It’s the most fun you can have on a broomstick.
Two muggles from Nanaimo have formed a quidditch team and are looking for a bunch more players.
The Nanaimo Nightwings, captained by Dan Hingston and Edward Nathanson, recently added some reinforcements and were able to host a three-team tournament at Departure Bay Elementary School on March 19. The tourney proved that muggles – non-wizards – can play quidditch, too.
“Obviously, there’s no flying,” said Hingston. “If you have that ability, great.”
Quidditch, from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, is, “in Harry’s opinion, the best sport in the world.”
In real life, it’s played mostly by college students. Hingston’s interest grew after watching the documentary Mudbloods, about UCLA’s run to the Quidditch World Cup.
“I got a fire for it and started working towards getting a team,” he said.
Nathanson, who used to play rugby, among other sports, was looking for something different.
“I find with rugby and the more organized sports like that, there’s just so many people who want to play and it’s so competitive,” he said. “I was looking for something that was competitive, and also a ton of fun.”
A lot of the rules are the same as wizard quidditch. Each team has three chasers who score goals, two beaters to cause mayhem, one keeper to guard the goal hoops and one seeker to try to capture the golden snitch and end the game. The quaffle is a volleyball, the bludgers are dodgeballs, and the snitch is a tennis ball in a sock, tucked into the waistband of an impartial player.
Players hit with a bludger have to run back and touch their goalposts before they can re-enter the action.
“There is so much going on on the field at the same time…” Nathanson said. “[At first] it’s a little bit overwhelming, everyone’s doing something else and you’ve got to be aware of what everyone’s doing. But you get used to it, like any other sport.”
Quidditch is co-oed and it’s full contact. According to Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, there are 700 ways to commit a foul, but in muggle quidditch, players are respectful with their tackling and injuries are uncommon.
“It’s few and far between that that actually happens,” Hingston said. “It’s more a lot of grass stains than anything.”
Upping the degree of difficulty is that the game is played on broomsticks.
“Having a broom between your legs makes it a little awkward to run, but you get used to it,” said Hingston.
Some players might go online and order a Nimbus 2000, but any three-foot stick or PVC pipe will do.
“I’ve heard stories, when UVic first started, they had people playing on a Swiffer. So you use what you can,” he said.
Quidditch season generally runs over the course of a school year, but the Nightwings plan to keep holding practices this spring and summer to try to create momentum.
“It’s an inclusive game that everybody can play, and everybody, no matter what, gets a turn to play,” Hingston said.
For more information, please search for ‘Nanaimo quidditch’ on Facebook.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com