BY MIRIAM HAUSER

In print | Published November 12, 2009

It may seem like the inability of the average student to perform magic could provide an obstacle for those hoping to play Quidditch, but since the founding of the Intercollegiate Quidditch Associatio, or IQA, at Middlebury College in 2007, teams have been appearing at schools across the nation. And this year, first-years Joan O’Bryan, Tori Barber and Fernando Maldonado are bringing Quidditch to Swarthmore.

Quidditch originated in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. In her world, the sport is played in mid-air on broomsticks, with seven members on each team. Each team has three Chasers, who attempt to score a ball known as the “Quaffle” through three goal posts, which are guarded by a player on the opposing team, the “Keeper.” Meanwhile, two “Beaters” attempt to hit heavy balls (“Bludgers”) at the opposing team as a player known as the “Seeker” searches for a tiny, flying yellow ball known as the “Snitch.” Once either team’s Seeker catches the Snitch, the game ends, and the team that caught it gains 150 extra points. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, regardless of who caught the Snitch.

IQA Quidditch follows the same basic ideas as that of the Quidditch in the books, but as no member of the league can actually fly on a broomstick or enchant the balls to fly, some alterations had to occur. Each player is required to be on a broom at all times, but the brooms do not fly. The Quaffle is typically a volleyball, the Bludgers dodgeballs and the Snitch, the fastest ball in the books, is a cross-country runner dressed completely in yellow, whom the Seekers must tackle in order to catch. Other rules, including those for scoring, have also been altered in order to make the game more appropriate for players incapable of doing magic.

A meeting for the Swarthmore team was held a week ago to gauge interest. After showing two videos — an MTV clip titled “How much do you love Quidditch?” and a CBS news report titled “Quidditch for Muggles” — O’Bryan and Barber discussed their own hopes and goals for the team. For brooms and equipment, they intend to make do with what is readily available, such as goals made of hula-hoops duct taped to hurdles.

“Our brooms will probably be lacrosse sticks and whatever brooms you can steal or borrow from EVS,” O’Bryan said.
O’Bryan also expressed the hope that by next semester, the team will be able to compete against other area teams, and that eventually the team will be part of the IQA. She and Barber also hope to make as much use of the traditions in the Harry Potter series, both related and unrelated to Quidditch, as possible.

“We could get so into this … It could be super awesome. We could have a party, a fundraiser, and even have butterbeer,” O’Bryan said, referencing a popular wizard drink.

They also expressed interest in eventually having teams to mirror the four Hogwarts teams in the books, but, “Right now we’re just Swat Quidditch,” O’Bryan said.

O’Bryan and Barber are both fans of the book series, which contributed to their desire to found the team. The idea for the team first came up for them while participating in an online chat with fellow accepted students before school began in the fall. Then O’Bryan began talking about it in her cross country practice and decided to take the first step in forming the team with Barber, her roommate, when no one else took the intiative. She also discovered that Maldonado was on a Quidditch team in high school, which gave her and Barber help in setting up the team.

“I think this stems from my desire to be Harry Potter,” Barber said.

Many prospective team members were also interested in the team due to their love of the book series.
“I think I’m interested in the Quidditch team for the same reason we all are: to actualize our childhood dream of attending Hogwarts (I’m pretty sure we all chose Swarthmore because of the Bell Tower and the mascot) and playing the most magical sport ever invented,” Miriam Goldstein ’13 said. “I hope we get serious enough that we graduate from lacrosse sticks to broomsticks, hula hoops to goals, play other teams like Amherst and Middlebury and even get enough members to form different Houses.”

The IQA currently has 226 members. Barber and O’Bryan hope to soon start practices on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Those interested in playing who did not attend the interest meeting should contact O’Bryan (jobryan1), Barber (vbarber1) or Maldonado (fmaldon1).

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