The College of Charleston is one of 100 universities that will participate in the 2011 Quidditch World Cup on November 12 and 13 in New York City. The College was ranked No. 12 in the world following their first Quidditch World Cup performance in 2010. The team formed in spring 2010. Watch a video of the team in NY.
The College joins more than 400 universities around the world in the International Quidditch Association (IQA). The universities range from Middlebury College (where Quidditch was founded) to Ivy League schools like Harvard University and Yale University to large state schools like University of Maryland and Ohio State University.
The sport is basically a mix between rugby, soccer and dodgeball, according to CofC Quidditch president Laurin Grabowsky. If you’re not on your broom, you’re not in play and matches can get physical.
Watch a video of our Quidditch team in action.
“We were the first team from south of Virginia to attend World Cup, and still are the only team from the Carolina’s competing in Division 1 this year,” says Grabowsky.
There are seven players on the field for each team – 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 2 seekers, each team has a keeper and there is one golden snitch. The keeper guards the goals (mounted hula hoops), the chasers score through the goals with the quaffle (a volleyball), the beaters use bludgers (a playground ball) to hit other players, requiring them to drop their broom and run around their goal before resuming play.
The seekers chase the snitch and once a seeker grabs the snitch’s flag, the game is over and the team with the most points wins.
The IQA also promotes Quidditch as a new sport and encourages children and young adults to form teams, become active, and bring magic to communities.
For more information, contactat lmgrabow@g.cofc.edu.
