "death zone," at the table between the two fields as an official
scorekeeper and sometimes-videographer. Cambria spent countless
hours planning the event beforehand and was a knowledgeable and
strict head referee. Aaron Sladek spent the whole weekend manning
the IQA merchandise booth, leaving Alex and I free to wrangle with
the webcast, keep score, and announce. Alexis Bristor of ASU helped
with tournament planning and Caroline from UC Berkeley reffed
most matches she wasn't playing in. n
Thank you!
29
Clockwise from left: Harrison Homel. Occidental
versus Cal Berkeley. Tom Marks, the hero of
the tournament, held up by Emerson. Zombie
Gorilla of the Silicon Valley Skrewts shuts down
San Jose. || Rob Ciano.
30
Upcoming Regionals
APRIL 9, 2011
Texas Tech Classic
Texas Tech University will host the IQA Southwest
Regionals. Competing teams are Texas Tech
University, Texas A&M University, Hendrix College,
and the University of Texas. The tournament will
be swiss-style round robin with the scores used to
determine seeding for a final single-elimination
bracket during the second half of the day. Highlights
of the event include free sandwiches for athletes and
a real sports scoreboard.
MAY 1, 2011
Empire Classic
The IQA Northeast Regionals are being hosted by
Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on
Long Island. Confirmed teams so far include the
Hofstra Flying Dutchmen, NYU Hipster Horcruxes,
Stony Brook Bolts, Amherst HS Animagi, Lenox
Memorial HS, Swarthmore College, and the Ursuline
Flying Koalas. Any other northeastern teams who
wish to register should follow the registration
link at http://www.internationalquidditch.org/
northeasternregionals.html. Food is available on
campus and overnight accommodations including
camping are available.
Midwest Cup - Oct. 8-9, Hamilton County, IN
Canadian Cup - Oct 22, McGill University, Montreal QC
31
T E AM S P OT L IGHT S
Team Spotlights
Canadian-style Quidditch takes off at
Acadia University
By Andrea Hill
Acadia University students gathered on a snowy March afternoon to play the university’s first Quidditch match. || Provided
Q
uidditch has taken off in Wolfville, NS.
On March 6, two Acadia University
teams and a smattering of enthusiastic fans
gathered for the university’s first Quidditch
pick-up game.
Organizer Patrick Englehardt said the
event was thoroughly enjoyed by all who
gathered on the snowy pitch to be part of the
action.
“It was great seeing all the smiles and
everybody having a good time,” Englehardt
said. “All in all it was a great day.”
Players raced across the field on dollarstore brooms, throwing the Quaffle through
distinctly Canadian-style goal hoops.
Englehardt created these himself by securing
cheap hula hoops to cross country skis, ski
poles, a hockey stick and a lacrosse stick.
The two teams, dubbed Gryffindor and
Slytherin, faced off in three matches.
The Gryffindors were victorious, winning
all three matches with scores of 50-20, 80-10
and 60-0. Englehardt was Gryffindor’s top
scorer with 60 points to his name.
It was the first time most players had ever
mounted a broom but Englehardt said players
caught on to the rules quickly. Snitch runner
Connor Price was also fast to adapt to his role
and, like all good Snitch runners, kept audience
members in stitches.
He spent much of his time hiding behind
snow banks, sauntering around the university’s
residence buildings and making snow angels
just out of reach of the Seekers.
“It was a surprisingly entertaining position,”
Price said of his first snitching experience. “I
had a great time.”
Englehardt said he thinks the March game
has generated enough interest in the sport for
the university to form a regularly practicing
team. Students have already expressed interest
in playing a second game before the end of the
school year.
“Everyone, when I told them about the
event, they kind of snickered and laughed at
me. But after people started playing it they
really got into it,” he said.
The success of the first match was a
dream come true for Englehardt. He has
wanted to play Quidditch since learning
about the muggle sport two years ago.
Englehardt said he hopes a team will travel
to Montreal, Que. this fall the first Canadian
Cup. n
32
TE AM SPOTLIGH T S
Kiwis form national Quidditch league
By Andrea Hill
N
ew Zealand Quidditch has moved
online.
The launch of a New Zealand
Quidditch website this spring
is giving team captains an
opportunity to communicate with other
teams and arrange matches.
Hugo Will, the New Zealand student
who is overseeing the country’s Quidditch
activities, said the website is the first step
towards building a national league.
“It will be a central hub for Quidditch,”
Will said. “In the past we’ve just used
Facebook and that hasn’t given us the
manipulability that we need.”
Will is a first-year student at Victoria
University of Wellington. Last year
he established a high school Quidditch
league in Auckland but said this was not
as successful as he hoped it would be.
Initially, 30 teams expressed interest
in competing. Far fewer were able to
commit to playing in the league.
On organized game weekends, only
eight teams showed up regularly and half
of these would show up with too few
players. Even Will’s own school, Kristin
High School, could not produce a full
team.
The teams that did manage to form
would meet on weekends to compete in
scrimmages overseen by Will.
“We wanted something a bit more
serious but it just wasn’t achievable with
the lack of commitment we had,” Will
said.
Now a university student, Will hopes
to create and run a countrywide league.
He said he thinks a league of university
teams is more realistic that one of high
school teams because university students
have more time than younger students.
The problem with a league of
university teams lies in numbers: there
are only eight major universities in the
country. But Will said he is optimistic
that up to 30 teams will register to
compete this year. Though the league will
33
High school students played Quidditch in Auckland, New Zealand last year. || Provided
target university teams, age-appropriate
community teams and teams of high
school seniors will also be invited to play.
Will aims to split New Zealand into
three regions: upper North Island, lower
North Island and South Island. Will is
overseeing the lower North Island and
one of his friends is taking charge of the
upper North Island. There is nobody in
place yet to manage Quidditch in South
Island.
Will said he would like teams to
compete against other teams in their
region in set matches throughout the
year. Directors will arrange matches
and provide equipment so players will
only need to worry about showing up.
The Quidditch season would wrap up
in July with a national tournament.
Ideally, the winner of this tournament
would represent the country in the 2011
Quidditch World Cup.
Sending a team to the United States
to play would not only be expensive,
but would require careful scheduling.
The New Zealand school year works
differently than what is found in America.
Will began his classes at the beginning of
March. His classes end in October and his
exams run until mid-November. Some
schools in Christchurch that had the
school year disrupted because of the city’s
earthquakes will end even later. Because
the World Cup is scheduled to be held
the weekend of Nov. 12-13, students
with late exams will not be able to attend.
But Will remains optimistic.
“I think you’ll be seeing New Zealand
at the Quidditch World Cup,” Will said.
“It’s definitely my goal for this year.”
Will said having a team travel
to the United States would be an
important milestone not just for New
Zealand Quidditch but for Quidditch
as a whole.
