Pitch wizards wanted
A Stirling quidditch team is looking for players who can deliver a little bit of magic for the new season.
Dumyat Dragons has organised an open taster session for potential recruits.
The team comprises students from Stirling University and the local community.
Quidditch is a fastpaced sport adapted from the game played in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels.
The sport has grown in popularity and now there are more than 40 teams in the UK and several local, national and international tournaments.
The Dragons are looking to increase their numbers to make a real impact on the upcoming quidditch season. The team’s taster session is open to anyone interested in giving the sport a go, including those who do not attend the university.
Club captain Lea Barbett said:“Quidditch is open to all sorts of people including those who like Harry Potter, play the sport for fun or want to battle it out at the national tournaments. It’s a lot of fun.”
Dumyat Dragons members have been playing quidditch since 2014 and have competed in the Scottish Cup. With a larger squad, the Dragons are aiming to compete at their first major tournament, QuidditchUK’s Northern Cup.
A quidditch match consists of two teams of seven made up of a keeper, three chasers, two beaters and a seeker.
The keeper and chasers use the quaffle (the ball) to score goals through the three hoops at the end of the pitch.
The beaters use the bludgers – three dodgeballs that beaters use to throw at opposing players to knock them out of the game – to temporarily knock out opposing players.
Finally, seekers try to catch the snitch – a tag attached to the snitch runner’s shorts – to end the game.
Quidditch is a mixed gender sport.
Details for the upcoming taster and training sessions can be found at www.facebook. com/stirlingdragons/.