The New Sport of Quidditch

Image: International Quidditch Association

Quidditch, you will recall, was a fictional competitive sport for wizards and witches as depicted in the Harry Potter novels and films. But in 2005, students at Vermont’s Middlebury College adapted the fantasy brooms-and-spells game into a real-life competition—and now it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

More than 250 universities, high schools, and clubs in 33 countries have Quidditch teams, and on April 13, 2013, 80 of them—some from as far as Australia and France—descended on Kissimmee, Florida, for the sixth-annual Quidditch World Cup. These competitors may not fly around on broomsticks, but they do run with them between their legs.

Quidditch is a seven-on-seven, coed field game that combines elements of rugby, dodgeball, basketball, and capture the flag. Broomstick-straddling players run across a converted soccer field while trying to throw volleyballs into six hoops. It’s not as easy as it sounds—it’s a semi-contact sport in which opponents can knock each other off their broomsticks.

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But the MVP of each competition is the “Snitch”—an athlete given the task of protecting a special ball from being nabbed by the other side. A Snitch has free reign to run far outside the confines of the field (sans broomstick) and so can cover any-where from two to six miles during a single match. At the Quidditch World Cup, each Snitch will play six to 10 games in one day, notching up to 20 miles. Which is why at least half of certified Snitches (yes, there are Snitch Academies that endorse players for this position) have competitive cross-country or track backgrounds.

“Snitches need to have a high top speed, but they also need to be agile,” says Rainey Johnson, the self-proclaimed “original Snitch.” He would know: Not only did he help launch the Quidditch movement at Middlebury, but he was also the captain of the school’s cross-country team with an 8-K personal best of 26 minutes.

As for which legacy he’s most proud of? “Quidditch is the gift that keeps on giving,” Johnson says. “Just when I think it can’t get any bigger, it grows. I’m fortunate to have played a small role in creating a game that generates enthusiasm from thousands.”