“We’re on the other side of the Pacific
Ocean,” Will said. “I think just having a
team from Oceania in America would
just emphasize the international status of
the sport.” n
Join the movement
Visit www.quidditch.co.nz to
register a team in New Zealand.
T E AM S P OT L IGHT S
Quidditch thrives at Emerson
T
he Emerson College Quidditch
League has finally become too
large for the university’s athletics
department to support it.
“It’s really grown,” said Emerson
Quidditch Commissioner Emma Krause.
“We’ve got an organized sports league
going on here every weekend.”
The growth of the league, though
exciting, poses some challenges
to the 19-member executive team
that organizes it. With the athletics
department revoking funding by the
end of the semester, the league needs to
apply for recognition from the student
government association in the fall.
But Krause said she is not concerned
and hopes the league will continue to
grow. The team has money saved away
from team fees and fundraisers and does
not rely on the college for financial
support.
Quidditch at the Boston school
started in spring of 2008 when a
residence student organized a fun game
amongst his floor mates. The student,
Jared Kowalczyk, now serves as the
International Quidditch Association’s
Gameplay Director.
The team was registered with
the college’s athletics department
the following fall. That year, over 50
students signed up to play Quidditch.
To accommodate the huge number
of interested players, Emerson began
a house league. Initially, four teams
competed against each other throughout
the fall and spring seasons. But this year
there were more than 160 athletes who
wanted to play and another team was
formed.
The five teams meet on Boston
Common every Sunday. Four teams
face off with the fifth team providing
referees and Snitches.
Teams are chosen each fall by a draft
process. All students who want to play
are put on a team. Besides competing
By Andrea Hill
The Emerson Quidditch League continues to grow every year. || Provided
on weekends, team members also meet
during the week to practice. Teams
typically consist of 20 to 30 players but
attendance at each game and practice
varies. Team captains often organize
bonding activities and most team
members become close friends.
“You become a little family,” said
Lauren Milazzo, co-captain of one of the
house league teams.
A World Cup team is chosen by
the end of September after two rounds
of tryouts. The team represents the
college not only at the Quidditch World
Cup but also at other tournaments and
exhibition games. This team has had a
history of placing well at the World Cup
and finished fifth at the 2010 World
Cup.
“We’ve always had a really good group
of athletes to represent us,” Milazzo said.
“I am very proud to say I’m a member of
Emerson College Quidditch because of
the success we have.”
Besides offering students a unique
athletics experience, Krause said
involvement with the Emerson
Quidditch league can help students
develop leadership skills.
The 19 members of the executive
team include house team captains, a
treasurer, an equipment manager and
heads of photography and video.
Krause, who served as marketing
director before taking on the role of
commissioner, said her involvement
with the league has been an “amazingly
great” leadership experience.
“I don’t think that many 20-year
old people can say they’ve managed a
160-member organization,” Krause said.
“I feel like between managing this and
managing our budget I feel like I could
run a non-profit.”
Though Krause was appointed to
her position of commissioner based on
her dedication to the league, the league
has since changed the way it selects
administrative positions. Because of the
huge pool of students involved, league
executive members wrote a constitution
this year that states positions are to be
elected. The first elections will be held
this spring. n
34
OFF THE PITC H
Off the Pitch
Structures of
successful clubs
By Abbie Rickard
"Being in a leadership position in a club like Quidditch, which (at a university as large as UMass), is incredibly
challenging. We attract members of the school from all disciplines, and they all want something a little different
from the club. Members need to juggle the priorities of classes and the sport. Being in a leadership role means
one needs to be mindful of all these desires. At the same time, it is incredibly rewarding. Leadership is integral
to the success of Quidditch, so more than leading the team it is important to inspire other members to take
leadership roles as well."
— UMass Amherst President
M
uggle Quidditch was created just six years
ago, with new teams popping up on college
campuses, in high schools, and in communities all
the time. Due to its relative newness and growing
popularity, Quidditch has undergone massive
growth and change since its inception at Middlebury College. The
most obvious concerns are about the rules and gameplay, but for
growing organizations, the administrative side of Quidditch has
become more important to keeping their players on the pitch.
A good leader is invaluable, but the structure of the organization
can sometimes be just as important. I sent out questionnaires to
Quidditch organizations across the country to see how they run their
clubs, how they elect their leaders, and to ask what it’s like to run a
Quidditch club. I heard back from fourteen teams from various parts
of the country—from the East Coast to the Midwest to the Southwest,
and even Canada—whose teams ranged from just a few months old
to three-year-old veterans. Most of them were university-based
organizations, serving primarily undergrad students, but I also heard
from a regional group who oversees play for all teams in the state of
Utah, and another group representing a consortium of schools. Two
schools boasted memberships of over one hundred active members,
35
while many others listed their membership between ten and fifty.
Because Quidditch isn’t a traditional “sport,” it is sometimes
difficult to know where the club falls in the structure of a college
or university. Emerson College, with around 160 active members,
started off as a club sport within the athletics department, but has since
become an independent organization and will apply for recognition
from the student government organization next semester. Tufts
University’s Quidditch team, with about 30 to 50 members, is a
subset of the Harry Potter society, but hopes to establish themselves
as an independent group. The Quidditch league from the University
of Minnesota is a registered student organization, but legally they
are considered a separate entity from the university and therefore
cannot call themselves the “University of Minnesota Quidditch
League.” The other leagues were student organizations, with many
hoping to become club sports in the coming semesters. The choice
to operate within an athletic department, student government
organization, or independently is largely impacted by the nature of
the club; purely athletic Quidditch clubs could run perfectly as a club
sport, but if the club has fundraisers or hosts Harry Potter events, the
athletic department might not be the best fit.
The young life of Muggle Quidditch, constantly expanding and
O F F T HE PIT C H
Quidditch club size
evolving, adds an ambiguity to those trying to form and run their own
leagues. It is mostly an athletic organization, but certainly not in the
traditional sense. It is also partially a fan club, and sometimes even a
charity group. Additionally, because they are student-run groups or
independent entities, the founders and members have to create their
own administrative structures. This can be an overwhelming task
because there is no model to go by, but at the same time, each group
gets to decide what is the best way to govern their league based on
their membership and needs. Every club except one had a student
leader who acted as president, commissioner, captain, or some
combination of the three. Most also had active constitutions with
varying degrees of specificity. Some outlined in detail the mission
of the club, the roles of all leaders, voting procedures, membership
eligibility, and their role within the college or university (if
applicable). Others merely stated their intent to play Quidditch
within IQA guidelines, to demonstrate sportsmanship, and to have
fun. Student government-affiliated clubs often had constitutions
merely because it was required of them to become recognized.
