Like many of you, when I first heard that FSU had a quidditch team I was completely confused. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan, so I know that quidditch is the sport played by wizards in the books and movies. The part I was confused about was the fact that quidditch is supposed to be played on brooms, which is obviously not going to happen for muggles (non-magic folk) like ourselves. After three years of walking past them practicing on Landis or driving past the old IM fields and seeing them at work, I decided to try it out. Yes, this sorority girl has officially played quidditch.
Explaining the game is difficult. While at practice, it was compared to soccer, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and football, while the International Quidditch Association (yes, it’s a thing) website says it is a “co-ed contact sport with a unique mix of elements from rugby, dodgeball and tag.”
To be honest, quidditch is a sport completely unique from the rest. The main rule is that every player must be on a “broom” at all times. International Quidditch Association (yes, still a thing) rules dictate that you have to play on actual Harry Potter brooms, but for practice we used PVC pipes.
As for the actual game, the IQA website states that, “Three chasers score goals worth 10 points each with a volleyball called the quaffle. They advance the ball down the field by running with it, passing it to teammates, or kicking it. Each team has a keeper who defends the goal hoops. Two beaters use dodgeballs called bludgers to disrupt the flow of the game by “knocking out” other players. Any player hit by a bludger is out of play until they touch their own goals. Each team also has a seeker who tries to catch the snitch. The snitch is a ball attached to the waistband of the snitch runner, a neutral athlete in a yellow uniform who uses any means to avoid capture. The snitch is worth 30 points and its capture ends the game. If the score is tied after the snitch catch, the game proceeds into overtime.”
Essentially the main differences between quidditch in the story and in real life (besides not actually flying) are that bludgers are dodgeballs, the quaffle is a volleyball, and the snitch is a person that can tackle, wrestle and run its way to an escape. During practice, we did drill rotations and played games for fun, working our way up to practicing the real thing all together at the end.
Now you all may be wondering, “Is it actually fun? Is it even a sport?” YES! It is. The members of the FSU Quidditch team practice for three hours, three days a week. They’re a close knit group of students who understand what it means to be dedicated to a team. They welcomed me into their practice, just as they do anyone wanting to give it a try, and showed me the ropes. I was amazed by the amount of concentration it took just to keep up with the game.
Perhaps the president of the team, Tabitha Yousko, said it best, "When you say Quidditch, people automatically picture a bunch of nerds running around on brooms. I just tell them to come try it or watch a game, because it's nothing like you expect it to be."