monthly seer volume 1 issue 6

TheMarch 2011Monthly Seer

The official magazine of the International Quidditch Association

TransatlanticQuidditchNortheast teams face

Finnish Vaasa Centaurs

World Cup 2011announcement

Tip of the iceberg2011 shapes up as a big year

for Quidditch development

Swamp Cup

Quidditch:Not just for wizards

EdItor IN ChIEF

CoVEr photo

CoNtrIbutors

Art dIrECtor

LAyout dEsIgN

AdVErtIsINg

Alicia Radford

Rebecca Smith

Alex Benepe, Laurie Beckoff, Aaron Bergeron, Dan Hanson, Andrea Hill, Harrison Homel, Kathryn Mudgway, Casey Murphy,Kati Polaski, Alicia Radford, Abbie Rickard,Rebecca Seidel, Troy Stanford, Marie Todd,Leah Vogel, Travis Guy Walker, Luke Zak

Alicia Radford

Alicia RadfordAndrea Hill

Alicia RadfordTo advertise in the Monthly Seer, [email protected]

Monthly SeerMarch 2011

Volume 1 • Issue 6

The Monthly Seer is published electronically by the International Quidditch Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the IQA.

The International Quidditch Association is a magical nonprofit that governs the sport of Quidditch and inspires young people to lead physically active and socially engaged lives. www.internationalquidditch.org

Contents

1 Letter from the editor3 Owl post: letters to the IQA5 Upcoming events7 International teams: a report Volunteer of the Month8 Swamp Cup: first IQA regional tournament Welcome to the league!9 The IQA's year of conventions11 World Cup 2011 date and location announcement14 Recent games15 Putting the 'I' in IQA: Vaasa tour

Team Spotlights

19 Quidditch flies into Westlake High20 Russian Quidditch team dreams of World Cup21 Flying high - without broomsticks

Features: the tip of the iceberg

22 Putting Quidditch on the map25 Referee training and rulebook 5.026 Conferences: the future of the IQA?27 World Cup 2010 stats

Lifestyles

28 Player of the Month: Amanda Ungco29 Why I Love Quidditch31 Essay: Quidditch: Not just for wizards33 The Quidditch Comic34 Quidditch: A biomechanical perspective

Players' Corner

35 Quidditch 101: A crash course in Quidditch36 Raise money for your team by selling IQA t-shirts From the captain's mouth37 Dear Luke: advice for Quidditch players

This issue of the Seer has been unofficially dubbed the "game play" edition. Within these pages you'll find reports from recent games - of which there have been many, more than I can remember during the winter in the last three years - including the largest high school tournament to date, the Central PA Open, which had four high schools and two college teams in attendance, and the Finnish Vaasa Centaurs, who made an historic tour of the US Northeast, where they played Vassar College, then Harvard, Tufts, Boston University, Emerson, and UMass Amherst, before making their final stop at Stony Brook University.

In addition, there is a whole feature on the development of the league, including the future of conferences, an upcoming national referee training program, and the development of statistics in Quidditch.

Lastly, if you haven't heard yet when and where World Cup 2011 will be held, turn to page 11 now. Mark your calendars and start preparing - every month until November we will run one article dedicated to helping teams plan for the World Cup, whether that's fundraising, nailing down travel plans, or training to ensure that your team is competitive.

I'm proud to present the March issue of the Seer, which is the result of the volunteered time and hard work of many people. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Sincerely,

Alicia Radford

Letter from the editor

1 March 2011 • The Monthly Seer The Monthly Seer • March 2011 2

Makers of the Official Broom of the IA

The Monthly Seer • March 2011 2

Owl PostLetters to the IQA

IQA,

My son is a big Harry Potter fan and we attended a few matches of the World Cup that was recently held in New York.We were just down at Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida and my two boys were wearing their IQA shirts with "99 Problems but a Snitch ain't one" written on the rear when we visited.The t-shirts were a huge hit at the theme park. I noticed many people glancing and pointing at the shirts. Many people from many different countries asked to pose with my boys to get a photo of the shirt.Anyway, just an FYI to let you know how popular your t-shirt was at the theme park.

Regards,

Michael

* * *

Hello Im a 10 year old boy in NYC and I was wondering can kids my age play?

Hi there,

You certainly can play Quidditch but it would be a

matter of finding a venue for it.

At the moment we don't have any youth leagues, but

we are beginning to get more and more requests from

kids around the ages of 10 - 14, so that may change in

the near future.

I would suggest talking about this with your parents,

teacher, gym teacher, principal, or other person

in your school or family. You should download the

rulebook and show this email to them as well.

Please note that the rules were originally designed

for high school and college students so they can be a

bit rough - chances are that in order to play at your

school, you might have to let your teacher adapt the

rules to allow for less or no physical contact, which

still leaves the game more or less the same and just

as much fun.

We are currently developing a rulebook for middle

school and other youth levels but at the moment we do

not have one available, so feel free to adapt the rules

as you and your school sees fit.

Please tell any adults that you are talking to about

this to get in touch with me; I am happy to answer any

questions or provide tips on how to start or organize

games, whether it is in gym class, outside of school, or

part of a school team or intramural league.