The stark differences between the clubs who responded to my
survey came down to their executive boards. McGill University took
a more Rowling-esque twist with their eboard, with such titles as
Chief Warlock (President), Gringotts Goblin (Treasurer), Sorcerer
of Strategy and Performance (Coach), Quick Quiller (Secretary),
Vice Warlock (Internal/External Affairs), and VP Qudicest and
Corruption (an honorary title). Smaller and newer clubs have
president/captains and a few volunteers, while larger and more
established clubs have divisions between administration, usually
consisting of a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and
PR team; and field play, with the team coaches/captains, equipment
managers, and referees. Emerson College even has a third branch
specifically for media development. The other difference was
whether the league had a single team representing the school or if
there were also intramural teams within the school, each team with
its own captains.
Once leadership positions have been established, the next
step is to decide how new leaders will be elected. Seasoned teams
with constitutions hold elections at the end of each year—some
for all positions available, some for only open positions. In newer
organizations, however, the leader would appoint dedicated and
interested members to positions of leadership due to a lack of
widespread interest or a lack of applicants. Logan Anbinder of
University of Maryland Quidditch said, “When our founder and
then-President left the University, I became president mostly by
default, as I was the only one at that time who’d expressed interest in
the position. Since our team has grown greatly since then, we plan
to have a competitive election for most of the board positions this
spring. I think this is really exciting, because it’s the first time that
our new members, especially this year’s freshmen, will be able to
have the opportunity to lead the team.”
The transition of power can be an important stage in any
organization, but for a group as unique as a Quidditch league,
it is important that the leadership stay consistent and strong to
perpetuate its existence. Emily Knight of the San Jose State Owls
said, “I’ll be studying abroad next year…and I’ve been very anxious
about the club continuing. I’ve been teaching all the officers how to
do the things that are out of their job descriptions...It seems to be
going really well; I’m pretty confident for our future.”
Whether your club is brand new or has been around since World
Cup #1, if you have two hundred members or just enough to field
a team, the most important part of running a Quidditch club is to
be organized and have a plan for new leaders, so cries of “Brooms
up!” will still be shouted on your campus long after you’re gone.
A special thanks to the leaders of Emerson College Quidditch,
University of Maryland Quidditch, Tufts University Quidditch,
McGill University Quidditch, Texas Tech Quidditch, Quidditch
at Georgia Tech, Michigan Quidditch Team, Michigan State
Quidditch, Utah Quidditch, University of Minnesota Quidditch
League, UMass Quidditch, Theological Union Quidditch league,
Carleton University Quidditch, San Jose State Owls, and Illinois
State Quidditch for participating in this survey, and best of luck to
all of you in your coming seasons. n
36
OFF THE PITC H
How to
Succeed
in Business
By Zara Fishkin
I
t’s a common misconception that
Quidditch is all fun and games. Entertainment and enjoyment
are no doubt dominant forces behind the activity, but
Quidditch should also be regarded as an investment—an
investment in future professional success. I am in no way
suggesting that a person should pick up a broom solely motivated
by the prospects of one day earning enough to qualify for tax breaks.
I’m just saying it’s something to consider. Be ashamed of your sport
no longer, brave soldiers. It is now a topic of polite conversation at
the boardroom table.
It would be imprudent to discuss the professional benefits of
featuring Quidditch on your resume without first identifying the
many merits of playing the sport purely for the honing of seeker-like
business reflexes. As with any sports team, being able to carry out
plays, communicate effectively with your teammates, and make split
second decisions in high-pressure situations are skills that will help
you get ahead and stay ahead. Alicia Radford, Editor in Chief of this
fine publication, stressed that even if you are not an IQA volunteer,
simply having a leadership position on your school team gives you
“real world experience” that will foster leadership skills, cooperation,
and strategic thinking.
Radford owes a lot to her work with the IQA. When she first put
Quidditch on her resume, she was afraid that employers wouldn’t
take her seriously. In reality, there was nothing to fear. Quidditch
helped her get one of her first internships, which lead to another
internship, which lead to her current job. If we were to apply the
transitive property, Quidditch got Radford her job. We all know
that the job market is changing, not always for the better, but the
reputation of our sport is changing as well. As we have gotten more
37
media attention, due largely to the World Cup’s New York debut,
more people will come to recognize the enormous amount of work
and preparation that so many young adults pour into this sport and
organization. “The work you do is legitimate,” Radford says.
Employers and students aren’t the only ones who have taken
notice of Quidditch and its great potential for ushering in success.
Mary Federico of Tufts’ Career Services Department assists students
every day, editing resumes, preparing them for interviews, and
giving them the confidence they need to tackle the job search. When
asked about her stance on Quidditch, she said, “We want things on
our resume that make us feel good about ourselves.” She further
explained that if you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable explaining
your experiences with the sport in a serious setting, there’s no way
it will help you. If, on the other hand, you are ready to launch into a
ten-minute rant extolling the glory that is your sport, you are in the
clear. Employers can tell when you are truly invested in something.
Federico advises to fully describe the role you had. “The Quidditch
piece is simply a vehicle,” she said. The nontraditional nature of
your experience does not mean that those experiences were any less
important to your professional development.
And so, we have arrived. Baby boomers are retiring and the
good men and women of the Quidditch community are here to take
their places. We will graduate, say goodbye to our teammates, cry
ourselves to sleep, get a job, and start an intramural team like our
dads who play old man softball at the park on Fridays. Don’t be
afraid to talk about Quidditch in interviews, put in on your resume,
or discuss it in your cover letter. For you are a Quidditch player; you
have no fear. Your future doesn’t need to be a rat race when you are
flying over the competition. n
O F F T HE PIT C H
The kids are all right
Youth empowerment in the IA
W
By Laurie Beckoff
orking with the IQA is
not the first volunteer experience I’ve had.
It’s not the first time I’ve tried to get involved
with an organization, event, or project. But
it is without a doubt the most responsibility
I’ve been given. When a teenager walks into a room full of adults,
she’s often given busywork. It’s not out of disrespect or lack of
trust—it’s just that she’s a kid and they’re adults. She’s in high school;
they’ve been out of college for years with advanced degrees. They
have training and experience, and no amount of passion, talent,
or enthusiasm can be utilized in the same way. The teen doesn’t
have to worry about screwing up because she’s given jobs that aren’t
particularly important.
It’s not that I expected to be dismissed and ignored upon
volunteering with the IQA, not at all. I just thought I’d be given
a task that wasn’t too critical and sent on my merry way to do
it. (Let it be noted that I don’t like easy tasks, especially when it
comes to something in which I consider myself to be an expert, i.e.
Harry Potter, but that’s what I expected.) Even though the board of
directors are fairly young themselves, they’re all at least in college,
while I’m a high school junior, so I wasn’t preparing to get an
assignment that would matter much.
I sincerely apologize for thinking that anyone in the IQA would
judge someone based on age. As soon as I walked into that first
volunteer meeting at Central Park, Alex Benepe and Max Kaplan
were telling us about everything in the works for the upcoming
World Cup and asking for volunteers to do anything and everything,
from social media to fundraising to filming a promotional video.
