There was a buzz of excitement this weekend, as Middlebury College was host to the second annual intercollegiate quidditch tournament, or "Quidditch World Cup".
Quidditch? Yes, that formerly fantastical game played by Harry Potter and friends on flying broomsticks. I quote the Middlebury College website: “Muggle Quidditch,” as it has come to be known, was founded in 2005 by Middlebury student Alexander Manshel. It has since become a national phenomenon with more than 160 colleges and universities now registered with the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association. The sport is equal parts athleticism, theatre and comedy. Indeed. There is a 10 minute student-made documentary about last year's tournament available on YouTube here.
Ten Middlebury College teams battled it out yesterday to play in the tournament today. See (someone else's) photos here and here, as well as a facebook group. Official statements say that the following schools sent teams: Princeton, Vassar (the only school which attended last year's tournament), University of Rochester, Louisiana State University, University of Washington, McGill University (yes, Canadians!), Amherst College, University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Chestnut Hill College, Carlow University, Emerson College, and Green Mountain College. I believe Middlebury won, making them world champions two years in a row, but a good time was had by all. Vassar was second and Chestnut Hill came in third.
Yes, we are the nerdliest athletes... or the most athletic nerds.
4 comments:
A few more details please: What is used for the balls? Rules?
The equipment is: red rubber balls, white volley balls, and fancy broomsticks. See the photos here
A simplified version of play (if I understand correctly):
The Snitch dresses in all yellow and has a sock tucked into the back of his shorts. At the start of the game, he takes off and hides somewhere in the quad. Then the teams try to get the white balls through the hoops and tag the opposing team members with the red ones. Certain members of each team are allowed to go look for the Snitch and the game doesn't end until he is brought back to the field of play and his sock is taken. The team with the most ball points wins, though catching the Snitch gets some bragging rights.
See rules here.
Sorry, rules are here. And with the photos, you have to scroll down a few to see the equipment rack.
See also the photo here
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