‘Harry Potter’ sport stages World Cup in Florida

‘Quidditch’ turning people into lifetime friends

KISSIMMEE, Florida, April 13, (AP): The way Alex Benepe remembers it, his roommate’s idea to make quidditch more than a broom-riding fantasy confined to “Harry Potter” books and the big screen began as only a passing thought.

Xander Manshel was bored with the Sunday tradition of bocce ball at Middlebury College in Vermont in 2005 and was looking for a change.

“We were really lucky. It was really the perfect place to start quidditch,” Benepe said.

Now, eight years later, the fictional game is played at more than 1,000 college campuses on three continents.

Manshel scribbled down a makeshift rulebook based in part on the books and elements of lacrosse, rugby and dodge ball. Intramural matches began at Middlebury in 2007.

Benepe founded the International Quidditch Association three years later, and the game is now played in North America, Europe and Australia. He is now the IQA commissioner.

Active

Saturday and Sunday in Florida, IQA will host 80 teams and more than 1,600 players for its annual World Cup event.

Of more than 300 active co-ed teams globally, about 250 pay team dues of $150 to IQA and travel for matches.

That’s quite an evolution from its ragtag beginnings, Benepe said. Garbage cans once served as hoops, with some players fashioning capes out of towels taped to their shirts.

Now players spend anywhere from a few hundred bucks for basic equipment to several hundred for the topof-the-line stuff at the World Cup.

The majority of teams competing at this level have official uniforms names paying homage to the book series, like the Silicon Valley Skrewts and the Melbourne Manticores.

Spectators will find many of the same features from the books. Players throw balls or “quaffles” through ringed hoops for points and even can chase and capture the “snitch” to end matches.

And in case any Harry Potter diehards are wondering, yes, all the players also must maneuver around on broomsticks during gameplay.

But the game isn’t just embraced by “Harry Potter” enthusiasts. Several players at this weekend’s event consider themselves novices and just enjoy the athletic aspect.

Reorganised

“We have people on our team that have never read the books or seen the movies, so it travels the whole spectrum,” said University of Ottawa team founder Clare Hutchinson. “Quidditch is not necessarily all about Harry Potter anymore.”

Hutchinson, 22, said she never played any team sports before quidditch, only previously participating in things such as skiing and horseback riding. She and her teammates even reorganized their final exams just to participate in the World Cup.

For now, the IQA remains a non- profit group and remains in contact with representatives for “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling to ensure no trademarks are violated.

Although IQA has been approached by some corporate entities about possible sponsorships, he said the aim is to make sure the group doesn’t lose its grassroots appeal.

“The sport has really changed a lot of people’s lives for the better,” Benepe said. “People are turning into lifetime friends. I’m now good friends with people who have been playing quidditch for five or six years.

“It’s really like one big family.”