Over the course of the next two months, not only was I allowed to
do things, but I was also asked to help out. And it felt good. I was
scouring the Internet for information, contributing to spreadsheets,
and making calls. Along with other young volunteers, I was asked
to research t-shirt packaging and shipping, printing brochures, and
renting audio equipment; to contact schools to tell them about the
World Cup, give them our press release, and record their information
in a group-organized spreadsheet; and to ask sponsors for in-kind
donations, all while writing articles for the website and Monthly Seer
that ranged from my own ideas for editorials to assigned interviews
with captains.
A week before the World Cup, I received an email from Alicia
Radford asking my friend Rebecca Seidel (a high school senior) and
me to serve as official IQA World Cup reporters. After a short bout
of excited squealing over the phone, we both accepted the offer and
wondered, “Why us?” We couldn’t believe we were being trusted
with this, and that Alicia had approached who we were pretty
sure were the youngest members of the editorial staff. We were
given press passes, Rebecca had her handy tape recorder, I had my
notebook and prewritten questions, and we were running around
all weekend, recording notable moments, interviewing players and
fans, and competing for who had gotten the best information, all
with a newfound sense of independence and responsibility.
Around the world, students are developing valuable skills and
gaining experience and confidence because of the IQA. Those
with no athletic experience, no knowledge of Harry Potter, and/
or no extracurricular activities can be found on Quidditch teams.
At a Quidditch practice at Ithaca College, one mother commented
that she had never seen her daughter run before, but there she was,
doing extra laps for her warm-up as a Seeker. People who didn’t
consider themselves the type to start a club or team may suddenly
decide to take on a leadership role for Quidditch. Youth who are
less athletically inclined still organize and fundraise, even if they’ve
never been particularly involved in a club.
“Age is not a measure of the amount
of magic we can perform.”
The IQA encourages young people to defy the status quo. It
doesn’t matter what their other interests are or to which clique they
seem to belong; Quidditch is for anyone and everyone, and the IQA
provides a place for all different sorts of kids to come together and
have a good time. There are no outcasts and no one is insignificant.
The IQA encourages youth to become not only physically active,
but socially active as well. Teams often do outreach projects, from
teaching Quidditch to younger children to collecting canned food
donations. Through the IQA’s connection with the HP Alliance and
Book Aid International, adolescents and young adults learn about
and show their support for human rights initiatives and literacy.
The nature of the youth empowerment of the IQA may lie in the
origins of the organization itself. Since the creators of Quidditch
were only college students, they realize the impact that age group
can have. Even as the board of directors grow up and graduate
college, they remember their roots as founders, captains, and players,
and even extend the opportunities to younger students. All of the
instances of Quidditch teams formed and run by high school and
college students inspire us and remind us that age is not a measure of
the amount of magic we can perform. n
38
LI F ESTYLES
Lifestyles
Quidditch Down Under
Pick-up Quidditch in Australia: fit for th whole family. || Provided
39
L I FE S T Y L E S
W
W
❧
Molly St. Clair is a
former captain of Vassar
College’s Butterbeer
Broooers Quidditch team.
She is currently studying
abroad in Australia and
despite being thousands
of miles from her
teammates she still found
a way to play Quidditch.
hen asked to write a short letter to my then unknown homestay family about my community, school, interests, friends,
and family, I of course chose to include a description of Vassar
College's Butterbeer Broooers, as they are an important part of
each of these. While the concept of Quidditch is certainly an intriguing one to
even the most skeptical of muggles, I was lucky enough to be welcomed into a
host family more than ready to embrace both myself and my off-beat sport with
open arms. Liz, a life-long Rabbit-O's fan, took it upon herself to teach me the
rules of every Australian sport throughout my two-week stay in Lismore. Sam is a
member of the Lismore Roller Derby team and therefore related easily to the idea
of participating in a relatively unfamiliar sport (after I tried derby practice one day,
we hypothesized on the possibility of a derby-Quidditch hybrid).
I was terrified to meet my home-stay parents. When the 22 of us (20 girls, two
boys) arrived on a bus at Heritage Park in Lismore, we knew nothing about the
people with whom we would be living with for the next fortnight. We were like
lost puffskeins wandering around until our newfound parents scooped us out of
the unknown. Mine did so almost immediately, and at last my nerves were calmed
- they were funny, friendly, and decidedly un-awkward people. Within minutes of
meeting me, Sam brought up Quidditch. I gave her a brief run-down of the rules
before she was pulling me over to the home-stay coordinator.
"We have to play Quidditch at our home-stay family picnic this weekend," Sam
insisted. Our coordinator whipped out a piece of paper for a list - one soccer ball,
three dodgeballs, six hula-hoops, brooms, wizard garb optional - and the date was
set.
The fact that our Aussie Quidditch match actually took place was somewhat,
well, magical. Our picnic day was rainy and despite the careful planning that had
taken place the week before, we arrived at the dam with only a soccer ball and two
volleyballs. Luckily, as a member of the previously un-funded Broooers, I was used
to improvising equipment. After the rain died down, we rallied the troops. Families
had done their best to bring along "brooms" (some rode mops, and a friend of mine
proudly mounted a large palm branch), and some had gone all-out with the wizard
garb, going as far as to sew superb capes. I went over the rules, and our first snitch
volunteered - a younger home-stay brother. Two trees were to act as the goals,
the smallest children were eager to seek, and teams (Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff)
consisted of 10 or so players beating, chasing, or keeping as they wished. Rules
were flexible, competitiveness was optional, and smiles were required. We played
five or six games between five minutes (the time taken to catch our youngest snitch
who was seven years old) and 25 minutes (the time it took to snatch Erica, the
cross-country runner Snitch from Washington University).
Sweat was shed, a few bruises were formed, but blood and tears were absent
from the whole afternoon. It was great, creative, international fun, and I wouldn't
be surprised if a few college and community Quidditch teams start popping up
around Lismore. And who knows - maybe someday derby-Quidditch will be the
next big thing. n
By Molly St. Clair
40
LI F ESTYLES
The man
behind the magic
Xander Manshel
T
By Andrea Hill
he concept of Muggle Quidditch – like many great ideas
– was born from a lunchtime conversation. At least that’s
how former Middlebury college student Xander Manshel
describes it.
“It came out of a desire to play and an equal desire to be
imaginative,” Manshel recalled. “More than anything it was about
that good-natured fun of play and imagination.”
Manshel, now an English teacher at Phillips Andover Academy
in Andover, MA, was the one to develop the game of Muggle
Quidditch recognized by the International Quidditch Association.
The sport was born one fall afternoon in 2005 when Manshel
began speculating ways to adapt J.K. Rowling’s magical sport.
Contrary to what some people might think about the creator of
the game, he was not a Harry Potter fanatic. He was just a student
trying to find something he and his friends could do on their Sunday
afternoons. Now the game is played by thousands of people around
the world and interest in the sport grows every day.
