Since its inception in 2010, Quidditch On the Quad has been a tradition many UA students recognize and look forward to each year. This year, coordination and oversight of the well-known event was passed from Creative Campus to the Honors College Assembly and the game was renamed Quidditch at the Capstone.
“Quidditch is so cool,” Olivia West, vice president of the HCA, said. “Anyone who’s been out there before knows that it’s such a phenomenon for The University of Alabama. It literally brings together all walks of life on campus, and it’s something the entire campus can get excited about.”
As the change in name implies, the tournament will no longer be held on the Quad. This year, Qudditch at the Capstone will take place on the fields of the Rec Center. In spite of the changes to the name and structure, the event still allows students to come out for festive activities and bond over a generational phenomenon.
Rachel Childers, a sophomore majoring in psychology, said she likes how the event allows students to be active and together outdoors.
“It brings everyone together and for a cause,” Childers said. “It’s a way to bring a literary event to campus and to bring people together.”
West said the Honors College Assembly was very excited to take charge of the popular event that was originally started by Creative Campus.
“Although you would have to ask Creative Campus why they chose to give the event up, the HCA was thrilled at the opportunity to host the event for several reasons,” she said. “As a group, HCA loves to make things happen and put on large-scale events for the campus. Also, we all have loved this event in the past and wanted to make it the best it could be.”
This year’s Quidditch at the Capstone will maintain a lot of Creative Campus’ initial ideas, but will be adding new elements to the event to make it more spectator-friendly, and hopefully draw a large audience. From bludgers, snitches and international teams, students are able to participate annually in the sport that once only existed in the pages of J. K. Rowling’s fiction.
“We are going to have five days of preliminary matches and then a shorter, but still very festive environment for our finals day,” said John McDonough, Quidditch coordinator for the HCA. “The finals day is only going to have the top four teams playing, and it’s going to be one game at a time.”
West attributed the success of the campuswide event to the connection that UA students feel because of the Harry Potter series.
“A lot of us have grown up with Harry Potter; we’ve been reading it since the second grade,” West said. “It’s the same reason why so many people went to the midnight premieres of the books and movies. We all find this common bond in Harry Potter. He’s kind of the hero of our generation.”
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