Thanks again for emailing me and please stay in

touch.

Alex Benepe

3 March 2011 • The Monthly Seer

Dear Twitter user,

In fact, other cities did get a chance to host - over a

month ago, we opened a World Cup location bid to

people anywhere in the world, with an application

to fill out to have their city or school considered for

hosting World Cup 2011. We did receive one other bid

application, but it had to be withdrawn due to lack of

permitting.

To learn more about the advantages of hosting the

2011 World Cup in New York and read exciting

information about the event, see page 11.

And while we're at it, you must be thinking about that

Muggle World Cup. The Quidditch World Cup is on

the same weekend this year as it was last year. The

2009 World Cup took place at the end of October, as

did the 2008 World Cup.

Thanks for following!

Alicia

* * *

Dear IQA,

I have observed some videos on YouTube and was thinking of some ideas® that could be put into the game to make it more realistic. They are just ideas and should not be taken completely serious,

meaning they would have to work on the idea to make it work. Here they are:

•A Trampoline like field where players could run and jump to higher goal rings.

•Faster paced gameplay, figure out a way to make people faster, such as R&D on real flying broomsticks or something to make a the game more aerial.

•Real wrist guards and gear, helping to prevent injuries and making it poossible hit the quaffle to another player. This introduces the next idea of the game:

•COMBOS. Players will be able to jump, kick, bat, push and throw the quaffle to teammates, producing a chain like pass, so they can bounce off one another and bounce it right into the goal. Like seen in one of the video games for Quidditch: Quidditch World Cup. To do this the players would need to learn how to jump into the air off of a broom, kick the incoming quaffl (as soon as the quaffle gets to them) to the next player, and then finally land bak down, and then look to continue the chain again. This would make the gameplay and experinence more realistic, exciting, and challenging.

•The human snitch is a great idea however, R&D could go into making a real snitch that actually flies and is controlled by a remote. Beside being fast it must also be able to zip to another spot with extreme speed, so that when a seeker attempts to snag it, it gets out of the way.

•Having brooms that actually flew would get rid of most of the problems, however we all know those aren't here yet! So if there was some way as to make the player have to sit on a broom, it could allow them to jump off brooms for height advantage.

If you could, please contact me and let me know any thoughts on MY ideas and inspirations®.


U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

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29 30

March 5, 2011

utah snow Cup

March 5 will play host to the first-ever Utah Snow Cup. Three teams, the newly formed Utah Crimson, reigning fall champion Utah Hex, and Northern Arizona University, will compete in an all-day tournament centered at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. The coveted Snow Cup will be given to the team that, at 6 p.m., has the most cumulative points - a process decided after each team has played the entire pool.

As an inter-mountain western matchup, creators have described the event as a “clash of the titans.” Saturday’s activi-ties will serve as preparation for regional World Cup quali-fiers and function as a platform for Utah’s burgeoning me-dia coverage. To date, Utah teams have appeared in several newspapers and nightly broadcasts, begging the question of an expanded league.

For more information, contact [email protected].

— Travis Guy Walker

usC plays NhL mascots

That's right - on March 5, players from the University of Southern California Quidditch team will play against NHL mascots at Staples Center in one of the most unusual match-ups to date. This five-10 minute exhibition game is also spe-cial because it marks the first time Quidditch has ever been played in a professional sports arena.

The game will take place on the ice with the help of spe-cial shoes between periods. It's the king mascot's birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with Quidditch? We en-courage anyone in the area to go to the game to watch the spectacle.

— Alicia Radford

texas A&M Classic

Come watch the second annual Texas A&M Classic tour-nament from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Penberthy Intramural Fields at College Station. Attending teams include Texas Tech Uni-versity, Sam Houston University, Louisiana State University, Texas State University, and University of Texas.

— Alicia Radford

March 20, 2011

psu Nittany Lion Cup

The Penn State Three Broomsticks are hosting the Nittany Lion Cup, a tournament open to any Quidditch team. The event will be taking place on Penn State's campus on Old Main Lawn on Sunday, March 20, as the concluding event to a weekend-long Tri-Wizard tournament.

Teams do not have to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament in order to compete in the Nittany Lion Cup.

Penn State recently traveled to New York City for the 2010 World Cup and finished 18 out of the 46 teams in attendance.

— Alex Benepe





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March 10, 2011

IQA celebrates first

birthday as a nonprofit

On November 11, 2007, Alex Benepe founded the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association following the first-ever intercollegiate Quidditch match between Middlebury and Vassar College. Three years and change later, on March 10, 2010, the IQA officially incorporated as a nonprofi company, with a board of directors, a dozen regional volunteers, a league hundreds of teams strong from around the world, and many grand plans.

Now, one year later, the IQA has been contacted by over 700 more people who want information and help starting a team. Fifty-six teams have pledged their support for the IQA and the future of Quidditch by becoming official member teams. The IQA's volunteer roster has grown to nearly 100 people, and for the first time, teams all across North America will be able to attend large-scale regional tournaments.

— Alicia Radford

March 18, 2011

san Jose state plays glow-

in-the-dark style

From 6 - 10 p.m., the San Jose State Owls will play night Quidditch against local community team Silicon Valley Skrewts. Anyone is invited to attend and play. Glow-in-the-dark gear encouraged.