“It’s not surprising that something so good-natured and so
imaginative and so physically challenging and playful would be so
popular,” Manshel said. “However, I couldn’t have possibly imagined
that it would be as popular as it is now or as widespread as it is now.”
Manshel describes the first Quidditch match he refereed as a
scrappy affair. He and his friends encouraged a handful of students
from residence to come out to play. Many players borrowed brooms
from custodians. One brought a lamp. Though that match was a farthrow from the polished and well-organized games that are played
today, Manshel said players still enjoyed themselves.
“They were thrilled,” Manshel said. “It was fun to play as part of
the books that we had loved, but it was fun as a game itself.”
Adaptations of Quidditch have been around ever since the
publication of the Harry Potter books in the 1990s, but none have
become as widespread as that devised by Manshel. Manshel said he
thinks this is because of his interpretation of the Snitch.
In the Harry Potter books, the Snitch is a small golden ball
that’s difficult to see and even harder to catch. Some non-magical
interpretations of the game substitute bouncy balls or hidden objects
for the Snitch. But Manshel decided the only way to recreate the
41
Manshel (right) announces at the 2008 World Cup. || Stephen Mease
chaos caused by the Snitch was to have the ball portrayed by a fast
and sassy runner.
“There’s an element of theatre in the Snitch,” Manshel said.
“There’s this moment in the height of the game when the Snitch
returns to the field. It’s a very theatrical moment and you find players
are almost trying to maintain focus on what they were doing before.”
LIFE S T Y L E S
Throughout the fall of 2005, Middlebury students gathered each
Sunday to play Quidditch. Before the snow flew, eight intramural
teams from the college formed and competed in the first Quidditch
World Cup.
Quidditch had become a part of Middlebury’s campus culture. But
though Manshel had started the craze, he was too busy with writing
and improvisational theatre to continue organizing the sport. After
one successful year of overseeing Quidditch at Middlebury, Manshel
passed the torch to his friend Alex Benepe. Benepe now serves as
CEO, Commissioner and President of the IQA.
Manshel may no longer be heading the sport, but tries to stay
as involved as he can. He became a member of the board when the
IQA was recognized as an official non-profit and has served as an
announcer at previous World Cups.
“I just couldn’t be more thrilled with the way that Quidditch as
a game and the IQA as an organization are growing each and every
year,” Manshel said.
Manshel said he is especially pleased with the way the IQA has
begun working to aid childhood literacy and fight childhood obesity.
Manshel will be teaching English in Hong Kong next year. Though
he will be far from the birthplace of Quidditch, he said he will
maintain a connection with the sport.
“There’s something about it that really excites me even to this day,”
said Manshel about Quidditch. “Even if I may not take the field as a
player or a referee, the idea is of a game that is very good-natured
that kind of brings out this wonderful childlessness in all of us.” n
One of the first Quidditch practices. This picture has gone down in the annals of Quidditch history as "the kid who brought the broom." || Provided
42
LI F E STYLE S
Why I Love
Quidditch
By Laurie Rabin
W
hy do I love Quidditch? I’ve
never been an athlete.
NEVER.
Okay, that’s not true. I
played softball in fourth grade because my
parents wanted me to (they’re not mean
people! Really! They were just trying to
broaden my horizons!).
I was terrible. TERRIBLE.
I never hit the ball.
Okay, that’s not true either.
I did once. ONCE.
And everyone—parents, teammates, the
opposing team—cheered.
That’s how bad I was.
Then, one summer day in 2009, while
searching for information about the
International Quilt Association, I happened
upon the IQA—Quidditch for Muggles. I
quickly Facebook messaged the other Harry
Potter fan I had briefly met at a pre-college
Tufts meet-up, and brooms were up on my
quest for Quidditch!
I love Quidditch because from the very
first practice, I was able to run around on a
broom wearing a cape, and do so proudly.
I love Quidditch because it means
that I have friends who will—and equally
importantly, have the psychical ability to—
beat somebody up if they tried to hurt me.
I love Quidditch because it means I can
call myself an athlete.
I love Quidditch because no matter
how much we get thrown down—by the
administration, by the public, by each other
in vicious World Cup matches—we always
get back up, and always with the help of our
43
teammates.
I love Quidditch because it makes my
parents proud to brag that their daughter is
on a world-ranked team.
I love Quidditch because it unites
people—that Harry Potter fan I Facebook
messaged in 2009 is on the Tufts Team, and,
not to mention, my best friend.
I love Quidditch because I get to wear
cleats. And a mouth guard!
I love Quidditch because at a Tufts/BU
Quidditch frat-style party, we had HP1 on
in the background (and we all put down our
butterbeers to watch Harry Potter cough a
Snitch up after catching it in his mouth).
I love Quidditch because my team truly
believes cuddling=practice.
I love Quidditch because the brooms
don’t fly and the trophy is plastic but the
spirit is real.
And, most importantly, I love Quidditch
because in the end, we are always playing for
Quidditch. Not for ourselves. Not for our
team. Not for our school. In the end, we are
always playing for all of us—all Quidditch
players, all Harry Potter fans, and all the kids
who only hit the softball once. Because in
Quidditch, whether you hit that ball or not,
we are all—your parents, your teammates,
your opposing team—cheering you on. n
LIFE S T Y L E S
The Quidditch Comic
By Leah Vogel
}
Why do
you love
Quidditch?
Why do you love Quidditch? Is it because you finally get to play
the game from your favorite book? Is it because of the victory that
you share with your fellow teammates after the fight is over? Or is
it the journey that you took to get where you are today? Whatever
the reason, we at the Monthly Seer would like to hear about it. The
Seer will feature one story each month about why you (the athlete
or fan) love Quidditch. Entries should be at most one page single
spaced. If you’re interested, please send your entry to kathryn.
mudgway@internationalquidditch.org.
44
LI F ESTYLES
ASU parents at the Western Cup. || Katie Mercurio
How to tell your parents you play Quidditch
By Katie Stack
T
he mention of Muggle Quidditch, growing as it is in the
American collegiate and even international sphere, is often
greeted with snorts of derision and outright incredulity,
followed by rude comments and not-so-funny (okay, at times
admittedly a bit funny) jokes. Our response, as players, can
vary depending on the level of commitment and pride we have
in our game. The more timid of players will chuckle nervously,
run their hands uncomfortably through their hair and change the
subject. The confident yet less devoted of us will laugh wholeheartedly, appreciate the truth behind the biting remark, and add a
dig of our own. Those among our ranks who believe heart and soul
in the unseen magic of Muggle Quidditch will take the joke as an
invitation to preach the values of encouraging levity in a stressful
college environment; of gender respect and equality founded on the
co-ed playing field; and on and on until the listener learns never to
poke fun at the no-longer fictional sport because a weird girl with
frizzy hair at the bar will stand too close to his face and gesture
violently and almost dangerously with her hands while she spouts
some nonsense about beating people and seeking gold and how far
apart she places her hoola hoops. Individual strategies to pick up men
aside, we have all at some point or another had to break the news to
our parents: we play Quidditch. For those of you who have yet to
‘come out of the broom closet, so to speak, I’ve developed a sure-fire
method of slowly accustoming family members to this strange and
at times embarrassing new sport. After all, if you’re disowned, who’ll
45
pay for that new Sienna Storm you’ve had your eye on?
