Quidditch 101: Navigating the Tournament
Quidditch on the Quad is back for its second year in a row, and with nearly double the amount of teams signed up to play. Preliminary rounds begin tonight at 7 p.m. at the Student Recreation Center fields. Games continue on the Quad Sunday at noon.
The game, made famous by J.K. Rowling’s best-selling Harry Potter series, is perhaps best described as three games going on at once – hide-and-seek, dodgeball and a combination of basketball, soccer and rugby.
Creative Campus hosted Quidditch on the Quad for the first time last year. Preliminary rounds were held Nov. 11 last year at the Student Recreation fields, and final rounds were held on the Quad four days later. The event received 1,074 donated books for the Alabama Literacy Initiative. BALLS/EQUIPMENT: Quaffle: The quaffle is a volleyball and is handled by the chasers during the game. Teams score points by tossing the quaffle through the hoops. There is one quaffle per game.
Bludger: The bludger is a dodgeball and is handled by the beaters. Teams knock players off their brooms by hitting them with bludgers. Once players are hit, they must stop where they are, drop any balls they are holding and run and touch their hoops before resuming play. There are three bludgers in each game, but teams can only have two in their possession at any given time.
Snitch: Although the snitch is a person in muggle Quidditch, it is still considered a ball. The snitch is allowed to run and hide anywhere on campus. As the game continues, the area the snitch is allowed to run in gets smaller. By the end of the game, the snitch is confined to the field. The snitch is the only ball that does not start on the ball marks. Instead, it starts on the run.
Broom: Players must be mounted on a broom with a wooden or plastic pole at least 40 inches long for the entire game. The International Quidditch Association recommends a 46-inch broom with plastic, corn or wooden bristles.
Uniform: Each position has a specific color headband they must wear for the match. Chasers wear white, beaters wear black, keepers wear green and seekers wear yellow. Each team has a uniform they designed themselves, and every team must wear a matching shirt with numbers on the back of them.
Did you know…
- Creative Campus is expecting upwards of 1000 people at Quidditch on the Quad this year.
- Every referee for Sunday’s event is employed by Student Recreation, and most are flag football refs.
- The Spirit Halloween Store donated structures, such as fences, entryways and houses, to add to the otherworldly atmosphere on the Quad.
- All proceeds from the weekend will benefit Tuscaloosa County Reading Coaches because Creative Campus wants to raise awareness of Alabama’s literacy issues and get children excited about reading.
Bama Dining Menu $2 Crunchy Cockroach Clusters (Peanut Clusters) $2 Slytherin Twists (Soft Pretzels) $2 Cauldron Cakes (5 Mini Cupcakes) $1 Butterbeer $1 Bama Water
Itinerary: 12 p.m. Opening ceremonies, which will include a skit by Alpha Psi Omega theatre honor society, dances, a band and a pep rally. The March of Teams will happen within half an hour 12:30 p.m. First games begin 1 p.m. Denny Chimes plays “Hedwig’s Theme”
What’s in Diagon Alley? 90.7 The Capstone Academic Honor Council Spectrum American Chemical Society, Student Chapter Nu Delta Alpha UA American Red Cross Bama Corps UA Movement Mortar Board
Al’s Pals SWACA HCA Lambda Zeta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. READ Alabama Sigma Tau Delta