— Alicia Radford

March 19-20, 2011

Catch Quidditch at the

Chicago C2E2 convention

The IQA will be bringing two teams to the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo to lead indoor demo matches and then teach the game to event attendees and coach scrimmage teams in open matches.

Games will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and the IQA will have a booth on the main floor where they will be promoting the game, talking to passersby, and selling merchandise.

— Alex Benepe

March 18-20, 2011

swamp Cup:

southeast regionals

The IQA's first official regional tournament will be held in Gainsville, FL, hosted by University of Florida. Learn more about this epic three-day tournament on page 8.

— Alicia Radford


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International Quidditch: a reportTwo post-secondary and six secondary school international

Quidditch teams joined the IQA this month. Of the new teams, there is one from Australia, one from Brazil, one from New

Zealand and five are from the United Kingdom. Three of the post-secondary teams are active teams contacting us for

the first time. David Innes, the organizer of the Langley School team in Norwich, U.K. said the team played its first game in November. This generated a lot of interest in the sport at the school. The Langley Parents Association has agreed to fund the purchase of all equipment the team needs to get games running on the condition that the team plays at a fair the school hosts at Easter. Innes has contacted the Nash family that made brooms for the Goblet of Fire movie and has made arrangements to get second-hand brooms that were previously used to brush leaves at one of

the Queen’s main residences. Dodge balls and volleyballs are on order. Hula hoops are attached to poles for the time being. The exhibition match is set for April 3. Quidditch for Muggles will continue to be run as an after-school activity throughout the summer semester.

Another promising team in the United Kingdom is starting at Keele University. Megan Shaw, the student starting the team, was on a team in Virginia last semester and watched the World Cup in New York City. She is very familiar with how the game works and how teams can be formed.

There are now eight teams in various stages of activity throughout the United Kingdom. Though many of these teams are too far apart for team members to regularly travel to and from the institutions, eventually some of these teams may be able to play against each other. n

Harrison HomelIQA Volunteer of the Month:

Readers might recognize Harrison as "Joe Quidditch" from our January issue, the quintessential Quidditch player, but Harrison has been involved with the IQA for a long time. Harrison has been an IQA volunteer since

December 2009, when he started as a regional correspondent for Southern California. Last summer he was promoted to Western Regional Director because of his dedication and enthusiasm and he continues to do a fantastic job leading the Western region. This is currently one of the IQA's smallest but most promising regions, with teams springing up under his guidance throughout California, including many of the biggest-name universities on the West Coast: UCLA, USC, Stanford, and others.

Harrison is enthusiastic and hard working, and possesses the talent of effectively working with and motivating his fellow volunteers and captains, a tough skill to master. Harrison flew to World Cup 2010 on a red eye and spent the whole weekend reffing, never complaining and havingwhat looked like a fantastic time. He has been planning the Western Cup for at least six months and is completely organized. And on top of all that, Harrison exhibits the best of so-called "hippie hospitality," working to get free overnight lodging at UCLA for teams traveling to the Western Cup and tirelessly working to promote Quidditch and the IQA wherever he goes.

Harrison recently took up another hat - besides the one made to look like an animal, of course - as a writer for this publication, showcasing yet another talent.

Thank you, Harrison, for everything you do! n

By Alicia Radford

By Andrea Hill


Harrison exploring the Pacific Northwest. || Provided

NewsN E W S

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Welcome to the League!New February team sign-ups

GMHS Quidditch (Falls Church, VA)Berkeley Carroll School (Brooklyn, NY)Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit, PA)Brigham Young University (Provo, UT)LaSalle College High School (Wyndmoor, PA)Palm Beach Central (Wellington, FL)T.L. Hanna High School (Anderson, SC)Berry College (Rome, GA)University of North Alabama (Florence, AL)Sleeping Knives (Plymouth, MI)The Lions (Marville, TN)

Supreme Flyers (Modesto, CA)Cy-Falls Quidditch (Houston, TX)Glen Burnie Goblets (Glen Burnie, MD)Clarks Creek (Plainfield, IN)Woodford County Quidditch (Versailles, KY)DePaul University (Chicago, IL)Wellington Quidditch Association (Wellington, NZ)Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario)Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, UK)The St. Bedes Banshees (Hailsham, Sussex)Liga Quidditch Tunja (Tunja, Colombia)


University of Florida Quidditch will be hosting this year’s Swamp Cup, the IQA’s new Southeast regional tournament. Teams have until March 4 to sign up for the Cup, which will

take place from March 18-20 in Gainesville, FL.“Spectators should look forward to three days of intense

Quidditch against the big name teams in the region,” said Nick Murado, president of Quidditch at the University of Florida and head administrator of the Swamp Cup. “They should look forward to witnessing rivalries play out on in a park ripe for imaginative Snitch-play and an environment conducive to competition.”

The schedule for this three-day tournament? Lots and lots of Quidditch. “We expect all teams to have many, many games to play on the tournament schedule, with an estimated maximum of 11 games for the teams in the finals,” Murado said.