Most importantly, make sure your parents know what
Quidditch is. Accomplish this by introducing them to the Harry
Potter books or movies, preferably both. Having achieved this first
step, try to downplay the fictional aspect of the sport as much as
possible, including any association it might have with witches, magic
powers and evil dark lords who live in the back of your skull.
The next step is quite simple: familiarize your family with
the non-magical equipment. Start off slowly by offering to do any
and all chores involving brooms or mops (heck, it couldn’t hurt to
throw the vacuum in there, too). Your parents will soon find the
sight of you with a broom of any type completely natural and in
time, they will expect it. (NOTE: a side effect of this step could be the
assumption that you have volunteered to indefinitely keep the house
free of dirt and dust… an unfortunate yet necessary consequence.)
As your newfound helpful attitude continues, make your family
aware of the beauty that the color yellow and its more expensive
counterpart, gold, bring to this world. Point out the daffodils in the
front garden; the fleeting glimpse of the stoplight before it turns
red; the delicious gooey center of an egg, fried sunny-side-up; the
sun (although depending on the weather and type of eye protection
available you may want to forego this last one). Demonstrate how
lacking your life would be, how destitute THEIR lives would be,
without these yellow Snitches- ahem, RICHES. Deck yourself in gold
jewelry and generously gift some to your parents. Soon your hunger
L IFE S T Y L E S
Will your parents love
Quidditch as much as
these ASU parents?
for gold, your desperate need to be the first to spot that yellow and
chase it down, will be contagious.
At this point, start planning family hula hoop competitions and
neighborhood dodge ball games so that your parents won’t think it’s
odd to see spare Quidditch equipment lying around. It would also
be appropriate to subtly place elliptical-shaped items around your
home: artwork, pottery, anything that fits in and yet brings to mind
that elliptical shape of our beloved pitch. I haven’t studied much
psychology, but I’m pretty sure that when they see their first game
and set eyes on that unknown but familiar ellipse, they’ll begin to feel
the comforts of home without realizing why.
Meanwhile, you should talk up your teammates. That hottie
Keeper with unbelievably large forearms? The blonde Chaser whose
tattoo peeks above her pants as she scoops up the Quaffle? (Is it
your imagination, or does her tat read “I solemnly swear I am up
to no good”?) That last detail you might want to leave out in the
description you give your folks, but you do want to give them the
important facts. How good-looking your crush is, how physically fit,
how wealthy, how smart yet sensitive, how outgoing but kind, how
he spends his Friday nights drinking milk and making care packages
for soldiers - you know, all the things that parents look for in a
potential spouse for their child. You may think that you’re too young
for these thoughts, but believe me, your parents don’t. They might
not let on, but they’re thinking about it. They want you out of the
house and taken care of. The more quickly you reveal to them that
the Quidditch team might be your key to finally getting the first kiss
you’ve been dreaming about and that it’s only a matter of time before
a 10 minute make-out session while searching for that stray Bludger
transforms almost magically into a gold ring (see how it’s all coming
together here?), they’ll be on board.
Now, ideally you’ll coincide your coming-out process with
the Winter Olympics. A close second option would be when your
city’s baseball team has the opportunity for a sweep. For those
non-baseball fans out there (you obviously don’t live in Boston), a
sweep is when a team wins all three games in a series. If your home
team has won their first two games, it’s time to round up tickets for
your family, brooms in hand, in order to show your confidence in
the team’s ability to finish that sweep. The ideal situation, however,
would be to watch a few of the Winter Olympics’ curling matches.
For those non-curling fans out there (you obviously don’t live in
Canada), curling is a sport involving ice and brooms - and that’s
really all you need to know. Try to scrounge up some facts about
celebrity appeal or pay grades within the professional curling world,
if they exist. Regardless, both of these strategies will implant the idea
in your parents’ heads that brooms ARE athletic and competitive,
exactly like Quidditch.
Unfortunately, at some point you’ll have to just bite the bullet
and tell them the good news. Come armed with some pamphlets
about literacy, childhood obesity and physical activity levels, and
female participation in sports (this time might be a little more
appropriate for the conversation than in the midst of your next bar
crawl…) After all your hard work and preparation, they’re bound to
greet your new passion with acceptance and even enthusiasm. And if
worse comes to worst, perform Dick van Dyke’s “Step in Time” song
and dance from the Mary Poppins movie with some local chimney
sweeps. Your parents will either accept Quidditch as the lesser of two
evils, or decide that you are now completely off your rocker and they
had better let you do what you want. n
"If you’re disowned, who’ll pay for that new
Sienna Storm you’ve had your eye on?"
46
P L AYE RS' C ORNER
Players’ Corner
Enough is Enough.
When is it time to admit defeat?
By Will Hack, Coach, Beater #42, Michigan State University
The Snitch races onto the pitch, Seekers hot in pursuit. I check the scoreboard: down by 40 or 50,
just barely too much. I shout out to my Seeker, “Mike! Don’t catch it! Don’t catch the Snitch!” We’re
in this for the long haul.
I
t was the first round of the 2010 Quidditch World
Cup, and my Michigan State Spartan Spitfires were
taking on Texas A&M. The Aggies had us outmatched,
and they knew it. It didn’t take long for them to build
a significant lead, so that catching the Snitch would
have done my team no good. But down 50 or 60, I
rationalized, we could still make the comeback. With
the lead continuing to grow, however, as MSU’s coach
I had to make the one of the most difficult decisions in
Quidditch: pull a Viktor Krum, or stick it out until the
bitter end.
The first part of this decision is the current margin:
if you’re only down 40, keep playing! You never know
when your team will pick up a goal, and then suddenly
the game is in reach again. Once you’re down 70 and
fading, though, it may be time to say “enough is enough.”
47
At this point in the game, Mike’s playing defense, physically
interposing himself between the other Seeker and the Snitch.
Our Chaser, Lawrence, makes our first goal, a halfcourt shot
that we are all amazed went in. Just as I imagine we’re back in
it, A&M bulldozes our Keeper and erases the gain. The lead
reaches 70 and 80; but I tell Mike, play on.
There are reasons to keep playing, even when your
opponents have reached a seemingly insurmountable
lead. If you’re having fun, why stop? But when you’re
getting trounced, fun isn’t always the first word that
comes to mind. When you reach the point where it feels
like a grind just to get through a shift, and you can’t wait
for a replacement to come in for you, it may be time to
stop.
