Viewers of this blog, if you are not already, you may want to sit down. Not sure how to tell you this but I have been diagnosed with a serious addiction. I am a Quidditch player.
This is actually quite a difficult post to write, where does one begin when talking about Quidditch? Well, if you have me on facebook or follow me on twitter, you will surely be fully aware that it is something that has slowly but surely completely taken over my life since I started Uni (a rather large contributing factor to the inactivity of this blog, sorry guys). I would like to share with you a quick crash course of everything there is to know about Quidditch and what I have done within the sport for the past two years.
What?
First things first, WHAT exactly is Quidditch? The clue lies in the last sentence of the previous paragraph. Quidditch is a 7-a-side, full contact, mixed gender SPORT which takes inspiration from the fictional sport of the same name that featured in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and applies the ideas behind it to make a functional game to be played by muggles (non-magical people a.k.a us). Quidditch combines elements of handball, rugby and dodgeball to create a sport that is fast paced, immensely tactical and physically demanding. It was invented by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe while they were students at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, USA back in 2005 and has snow-balled ever since.
There are 3 types of balls used in the game: 1- The Quaffle. A slightly deflated volleyball, chasers and keepers throw this through the hoops at the end of the pitch to score a goal which is worth 10 points each time you score. 2. Bludgers. These are standard rubber dodgeballs and are used by the beaters. If an opponent hits you with a bludger, you are 'knocked out' of the game which means you have to dismount your broom, drop any ball you are carrying at the time and touch your team's hoops before you can continue playing. 3. The Snitch. Instead of a small golden flying ball, the snitch is a tennis ball encased in a sock which is attached by velcro to the shorts of a person called 'the snitch runner'. The snitch runner is an impartial official (yes, there are A LOT of referees in Quidditch!) who enters play on the 17th minute mark of a match. The seeker's job is to remove the sock from the back of the snitch runner's shorts whilst the snitch runner does anything possible (within reason) to avoid being caught. Once the snitch is caught, the game ends and the catching seeker gets their team an extra 30 points- cos 150 is ridiculous. Now, you're probably wondering whether there are brooms involved. If you were reading an earlier sentence of this paragraph correctly, then you'll know the answer to this questions is yes. Whilst all this carnage with multiple balls is happening, you must have a broom (commonly made out of PVC piping for practicality and safety reasons) between your legs at all times when on pitch in order to participate in a match. This may make it seem silly at first but the best way to think of it is as a handicap. All sports have one, whether it's having to a kick the ball in football or being only allowed to pass backwards in Rugby, Quidditch is no different.
Quidditch is unique in that it is the only mixed gendered full contact sport in the world. As long as your opponent is playing with the ball your position uses, you are allowed to be physical with them and even tackle them to the floor, whether they are a man or woman. Besides male and female (binary genders), Quidditch also recognises people who identify themselves as non-binary (neither male or female, there are many different variations of non-binary genders) or trans-sexual, creating a safe space for people who would otherwise be excluded from more mainstream sports. In fact, one of the key elements of the Quidditch rulebook is the 'Four Maximum Rule' which makes it so that no team can have more than four players on pitch at one time who identify as the same gender, therefore ensuring all teams are mixed. For this reason, it's often described as an inclusive sport with the idea being that no matter who you are in terms of identity or physicality, you can play and make a difference.
Still confused? Here's a useful video that explains how the game works-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTwklC8-Thc
If you liked that, here's some actual match footage-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwhqJhe0hzs&list=PLJ8YuIbxSiLOZGRRzhsEtlKzkBiIHetLP&index=3
How?
So, HOW did I get dragged into this crazy world? For me, it's all thanks to Ollie Craig, a friend of my sister at University who I am now proud to call a friend of my own as well as a (now former) teammate and my vice-captain. In the autumn of 2013, I noticed him posting a variety of Quidditch-related things on facebook including pictures and a blog post about the first British Quidditch Cup. I couldn't help being intrigued by what I saw and simply had to find out more! When we met up in Lille (during his Year Abroad) a few months later, I asked him all about it. He gave me a brief explanation and I remember him tell me "It's a bit like Rugby, you might be good at it". Following that encounter, I knew that Quidditch was something I had to try out when I got to Uni. I'd spent many a night of procrastination scowering the internet for new and interesting sports I could try at Southampton and this seemed right up my street. What's more, I also met another Quidditch player during my time at Summer Camp. Further talking about it with her fueled my interest even more and while at camp, myself and my fellow Pool Program leaders actually ran Quidditch as one of our activities with a very basic (and water based) set of rules. When I arrived in Southampton in September 2014 for my fresher year of university, I attended my first taster session and from then on, it became a part of my life.