Official IQA member teams can register for the Swamp Cup for free, and should do so before March 4 to avoid being locked out. In addition to Quidditch, the tournament will feature wizard rock as well as an old-fashioned BBQ cookout.

Visit swampcup.org or search “Quidditch Swamp Cup 2011” on Facebook for more information. n

By Rebecca Seidel

UFL hosts first IQA regional tournament

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Kristina Moy is the IQA’s Convention Rep. The Monthly Seer's Kathryn Mudgway spoke with her about the expo.

K. Mudgway: As an IQA Convention Rep, what exactly are your responsibilities?

K. Moy: As an IQA Convention Representative, my biggest responsibility is to market Quidditch to new audiences. The first step for the "convention marketing campaign" is to select conventions where Quidditch can be a big hit. The IQA is always looking for new prospective players and supporters, and it's important to make sure we're reaching out to the right people. Then, it comes down to conversing with convention directors and organizers to get Quidditch into programming. Programming can include presentations, exhibition matches, tabling or tutorials/scrimmages. Once the plans are negotiated and set in stone, it's time to promote the convention event and recruit volunteers and players to make everything happen. Although planning can be tough (taking as much as six months or so prior to each event), it's definitely worth it.

K. Mudgway: 2011 has rightfully been dubbed the “Year of Conventions” here at the IQA. How do you think our presence at the C2E2 will help us move forward? What other events do we have in store for this year?

K. Moy: 2011 is definitely a big convention year, and we're all very excited about it! Having C2E2 in Chicago as our first convention appearance is absolutely huge because it's a convention that a lot of people know about. Bringing Quidditch into popular culture of comics, movies, anime, toys, television and video games will be quite interesting since we'll be meeting a whole different crowd than we're used to and engaging them into a magical game. I think conventions like C2E2 can only help the IQA since we'll be promoting our organization alongside some big names. Most importantly, we'll be teaching and showing people what we know about the growing phenomenon of Quidditch. Our next stop will be at Aeternitas in New Hampshire, where I'm currently working hard with the convention staff to organize a presentation about how to create and maintain a Quidditch team, followed by a Quidditch Wizarding class (tutorial). We're also hoping to make other convention appearances at Comicpalooza in Texas, LeakyCon in Florida and NYC Comic Con in New York, so keep an

eye out for those events soon!

K. Mudgway: In regards to the demonstrations, meet and greets and such, what do you hope people will grasp from having this type of experience?

K. Moy: Out of this convention, I'm hoping that people will be able to appreciate the magical sport we've been able to adapt from J.K. Rowling's inspirational book series. It has taken time to get to where the IQA is now, and we just want to share the whole Quidditch experience with more people (and prove that it's possible to play with brooms). C2E2 will definitely draw a lot of attention since we will be having someone speak with convention attendees about IQA history, as well as two college teams facing playing an exhibition match and pick-up games where attendees can learn to play. Our IQA reps and players will be able to explain the rules of the game and help out new players. We just want to talk to new people and have a good time!

K. Mudgway: For those that are planning to go the convention, do you have any advice about lodging, transportation, ect.?

K. Moy: Going to a convention can cost a bit of money, so make sure you know how long you'll want to stay. The date is coming fast for C2E2, but the convention offers day passes and full registration tickets. For lodging, booking a hotel is one option (maybe for the exhibition teams). If you do know someone in the Chicago area, ask them if they're willing to let you crash at their place for a couple of nights. Transportation comes down to airplane, train or car. I personally recommend taking a car if you're close to Chicago and if you're travelling with a group of people. If you're coming from quite a fair distance, take the airplane (Jetblue has really good rates).

K. Mudgway: Besides our Quidditch bit, is there anything else at the convention you personally are looking forward to seeing?

K. Moy: While I won't be able to attend the convention myself, I am just glad that I've been part of this whole planning process. It has been a great experience to work with IQA staff and players all over the U.S., and do something that hasn't been done before. Our very first convention appearance was at Infinitus 2010 in Florida, which I repped for. Since then, bringing Quidditch to conventions has caught on, and I hope it'll catch on for the years to come. n

It’s the “Year of Conventions” here at the IQA and we’re starting the adventure in Chicago at the 2011 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2). From the creators of the famous New York Comic Con, the C2E2 is a convention spanning the latest and greatest from the worlds of comics, movies, television, toys, anime, manga and

video games. It’s going to be held at the West Building at McCormick Place located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive and will span the weekend of March 18-20. For more information, head over to www.c2e2.com.

By Kathryn Mudgway

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The IQA’s Year of Conventions

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The IQA’s Year of ConventionsDear Blonde Starbucks Barista at the Tapo Canyon location in Simi Valley, CA,

I’m sorry. You, innocently brewing, frothing, and blending delicious overpriced beverages, had no idea what that sunny February day had in store for you. As I drank my pumpkin spice latte, you surely couldn’t help but overhear the conversation which accompanied it and I shudder to think what you must have assumed. There you were, as I discussed the year of cons ahead. My organization, the IQA (The Immoral, Qualified Assassins? The International Quickfingered Association? The Insolent Quislings of America? The Indigent and Quixotic Antiheroes?), would be traveling the country this summer to engage in who knows what sort of nefarious deeds. The conversation turned, you assumed, to enforcers, as we discussed the best way to beat people. We discussed those problematic snitches, and how best to keep them in check. We even dreamed that our influence might sweep the world. I’m honestly surprised, and a bit disappointed, that though you clearly knew so many good Q words, and made such a mean latte, you hadn’t heard of Quidditch. How have you not read Harry Potter by now, Blonde Barista?