I charge down the field, Bludger in hand. As I halt, face-toface with an opposing Beater, he tells me, “You look angry.”
P L AY E R S ' C O RNE R
A Michigan State Seeker at the 2010 World Cup. || Jamie Kiernan
About to protest, I realize that I do in fact have a snarl on my
face as I stare him down. “Sorry,” I apologize sincerely. “I really,
really don’t like losing.”
was lost, but I didn’t want to leave New York City, leave the
Quidditch World Cup, and leave one of the best experiences of
my entire life.
The final score of the game was 230-40. Texas A&M
finally caught the Snitch and put us out of our misery;
partially as a result of this thrashing, their offensive
statistics surpassed any other team at the World Cup.
After the game, my players were exhausted. A few of
them told me they wish we’d just caught the Snitch and
I put in a more physical player to defend against the A&M ended it. Would I do the same thing if we played that
Seeker, telling Mike “good job” as he left the pitch. “Whatever,” match today? Maybe. But it gave me a new perspective:
he replied flippantly. The commentators had been taunting sometimes, you just have to accept defeat and live to play
him for not being “man enough” to catch the Snitch, when it another day. And maybe go out for ice cream afterwards.
was my responsibility and not his fault at all. I knew the game That never hurts. n
That’s the crux of the issue. No one likes losing. But at
some point, you just have to let it go. You’re not going to
win every time, as I should have realized in this instance.
But I was just too stubborn to admit defeat, and I would
regret that after the match.
48
ES S AY
The future of Quidditch
Written and Illustrated by Chris Kostick
S
ince its conception in 2005, the sport of Muggle Quidditch
has been growing at an exponential rate. From that day,
October 9, 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont, to the
first intercollegiate match between Middlebury and Vassar on
November 11, 2007, through a few World Cups, an association
name change, and a new website, the message of Quidditch has been
spreading across America and across the world. With the sport so
successful in its infancy, nature begs the question: what does the
future hold for the sport of Quidditch? I have a few ideas.
Youth Quidditch
It is well known to any follower of the International Quidditch
Association that interest in the sport has grown tremendously in the
14 and under age group. Many inquiries have been made by those
students in middle school on how to start a team. Naturally, this
seems to be the next area of development for the sport: the growth
of youth leagues. Getting elementary and middle school students
49
playing would create an even larger pool from which to acquire
players, and would lock in a positive future for Quidditch in 10+
years. Quidditch pitches would appear in many public parks and
schoolyards, and seeing children running around with broomsticks
between their legs would become a social norm, ever furthering the
legitimacy of Quidditch in the public eye.
High School
The high school level is currently the most productive when
it comes to the formation of new teams and leagues, but it also
demands the most development as Quidditch continues to grow.
As a co-organizer of the Central PA Open Tournament, it became
apparent to me how sparse high school teams are in some areas of
the US. There was one team right in our backyard, but the next
closest team came from two hours away, with another driving almost
four hours to get to the tournament (and win it all). In the next
five years I anticipate an explosion of high school teams, so much
P L AY E R S' C O RNE R
so that each school might find at least four teams to play within a
30 minute drive. This then opens up the idea of having regularly
scheduled matches and regional playoff tournaments, sending the
regional champion to a state tournament, and then sending the state
champion to a national tournament. This is basically unprecedented
in other athletic events.
Another development in high school Quidditch would be the
popularity of the sport and permanent Quidditch venues on campus.
Many schools have plenty of open, unused field space, and it doesn’t
take much space at all to designate a place for Quidditch, complete
with bleachers and equipment shed. This would also provide a place
for teams to practice without worrying about running into other
sports as they practice and such. Therefore high school teams could
have more space and resources to practice, hone skills, and become
more competitive.
College Level
As the sport is rooted in college play, the college level is at the
forefront of development. Still, the future of Quidditch at this level
looks nothing but optimistic as we move toward the biggest and
best World Cup yet. This future development could be greatest in
popularity and publicity. A great number of Americans are aware
of the sport, and within a few more years that percentage could
reach close to 100%. The next thing I would personally like to see is
matches broadcasted on local, regional, or national television. NBC
shows special sporting events all the time, such as the NHL Winter
Classic, Heritage Classic, Kentucky Derby, and the Olympics. ESPN
often shows bowling tournaments and gymnastics competitions, as
well as strong man competitions and billiards. Having one of these
major stations broadcast the World Cup would be very beneficial to
the reputation of the sport in the eyes of America. And who wouldn’t
want to see some Snatches or epic goals from a Quidditch match on
ESPN’s Top Ten? It would really create national hype for the sport
and would make it even larger in the States and abroad.
The other development in Quidditch at the collegiate level is the
evolution of Quidditch venues. As stated with high schools, regular
schedules for a Quidditch season would demand a place for spectators
to come watch matches, eat, and enjoy the sport of Quidditch.
Venues could start as small as 1,000 spectators, then evolve to 4,000,
10,000, 25,000 or more over the next 30 years. More athletic and
competitive play would allow for 25-30 minute games, so a typical
match could consist of three games played with intermissions
between, and a cumulative point total of all three matches could
decide a match winner. Matches would last two hours or so. This
would become more comparable to other sporting events. Imagine a
crowd the size of Beaver Stadium watching a Quidditch match! That
may be an ambitious vision, but at the rate Quidditch is growing
currently, the possibility is there.
Professional
Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco 49ers,
Arizona… Acromantulas? With college Quidditch players graduating
and finding themselves suffering from Quidditch withdrawal
symptoms, a professional Quidditch league may be the answer.
Many new steps would have to be taken in order to make this
dream a reality. First of these would be the venues. Since a Quidditch
pitch doesn’t fit right on an arena or gymnasium surface but is much
smaller than a football, soccer, or baseball venue, new Quidditch
stadiums would need to be constructed. Fortunately these venues
would be able to host many other events based on the design,
including outdoor ice hockey, concerts, basketball, tennis, volleyball,
and many other events.
The one problem with having large, enclosed stadiums would be
Snitch play. I have devised a solution to this dilemma though. Under
the stadium would be a “Snitch course,” visible to spectators on the
concourse, where Snitch Runners would traverse multiple obstacles
with Parkour-like agility while the similarly agile Seekers pursue.
The obstacles would resemble those used in professional paintball
courses, padded for safety, and would be able to be rearranged to
provide a new look for each match. There would be 4-8 access points
from the main pitch, and cameras would allow spectators to follow
the action on screens not visible to the players or coaches on the
pitch.
Matches would follow the same format as the aforementioned
college matches, with the exception that each game could last
30-40 minutes, since professionally trained athletes would have
more stamina and substitutions would allow for fresh players
continuously. The matches would run much like professional ice
hockey games, which compose of three periods with intermissions
between offering entertainment and a chance to visit concessions,
merchants, etc. Overtime would run exactly as outlined in the
current rules. And after a victory, or even a defeat, fans could file
into their local Three Broomsticks or Leaky Cauldron and enjoy a
Butterbeer or Firewhisky as they watch the highlights of the match
on Sportscenter.
