Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cameron Buchalter. Cameron is a freshman at Grove City College and recently became a member of the Beta Sigma fraternity. He has a love for musical theater and sports. Upon arrival at Grove City College, he joined the Quidditch team and he is now a certified referee. I didn’t know much about Quidditch until I spoke with him one day and he eagerly taught me the ins and outs of the sport.
In order to create a team, there must be 10 official teammates. At Grove City College, the team also allows for unofficial teammates that cannot fully commit to all practices and games. Some other official members of the Quidditch team at Grove City College are Robert Dacey, Noah Newell, and Alyssa Holden.
Many people may not know, but Quidditch is a full contact, full tackle sport. The goal of the game is to get the “Quaffle” – a deflated volleyball – through the hoops at the end of the field that act as goal. Each player has a broom, much like in the Harry Potter movies, that they must stay on the entire game. At any time during the game, there are six to seven players on the field. The “Keeper” acts as the goalie. They have a keeper zone around their goal where they stand to block the Quaffle from entering the hoop. The defensive players of the game are called the “Beaters.” The Beaters have dodgeballs called “Bludgers” and their goal is to throw them at offensive players to knock them off their brooms and prevent them from scoring a goal. If a player is knocked off his broom he must run to his team’s hoops and touch them. After that, he can join in the game again. The offensive players are called “Chasers” and there are three in any given game. Their goal is to get the Quaffle through the hoops by whatever means necessary. This means they can throw the Quaffle, stick their hand holding the Quaffle through the hoop, or even dive through the hoop holding the Quaffle! If you get the Quaffle through the hoop you earn 10 points for your team.
The final person on each Quidditch team is known as the “Snitch.” The Snitch appears at the 18 minute mark of every game. He wears golden shorts and on the back of his shorts is a sock with a tennis ball inside. At 18 minutes they go onto the field and begin running around. At the 19 minute mark the “Seekers” are released. Their goal is to get the tennis ball from the snitch. If they get the ball, they earn 30 points for their team.
The typical Quidditch uniform resembles a soccer uniform. At Grove City, our uniforms have a name and number on the back, and the Grove City Quidditch “Legion of Broom” logo on the front. Quidditch is a national sport separated into six regions. Our team has played games in West Virgina, New York and has traveled to Maine for regionals. This year, the “World Cup” will be held in Kissimmee, Florida on April 8-9. This is where the top 60 teams in the U.S. play in tournaments to determine the World Cup Champion.
Our team begins practices during the official season, which is in the fall. These practices are once a week on Saturday. During the off-season, the team does condition which consists of three practices a week. If you are interested in playing a sport at Grove City College, but aren’t sure exactly where you’ll fit in – contact Cameron Buchalter and he can get you connected to the Quidditch team. I would highly recommend it!