As we continued talking, I certainly hope you continued listening. While you stocked the scones, you discovered that the International Quidditch Association is taking their magical sport on the road to five conventions this summer. Oh, the relief you must have felt! Our blessedly non-criminal dealings would take the IQA to three Muggle conventions: Chicago Comic Con and Entertainment Expo, Comicpalooza in Houston, TX, and New York Comic Con, and two wizarding ones: Aeternitas in Laconia, NH, and LeakyCon in Orlando, FL. The IQA would be doing a panel, an exhibition match for existing teams, and open scrimmages for attendees at each convention.

But why, Grande Pumpkin Spice, I can almost hear you asking, why so many? Alas, Kristina Moy, IQA Conventions Representative, was not there that day to answer your burning question. “This year, we wanted to make appearances at more conventions to market Quidditch to new audiences,” Kristina told me in a depressingly decaffeinated environment. Conventions are a great place to not just showcase the sport outside of YouTube, but also to give people the opportunity to “actually talk to those who have played and organized Quidditch events in person.” The IQA sees future fans and players at all cons, not just Harry Potter ones. “Quidditch has already become a part of our popular culture, so it makes sense to reach out to those who are interested in what’s big today.”

The implications cannot be lost on you, Blonde Barista. Quidditch events at conventions expose our growing sport to new fans, and give them the immediate opportunity to pick up a broom and try it. While these exhibitions are great from the IQA’s perspective, they also benefit the conventions themselves. According to Amanda Burke, “the IQA is a great example of what Aeternitas is all about.” They sought examples of fan creativity and participation, and the IQA fit that bill to a tee. As convention organizers increasingly seek out the IQA, the league’s profile grows, and more future captains see the game and go home with hoop dreams.

Dare I assume that this sentiment is all too familiar, like the strong smell of fresh Pike Place Roast? Dare we face the fact that the Starbucks Sirens Quidditch Club is percolating in your mind even as we speak? Yours is a familiar story, Blonde Barista, and you are certainly not alone. You are in the company of future con attendees across the country, and all that remains is to add sugar and drink deep. I remain sorry for the confusion, but I must confess your newfound love of Quidditch may outweigh my lingering concern. I’m sure we’ll be able to discuss it on the pitch soon. Oh, and thanks for spelling my name right on the cup!

Warmest Regards,Harrison Homel

|| art by Medium as Muse

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WORLD CUP 2011NEW YORK CITY

Randall's IslandNovember 12 - 13


ANNOUNCEMENTN E W S


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Randall's Island is in the most populated metropolitan area in the U.S, making it more accessible to spectators than any other location in the country. It is equally accessible to three of the five boroughs of New York City, and just a few blocks away from the 125th street Metro North train station, allowing for easy access for visitors from upstate New York and Connecticut.

The water surrounding Randall's Island removes the event site from the city and places the World Cup in a lusher, greener setting. The vast field space is complemented by a clear view of the Manhattan skyline that can only be enjoyed from the city's edge.

Randall’s Island is roughly two square kilometers in size, situated on the East River between upper Manhattan, Queens, and the south Bronx. It is considered to be part of Manhattan and is managed by the RISF (Randall’s Island Sports Foundation). It is primarily a sports and events site, with over 66 sports fields, a large event space that hosts the annual summer concert Rock the Bells, and Icahn Stadium, a brand-new, state-of-the-art track stadium, home to Usain Bolt’s 100m record in 2008.

By bringing the World Cup back to New York City, we have more event details and local contacts already in place, allowing us to focus more resources on refereeing, scheduling, event management, and recruitment of snitches and volunteers. Additionally, the event is being planned a further six months in advance (nine months planning) which is a 200 per cent increase over the 2010 event.

Furthermore, we can expect an increase in spectators and a similar degree of media coverage, which are all necessary to improving the event and furthering widespread interest in the sport.

Teams registering for World Cup 2011 will be able to self-select into Division 1 or Division 2 based upon their judgment of their own level of experience and ambitions for the tournament. Both divisions are competitive but it is expected that more experienced teams (and any team aiming to be the #1 World Cup Champion) will select Division 1. Each division will run a separate bracket and have separate championship matches. Division 1 teams will play on the Finals Field for semi-finals and the championship match, while Division 2 teams will have just one championship match in the finals area (semi-finals will be played in the main event space).

Location

Second-year advantage

Divisons

Ticket Sales

Team RegistrationMarch 15: EARLY REGISTRATION (for official members only)

April 8: Official event page launchOpen registration for all teams

Note on registration: The event cap is tentatively set at 80 teams. With close to 60 official member teams, we anticipate that the list will fill up fairly quickly. This is not a final list (final registration will end in the fall), but in order to reserve a spot you must register now.

Don't get locked out, become an Official Member and enjoy early registration!