Equipment
With the sport rapidly developing at every level, equipment
will be more in demand than ever. This opens up the doors for
manufactured regulation equipment designed specifically for
Quidditch. Goal hoops will be made sturdy and professional-looking
by sporting goods companies such as Huffy and Goalrilla. Many
new broom manufacturers will rise, marketing different styles of
brooms ranging from traditional to the sleekest composite design
(though Alivans will always be the best!). Snitch Runners will
wear regulation uniforms with actual Snitches - gold, wings, and
all – hung from a belt like in flag football. Quaffles and Bludgers
will be sold in sets from quality manufacturers, with their own
distinguishable characteristics. And on everything, of course, the
official IQA emblem will be emblazoned, boasting the approval of
the organization that started it all. These developments in equipment
do not seem to me to be too far off in the future.
Of course, these ideas are products of my own wild, optimistic
imagination. Quidditch has become such a large part of my life since
I learned of it a year ago. I look forward to seeing how Quidditch
develops and matures over the next few years. What do you think
Quidditch will be like in the future? Email me at centralpaquidditch@
gmail.com and let me know! n
50
P L AYE RS' C ORNER
Dear Luke, on
funding your way to the World Cup
By Luke Zak
W
e are just beginning to pull through the last
flurries of a long winter, but looking back, it
feels as though the World Cup just happened
at DeWitt Clinton Park. With the advent of
spring, we are looking forward to what this year has
in store for Quidditch. That said, it is never too early
to start thinking about the 2011 World Cup, which is
only seven months away.
While November might seem far off now, there
are already 57 teams who are signed up on advanced
registration to battle it out on the pitch at Randall’s
Island. The location might be central to Muggle
Quidditch's development, but New York is still a
far-off goal to shoot for in the case of many teams.
Naturally, some teams will need to raise more money
than others to get to the Big Apple, but fundraising is
imperative for all Quidditch athletes trying to make
their way to the World Cup. Already knowing the
date and location of this year’s tournament gives us
an incomparable head start, which means that the best
time to start fundraising is now!
Right off the bat, there are several specific ways to
take advantage of our new knowledge. Never before in
the history of the International Quidditch Association
have the dates and location of the World Cup been
announced so far in advance! This bit is less about
fundraising and more about reducing the actual cost
of the expedition itself. With seven months between
now and the red letter day, or weekend rather, booking
travel and lodging now will seriously reduce overall
expenses. This means that even if your team doesn’t
know yet exactly who will attend, the few players
51
who do know that they will go to the World Cup can
buy individual tickets now. And if you are one of the
Quidditch programs lucky enough to have a budget
to throw around, there is the additional advantage of
finding group travel rates for your whole team.
Of course, there are additional ways to fundraise
that are not specific to getting to the World Cup
that can also be fully exploited over the rest of the
school year, throughout the summer, and right up
to November 12th. Last month, I began to describe a
few successful fundraisers, but I have since been given
more suggestions from our readers.
There are many classic fundraisers that plenty
of sports teams with a little budget love to do. This
includes rounding up the cavalry, heading over to your
local supermarket and bagging groceries. Tips vary of
course, but this one can be effective, especially around
any holiday season! Then there is always contacting
any nearby sports stadiums and signing your program
up to work concessions. One of the reasons this works
well is that you only need a handful of people, and you
are guaranteed money right away.
Also, as many of you know, finding any excuse to
sell your team’s Quidditch merchandise is a golden
opportunity, whether you are sticking to a sure bet
selling shirts or are getting creative with something
like Quidditch calendars. Another creative addition to
your events that can bring in some money is having
an auction. Sure, you can look for cash donations for
a silent auction, but it would be a lot more fun to see
what people would pay for dinner and a movie with
your team’s Snitch! If you can wrangle together a few
P L AY E R S ' C O RNE R
willing, brave athletes, auctioning off dates sounds
like it has the potential to be profitable.
A new venture for some teams is seeking out local
establishments that are known for helping out sports
teams. There are many businesses, restaurants in
particular, that have some sort of reward program set
up for cases just like ours. Some Quidditch programs
have started signing up with places like Buffalo Wild
Wings and Applebee’s, and now when the league goes
out to eat after the weekly game day, a portion of sales
is actually returned to Quidditch. Most participating
restaurants will also set up season kick-off days where
10 percent of the sales from anyone who comes in
with your coupon is given back to your team.
On top of all these ideas, the warm weather that
is on its way will open up the door for even more
fundraisers. As far as I am aware, you absolutely
cannot go wrong with a good old-fashioned car wash.
It costs very little to organize, and the return can be
exponential; just ask any cheerleader. Heck, if all else
fails, crack open the Country Time powder and build
yourself a lemonade stand. Whatever it takes to get
that much closer to the Fifth Annual World Cup.
So no matter which route you choose to pursue
first, the most important thing to remember is that
November is sooner than you think and when it comes
to beginning your fundraising process, there is no time
like the present! n
Do you need advice?
Luke Zak is the captain of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Quidditch team and brought his first-year team to
the 2010 World Cup. He is also the Midwest Regional Director of the IQA and can give you advice on all your Quidditch
dilemmas. Email him at luke.zak@internationalquidditch.org with your questions. A few questions will be printed in
each issue of the Monthly Seer.
Common
Rulebook
Myths
(and the truth)
By Will Hack
1.If I Myth:
2. Myth:
partially block a Bludger with my Bludger (or The Keeper is immune to physical contact while
Quaffle), I am not Knocked Out, whether the
Bludger then touches my body or not.
in the Keeper Zone, whether he has the Quaffle
or not.
Fact:
Fact:
If you partially block a Bludger but that Bludger The Keeper is only immune to physical contact
then hits anywhere on your body or broom, you
are Knocked Out. Nowhere in the rules does it
say that a partially deflected Bludger does not
result in the Knockout effect.
The
Rule:
Section 6 (Players
and Positions): Beaters.
"Deflecting – A Beater may use the Bludger to
block an incoming Bludger thrown by opposing
players."
"A player struck by a thrown or kicked Bludger
has been 'knocked out.'"
while in sole possession of the Quaffle. Without
the Quaffle, he is subject to the same physical
contact rules as Chasers.
The
Rule:
Section 6 (Players and Positions): The Keeper,
Inside the Keeper Zone. "While inside the
Keeper Zone, the Keeper is subject to all of
the same rules as a Chaser with the following
exceptions: ... Possession – When the Keeper
is in sole possession of the Quaffle while in the
Keeper Zone, opposing players must not attempt
to steal it from her. If the Keeper attempts to steal
the Quaffle while in the Keeper Zone, the keeper
must gain sole possession of the Quaffle before
she is granted immunity." n
52
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