Where?
I have been playing Quidditch for Southampton Quidditch Club in Southampton, UK for the past two seasons and I will be joining Madrid Wolves Quidditch Team during my year abroad. These are not the only two Quidditch clubs in the world though! There are teams in countries across the globe (21 national teams attended this summer's IQA Quidditch World Cup in Germany). Go to the International Quidditch Association website (
http://www.iqaquidditch.org/) to see if your country has an official national governing body (NGB). You can also do a google or facebook search too if you don't find anything. Still can't find any evidence of Quidditch where you live? Make your own team! There's plenty of help available online should you wish to do so.
Why?
The most obvious reason is the Harry Potter factor. The best-selling book series and subsequent film series played a large part of just about every child growing up during the early 2000's and I was no exception. As a keen sports fanatic, the parts about Quidditch were always my favourite so the idea of playing a real-life version of it was simply very appealing to me.
That was one of the things that first got me into the sport. However, there's a lot more to it than just that. A few months ago, someone on a Quidditch facebook forum asked the question- "Why is Quidditch important to you?" Below is my answer to that question which I feel perfectly sums up my feelings about the sport and WHY I do it.
'Quidditch has given me so much. Before I started playing, I felt a bit lost. Years of Swimming to a fairly high standard had burnt me out and I needed something new to inspire me, something I could be passionate about and if anyone sees me when I'm on that pitch, I've found exactly that. Quidditch has opened up a whole new world of opportunity for me. I've had the ability to compete at the highest levels of a sport once more, become a high-ranking match official (referee), I have been able to travel and make friends all across the globe in the name of sport, doing bits of coaching, get involved with Sports journalism- all of which have been dreams of mine at some stage earlier in my life and through Quidditch I have been able to make them into some sort of a reality (albeit without the financial reward and career opportunities that more lucrative sports provide). Quidditch has also made me a better sportsman and person in general. Although I can still get a bit caught in the heat of the moment, I am much more respectful of the opposition (mainly cos I tend to know some/most of the players I end up playing) and mindful of people's emotions. I am also more aware of alternative lifestyles and backgrounds ranging from people from less sporting/competitive backgrounds to people of different sexual orientations, to transgender people and non-binary gendered people (something I didn't know existed until I started playing!). It's been a real eye-opener all-round. Most importantly for me, I like to feel like I'm making a valuable contribution in whatever I do with my life and Quidditch allows me to do that. I feel great about myself and the friends I have made through this sport knowing that we are all contributing to the start of something special and I think it's going to be great in 15/20 years time to see what our efforts and enjoyment during these years have accomplished and how the sport will develop as a result of it. Quidditch is simply a very exciting sport to be a part of and I hope I can be a part of it for a long time'
Quidditch in pictures
Here are some picture highlights of my Quidditch career thus far...
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| my first taster session |
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| celebrating a goal vs Oxford Quidlings at Southern Cup 2014- my first tournament |
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| Starting a match for the Mighty and Amazing Quercs at Tournoi International de la Violette in Toulouse, January 2015 |
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| Me with the British Quidditch Cup after Southampton's victory in 2015 |
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| Southampton QC team huddle before the British Quidditch Cup 2015 Final |
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| Winning Barcelona Moustaches Time 2 Tournament with the Mighty and Amazing Quercs |
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| Catching a snitch at Valentines Cup 3 |
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| Head Refereeing a match at the 2016 British Quidditch Cup |
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| Southampton QC team at the European Quidditch Cup 2016 |
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| Assistant Refereeing the IQA World Cup Final 2016 between Australia and the USA |
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Meeting Alex Benepe at the IQA Quidditch World Cup 2016
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So there you have it. That's been my short guide to the sport of Quidditch. Believe it or not, this is only a small proportion of what I could tell you about Quidditch however I'll leave it there for now. Feel free to ask me any questions though! Hopefully you've enjoyed that and seen why I enjoy it so much. I did this post partly due to the fact I may well reference Quidditch in future posts throughout this year so this should help explain things when I do. Thanks for reading, now there's only one more thing left to say...
"BROOMS UP!"
#FraserOnTour
FP