Tickets will go on sale April 8.

Admission will be free for children and discounted for students.

Options will include one or both days, VIP, and reserved seating for finals matches.

Further details will be posted on our website.

Read more on our website: www.internationalquidditch.org/worldcup.html

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Recent GamesVirginia Commonwealth University vs. James Madison University

Sunday, Feb. 27. This was James Madison University's first ever game against another school. There was an

audience of about 50 people. Some players from other schools even came out to watch the match as well.

The first match went pretty well for both sides. JMU had a player injure his knee towards the end, but it didn't seem to affect their game. The final score was 70-0 in favor of Virginai Commonwealth University. The Snitch was caught by the VCU seeker.

The second match started off strong since both teams had become accustomed to each other's playing style. VCU started it off with a quick few goals before the snitch returned to the field. Both seekers fought very hard to snatch the snitch. JMU attempted a few goals, barely missing. The snitch was finally

caught by the JMU seeker making the final score 100-30 in favor of VCU.

The mixed teams game was against the Marauders and the Badassalisks (we loved the NY team so much that we adopted their name). The Marauders made a quick lead of 30-0 but the Badassalisks made two goals before the snitch was on field. The snitch was throwing seekers left and right until finally he was caught by the Marauders ending the game and making the final score 60-20 in favor of the Marauders.

A fun fact about the game: One player on VCU's team dates a player on the JMU team. Pierson (VCU) dates Brooke (JMU). Brooke graduated from VCU last year and went to JMU for grad school. They once played together but now are pitted against each other! n

By Troy Stanford

A VCU Beater. || Photos byJoecylyn Bowman

New York University vs. the New York Badassilisks

A NYU Chaser attempts to score. || Photos byJonathan Rosenthal

On Feb. 19, New York teams New York University and the New York Badassilisks played two games at

(look familiar?) DeWitt Clinton Park.The first game was 50-50, with the

second going 50-40 to NYU. The New York Badassilisks are a

community team whose members are part of the NYC Harry Potter Meetup group. They played at the 2010 World Cup along with NYU. n


By Alicia Radford

Putting the "I" in IQAIn the first intercontinental, transatlantic Quidditch matches in history, the Finnish Vaasa Centaurs went on a whirlwind tour of the Northeast, playing at Vassar College, Harvard University and Stony Brook University.

F

ebruary 16, 2011. poughkeepsie, Ny – Vassar College, participants in the first intercollegiate Quidditch match

ever, made history again when they hosted the first ever intercontinental (and first transatlantic) Quidditch match in history versus the University of Vaasa from Finland. The match ended strongly in Vassar’s favor, 110 - 20, with their team showing effective outside shooting. Vaasa exemplified a clean passing game, keeping their tempo in check by regrouping after each Vassar score and starting the offense on their own terms, which also denied the Vassar team of developing a rhythm. However, the tactic could not hold up to Vassar’s offense, especially by Pablo Arenas who led the scoring.

The Finland team, just seven players strong (and suitably outnumbered by Vassar, who had a much deeper bench) was lead by captain Alberto ‘Beto’ Guzman Abundes. His team, composed of members of the University of Vaasa's Model United Nations (MUN) team, was in the U.S. for Harvard's MUN conference. Allegedly, their team formed after learning about Harvard’s Quidditch team while preparing for the conference, and they decided to take advantage of their time on the East Coast to tour the area and play against teams everywhere.

As usual for Quidditch, and especially with Vassar, the tone of the game was extremely gracious and joyful. The 50-or-so spectators were very welcoming to the Finnish team and as the Finns fell behind in

points, the Vassar players on the sidelines began to cheer for them. “Let’s go Finland!” shouted Vassar player Michelle Cantos. After the match ended, the players split up onto geographically mixed teams, with Finns playing alongside their American counterparts, and a furious scrimmage match ended in a 60 - 20 win for the “capes” team over the “no capes” team. All players lined up to shake hands at the end of both matches, although handshakes quickly evolved to hugs all around. Both teams received certificates as proof of their participation in this historic match, and then split ways to go shower, start studying, or in some cases, start partying. “We’ve got vodka!” exclaimed the Finnish captain Abundes on his way out of the arena. n

Vaasa at Vaasar College By Alex Benepe



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February 20, 2011. Harvard University, MA – With Quidditch being a relatively young sport, there have been a lot of

“firsts” in recent years: the first intercollegiate game, the first World Cup in New York City, and in February 2011, the first transatlantic Quidditch match. After a tournament against Vassar in Poughkeepsie, NY, Vaasa, a conglomerate of three Finnish universities (Åbo Akademia, University of Vaasa, and Hanken) traveled to Cambridge, MA to play some of Boston’s best Quidditch clubs: Harvard University, Boston University, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Emerson College.

Vaasa was able to travel stateside due to a Model UN debate at Harvard, and it was only because of this tournament that they learned about Quidditch and the IQA. While researching their stateside host, Alberto “Beto” Guzman found an online video of the Harvard Quidditch team and immediately shared his discovery with his debate team. With further investigation, they learned there were many more teams and even an international organization, and decided to form a team of their own.

