Muggles on campus, prepare yourselves. Those of you who have gaped into the wizard world with awe, who have dreamt of soaring above a pristine green pitch to hoards of cheering onlookers, you will soon get your chance—in a manner of speaking, anyway.
Yes, quidditch is coming to U of T.
This weekend the fictitious sport devised by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series comes to life in Toronto. What began as a small intramural league at a college in Middlebury, Vermont has evolved into an internationally recognized organization with more than 200 teams in the U.S. alone. Though it has a smaller following in Canada, the sport appears to be picking up steam. McGill’s team is ranked as one of the top clubs in the country, something Ariel Garneau, co-chair of the Council of Athletics and Recreation here at U of T, no doubt hopes to change. This weekend marks the beginning of her effort to bring the sport to U of T as two sessions at the Athletic Centre on Saturday, Feb. 6 (from 2:30-3:30 and 3:30-4:30) offer a free introduction to the sport for anyone interested.
Naturally, the flying version of Quidditch is unavailable to us here in the muggle world, but the game reflects just about every other aspect of the sport familiar to Harry Potter fans. Positions include chasers, beaters, keepers, and of course, seekers. Players must ride around on their brooms and the seekers must try to capture the Golden Snitch (in this case a long-distance runner allowed to run far beyond the boundaries of the pitch) to end the game. Given these similarities, one might expect the real-life version of Quidditch to be more of a novelty than a sport, but Ariel Garneau assured The Varsity that “some people take this really seriously.” The game is full contact, and bludgers are used just like in the books (minus the deadly wooden bats, of course). Sports enthusiasts and Potter fans alike should come to the Athletic Centre this weekend to join in on this unique experience.
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