One of the fastest growing sports in North America was founded by wizards but is being dominated by muggles.

Upon getting in contact with Lauren Yee, President of The Calgary Quidditch , club she generously invited the other Sport Calgary Intern, Adriane, and I to try out the sport at one of the club’s “Drop-In” sessions. I knew before attending the session I would have to do some research on the rules and make sure I was ready to jump both onto my broom and into the mix.

Can you spot the differences and similarities between the two?

History and How to Play

Although rooted in J.K Rowling’s “Harry Potter” novels, Quidditch was created in 2005 at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, by Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe. Un-like the fictional Quidditch sport, muggle (non-magic users) Quidditch teams have been participating at the Quidditch World Cup since 2007 comprised of both university and club programs.

Terminology:

Chasers are responsible for passing the quaffle and scoring points by throwing the quaffle through one of the opponent's goals for 10 points.

Keepers can be likened to goalies in other sports, and must try to block attempts to score by the opposing team's chasers.

Beaters attempt to hit the opposing team's players with bludgers and attempt to block the bludgers from hitting their team's players.

Seekers attempt to catch the snitch. They may not contact the snitch but are permitted to contact the other seeker.

When a game ends: When the snitch is caught by either team. After the snitch is caught the team with the most points accumulated wins!

In games, every player wears a coloured headband to denote what position they’re currently playing in the game and these positions can change among the players throughout the game.

Players wearing white headbands are chasers
Players wearing Black headbands are beaters
Players wearing Green headband is the keeper
Players wearing Yellow headband is the seeker

Me In the yellow pinny passing the quaffle to another chaser

My experience with the Calgary Quidditch Club

Upon arriving at the Quidditch Pitch, the other Sport Calgary Intern, Adriane and I were greeted by various members within the Calgary Quidditch community. This included members of the Calgary Kelpies, the MRU Manticores, and others representing a wide range of skill levels. Everyone was really welcoming and it was great having Allan as our teacher/referee.

Me tossing the bludger ball at the other teams chaser

After the first rounds, I was exhausted as I was tasked with being a beater. At first, all I knew was my role was to hit people with the bludger (a green dodge-ball). At my mistake, I quickly had the ball out of my hands and the other team gained bludger superiority. This occurred when the team had control of two out of the three bludgers. This led to many frustrating possessions of being hit until we gained possession back and we could better protect our chasers from the other team.

I swear Allan must have let the half run for at least 20 minutes instead of five as I was ready to fall over as he blew his whistle to indicate a break in play.

I had the most fun playing as a chaser, as the goal was to advance the quaffle up the field by passing it to other chasers on your team. This was great as it felt the most natural to me and I was never the best at dodge-ball in school (yikes bad memories).

The Calgary Mavericks at the 2018 Quidditch Canada Nationals

The games were awesome as everyone did a great job of getting Adriane and I involved into the game. It felt like we had a set objective every time we got subbed onto the field. The players were fantastic with giving us pointers on different rotations the beaters could do to hassle chasers.

Overall, the experience was entertaining and challenging as we got a lengthy work out in and got to try out the game in a safe environment for the first time. All the players were helpful with teaching us the rules and getting us involved in the play!

After play ended, I sat down with Dave, who is a member of the MRU Manticores, as well as Bryan who not only plays for the Central Alberta Centaurs but also will be representing Canada West at the Pan Am Games at the end of the month! We chatted about the sport and why you should try it out!

Give it a listen below!

How to get involved!

The Calgary Quidditch Club offers various opportunities for individuals both new to and experienced in the sport to try it out. They are July 22, August 12 and August 26, all at 6:30-8:00 at the Sunnyside School. This program specifically is 18+.

Kids Program!

The Calgary Quidditch club is running an eight week program for kids ages 9-15. The program starts September 3 and runs through October 22. Sessions are on Tuesdays from 6:00-7:30 at the West Hillhurst Community Association fields. During the season there will also be at least two weekend tournament dates that are yet to be determined. Registration is not open yet, but keep your eyes out on the website as it will open soon. An announcement will also be made via the Sport Calgary website.

The Youth Registration is now open for the Calgary Quidditch camps ! Make sure you check them out before the sessions fill up! Check it out in the link below!

https://quidditchcanada.usetopscore.com/en_ca/e/calgary-youth-program-fall-2019