Abby Koff, Harvard captain and tournament organizer, said the Vaasa students contacted her about playing a few games while they were in Boston, and of course they were very excited to have them. Will some help from the IQA, the event snowballed into a week-long Quidditch tour of the Northeast.

Commissioner Alex Benepe was in attendance, donning his conspicuous suit, top hat, and cane.

“The IQA is finally living up to our name,” he said, adding that he hopes the presence of the Finnish team will make the game more well known in other parts of the world.

UMass captain Christopher Chan put it best, calling the event a Quidditch milestone. “It’s great that we get to be a part of Quidditch history,” he said.

Chan wasn’t alone in this sentiment, either. Players from all teams were thrilled to participate in this unique event. Emerson’s coach Gabe Fremuth likened the matches to a celebrity golf tournament, with inter-league camaraderie and a mutual appreciation for

the game being of higher value than winning records and point differentials.

The Boston-area teams were eager to get back on the pitch, many not having played since the World Cup in November. And while there was some curiosity to scope out local competitors, especially Tufts after their second-place finish in New York, the real aim was for each team to face Vaasa. Though they only had seven players and five games to play, with some help from the other squads they were able to make a fine showing on the chilly, windy pitch.

The first game was Harvard versus Vaasa, with some help from a few Emerson players. While not as fast-paced and aggressive as traditional World Cup play, both teams performed well. This being Vaasa’s second official game ever made their level of play that much more impressive, their excited Finnish calls to teammates from the sidelines adding an air of mystery to their strategy. The game ended after fifteen minutes with Harvard catching the snitch, making the final score 70-30 Harvard. Instead of the traditional post-game handshakes, the two teams exchanged hugs.

The snitch for this first match was BU’s John Blackler, known by many as

“Bootylicious,” a nickname he earned after wearing yellow spandex with the slogan written across his behind. He called the game a nice warm-up match, though he admitted he wasn’t caught until he pulled both his arms out of his sleeves and began hopping on one foot.

“One Vaasa player told me I was a master,” he said. “That’s one of the best compliments you can get as a snitch.”

Vaasa faced Tufts in the second match, in which the new snitch got a little creative with his surroundings. Mid-game, he hid behind a pile of plowed snow and chucked snowballs at the seekers as they looked on helplessly. Eventually they started batting away the barrage of snowbombs with their brooms, but once the snitch ran back on the field with a full arsenal, there was little they could do. The match ended in just over 10 minutes with Tufts winning 100-10.

To give the Vaasa players a much-needed break, the Boston-area teams participated in what Abby Koff called “the biggest Quidditch game in history”: 14 on 14, with two of each position and two of each ball. The game was utter chaos, with the only way to tell who was on what team was to note which direction they were running. Chasers ran the ball as far as they could on their own hoping their

Boston-area teams face Finland By Abbie Rickard

An Emerson chaser breaks away with the Quaffle. Opposite: Group pic. || Photos by Rebecca Smith


teammates would recover possession, and beaters bludged anything that moved. BU/UMass/Emerson just barely beat Tufts/Harvard/Emerson 100-80, with each team grabbing one of the two snitches.

As the sun went down on the field and the lights were turned on overhead, Vaasa rejoined the tournament for the final three matches against BU, Emerson, and UMass. While they lost to both BU and Emerson in 10 minutes or less, they claimed their first victory and first snitch grab of the day in their final game against UMass.

Mariana Gonzalez Correia of Vaasa

said the team members are all very new to Quidditch and playing in these tournaments has been a great learning experience. She and her teammates express how impressed they are with all the teams’ play.

“We held a small tournament in Vaasa,” she said, “but it was nothing like this.”

Like many people who learn about the magic of Quidditch, team members are eager to show the pictures and videos to their friends at home, and hope they can spread Quidditch more throughout Finland.

“They don’t have this in Helsinki!” one Vaasa player added.

One of the most common descriptions about the tournament was that it was “cool,” and they weren’t just talking about the weather (because believe me, cool is an understatement — it was downright cold). And though the New England winter and remote field location deterred some spectators, the energy level was high on the field. Teams cheered on other teams, players exchanged hugs and congratulations. Beto Guzman insisted the rematches should take place in Finland, and as long as they bring me along to cover the games, no argument here. n

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Vaasa tour ends at Stony Brook By Laurie Beckoff

February 22, 2011, Stony Brook University, NY – Temperatures below freezing and a couple of inches of snow on the ground

couldn't deter Stony Brook University and the Vaasa Centaurs from playing a few good matches on February 22. (It was probably nothing to the Finnish team, who are used to playing in much worse conditions.) A sizable crowd came out to watch as Stony Brook won

both games. Spectators ranged from Stony Brook students to locals to media outlets. They stationing themselves around the pitch, on the balcony and stairs across the field, and inside the nearest building between matches.

Snitch Ethan Giventer, who was at the World Cup, made snow angels and sat down with some spectators, but the Stony Brook seeker, who played along by laying down on

the snow with the snitch, eventually made a successful snatch. The opposing teams displayed great sportsmanship, relaxing together on breaks, swapping team shirts, and discussing the lack of dodgeball in Finland. It was a fun end to Vaasa's American tour, and hopefully their visit will set a precedent for future intercontinental matches. n

Stony Brook poised to take possession of the Quaffle. || Photo by James Carbone, Newsday


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Vaasa's TourClockwise: UMass tries to shut down a Tufts pass. A Tufts beater sprints to the action. Snitch Ian Heller goes incognito at the Vaasa match at Vassar. || First two photos by Rebecca Smith. Bottom right photo by Alex Benepe.


