Norphlet alumni to play in 2018 Quidditch World Cup
Quincy Hildreth, a 2009 graduate of Norphlet High School, is heading to Florence, Italy at the end of June to compete in the 2018 Quidditch World Cup.
According to the International Quidditch Association (IQA), the sport quidditch was adapted from the Harry Potter novels in 2005 and combines elements of rugby and dodgeball to create a fast paced, contact sport.
In the Harry Potter novels and movies, quidditch is played by wizards and witches and takes place completely in the air while flying on broom sticks. To mirror this in the “real world” game of quidditch, players must hold a broom stick between their legs at all times.
Hildreth began playing quidditch at Arkansas State University. After playing for a year, he joined a community team in northeast Arkansas.
Hildreth said he joined the ASU team because he saw quidditch as a way to stay in shape and play a non-traditional sport.
After graduating from ASU, he moved to Atlanta, Ga.
“At that time, there were no quidditch teams in Georgia, so I played with a community team based out of Miami, Florida,” Hildreth said in a email interview with the NewsTimes.
Hildreth is now the coach/co-founder of Terminus Quidditch Atlanta, which was started in the summer of 2017.
He said the team has 15 players on the roster. “The city of Atlanta was first called Terminus, for it was built to be the terminating point of several major railways in the mid-1800s,” Hildreth said. “That is the origin of our name and logo, and our secondary logo is a soaring phoenix — a nod to the burning of the city during the Civil War and the city’s rebirth.”
Out of 164 candidates that submitted applications to be chosen for the US National Quidditch Team, only the top 21 players were selected, including Hildreth.
The 2018 IQA World Cup will be held June 27 through July 2 with 31 nations planning to attend.
“Since the team is consisted of people from all over the US, we are set to meet up in Italy Monday, June 25,” Hildreth said. “We will practice two times a day leading up to the tournament.”
According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, quidditch is played on a grass field with a boundary area 60 yards long and 36 yards wide. There are three hoops of varying heights on each end of the field and the corners are curved, mirroring a hockey rink.
Five balls are in play during the match including the quaffle, which is a volleyball, three bludgers, which are dodge balls and the snitch, which is a tennis ball. The quaffles are used to score points while the bludgers are used to temporarily knock out players. To end the game, the snitch must be caught.
The positions include one keeper, three chasers, two beaters and one seeker who tries to catch the golden snitch.
Hildreth said his primary position in the sport is that of chaser and his secondary position is beater.
The game is very physical and allows tackling or stiff-arming to do anything to dislodge a quaffle or bludger from an opponent in order to keep the other team from scoring.
“I am delighted that the enchanting city of Florence has offered to host the 2018 IQA Quidditch World Cup, in partnership with the IQA and Human Company,” said Nicholas Oughtibridge in a press release.
Oughtibridge is chair of the IQA board of trustees. “Florence has led European culture, challenged norms and inspires a better future. The city is a natural host for our mixed gender contact sport,” he added.
Hildreth said his best memory on the field was going undefeated last year and day one at nationals, “finishing the day with a win over Texas A&M and having fans rush the field.”
“Quidditch has become more than just a sport for me, but has become a way to give back to the kids and communities,” Hildreth said. “My love for the sport and the quidditch community continues to grow more and more every year. Being able to travel across the United States, getting to experience all the different cities, people and cultures have truly been a privilege. Now being able to travel to Italy for quidditch is something I would have never dreamed of.”