BY MORGAN RENNER
A new sport has come to the muggle world.
“You take a broom and you straddle it between your legs, right? Then, depending on what position you’re playing, you either hold onto it, pelt people with it, try to stop, or run as fast as you can to catch a ball,” Kyle Greathouse explains.
Quidditch, the fictional, magical sport from the wizarding world of Harry Potter, has officially made its debut in the district.
“It’s really fun!” freshman Kayla Wood, who has played in several matches, states.
Junior Jeff Guggenheim adds, “It can get pretty rough.” He recalls a time playing the position of keeper when he was left bleeding from the mouth after a skirmish. “But it’s way awesome,” he says.
It all started when Greathouse sent out a Facebook inbox to people he thought might be interested. He received so much positive feedback that he made a group, which currently includes 56 members.
“Different people show up every time.” Greathouse remarks referring to the matches, which take place every weekend, usually at Dogwood Park.
In order to play Quidditch without the flying broomsticks and sentient bludgers it was written for, the rules have been adjusted to make the sport available to muggles everywhere, from curious first-time readers to college-level teams. For starters, there are two teams, each with seven players. Every player must have their broom in one hand and in between their legs at all times. To each team there are three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, and one seeker.
Kayla Wood, a chaser, sheds some light on the position. “You use a quaffle, which is a soccer ball, and try to get it away from the other chasers and through the hoops. You can use your hands and feet, and tackle other players.” She adds.
“Keepers are basically goalies,” Guggenheim, a part-time keeper, explains. “They hover by the hoops and keep the chasers from scoring.”
“Beaters use dodgeballs to hit players on the other team,” says beater and sophomore Haily Conner. “When you get hit by a ‘bludger’, you have to drop the quaffle immediately. They can be thrown really, really hard, too!” She adds.
While this is going on, the seekers of both teams are running about the neighborhood on their brooms, attempting to catch the snitch–which is a tennis ball in the hands of a long-distance runner dressed completely in yellow. “The snitch-runner [player carrying the tennis ball] can go anywhere,” Greathouse explains. “They can even get on a bike or in a car, or go in houses or businesses. Snitch-runners do what they want.” Catching the snitch ends the game and gives the winning seeker’s team 120 points.
Quidditch matches take place on Saturdays or Sundays in the afternoon; specifics are usually posted in the Facebook group, Mariemont Quidditch, every week.