Team SpotlightsQuidditch flies into Westlake High

Their first meeting drew over 150 students. They already have their own display case in a school

hallway. They’ve only been around since the fall, but the Westlake Quidditch Club is ready to get down to business.

Quidditch came to Westlake High School in Westlake, OH, around the time of the fourth annual Quidditch World Cup in November. Enthusiasm for the club spread quickly – and in the time leading up to tryouts, the organization and fundraising brigade is in full swing.

“We’re still working on getting all the equipment to be able to play properly, but I love that a ‘magical’ sport has been adapted to us Muggles,” said Zachary Gross, senior and president of the club. He noted that Quidditch has always been his favorite part of the Harry Potter series. Gross also serves as a captain, along with club vice president Sheldon Stuckart.

Other club members are equally excited. Freshman Apshara Ravichandran said, “The best part of the day they announced Quidditch Club was telling all of my out-of-state friends that I play Quidditch. ‘Yeah, Grace, I know you live in New Zealand, but I play Quidditch.’ They get pretty jealous.”

To some faculty, the Westlake Quidditch craze is puzzling.

“I’ve had mixed reactions from colleagues,” said Kimberly Cerrito, the club’s faculty advisor. While some are supportive, she said, “others think it’s a joke or find it a bit ridiculous.”

But nothing is stopping the Quidditch Club from moving forward. In addition to having weekly meetings, the club keeps itself organized online. Its Facebook group page is abuzz with wall posts and fundraising ideas.

“Raising the funds has been a bit difficult currently,” said Stuckart. “In the

later future, we will hold a raffle for a prized broomstick and maybe even hold our very own little Yule Ball during our Triwizard Tournament.”

As seniors, both Stuckart and Gross lament the fact that they won’t be a part

of the club’s future progress. However, they have high hopes for their successors.

“If the club is successful at improving each year, maybe someday they will be able to reach the World Cup,” said Stuckart. “I believe we have the potential for it. It will take hard work, patience,

dedication, and passion, which we all do possess.”

Gross added, “I am so proud, excited, and eager to be captain of this club. It’s full of such great people, and we’re going to have so much fun.”

Freshman club member Niki Radish summed up the club’s eagerness to start playing. “I’ve gone through the rulebook so many times, and each time, I get more and more excited to play…if I can’t go to Hogwarts, at least I can play Quidditch!” n

By Rebecca Seidel

Some members of Westlake Quidditch gather in front of a Quidditch display. || Provided

“I’ve gone through the rulebook so many times, and each time, I get more and more excited to play…if I can’t go to Hogwarts, at least I can play Quidditch!

— Niki radish,

Westlake Quidditch club member


T E A M S P O T L I G H T S


Once a week, Guzel Galieva takes a break from her work and heads to the local firehouse. There, in

the heart of the sports capital of Russia, she captains a group of muggle Quidditch players.

Players run about the hall on brooms, whipping about dodgeballs and throwing volleyballs through hoops made from a melted down iron gate. The players call themselves the Zilants, after the legendary dragon/snake hybrid that has been the official symbol of their city for centuries.

The team from Kazan, Russia has been practicing since October 2010. Galieva started the team after discovering online videos of American college students playing the sport.

“I was honestly in shock that people played Quidditch, that it wasn’t a dream

or a fairy tale but something that actually happened,” Galieva said in a Russian interview translated to English.

Quidditch has been played in Russia for years but Galieva is the first person in the country to promote the rules used by the International Quidditch Association. Other interpretations of the game resemble handball and do not involve brooms.

Galieva became determined to bring the American sport to Russia. She spoke with members of the city’s Harry Potter fan club about forming a team. Most people, she said, did not share her enthusiasm about Quidditch and were reluctant to be a part of such a novel sport.

“They’re scared of new things,” Galieva said. “My friends kind of laugh at me.”

Galieva was eventually able to build two teams of seven people. Players range in age from school children to university graduates like Galieva. The majority of team members are female because most guys, Galieva said, are “deathly self-conscious.”

But those who do play love the sport. Many would like to practice more than once a week but the team cannot afford it. During Kazan’s harsh winters, players pool their money to rent playing space. Galieva said she would like to find sponsors for the team but doing this requires registering the

team with the government. This is both time-consuming and expensive and not something Galieva plans to tackle right away.

What is on the forefront of the team’s agenda is translating the IQA rulebook to Russian. One of the girls on the team has been working on a translation but so far the process has been slow. At the moment, players with a stronger grasp of English read the rules and explain them to their peers.

Galieva said she would eventually like to see the team practicing and playing more. Kazan, she said, has produced a number of champions in various sports and she would love to see players compete in a World Cup. But the team still has a lot of fund raising ahead of it before this dream becomes a reality. n

Russian Quidditch team dreams of World CupBy Andrea Hill

Interview translation by Ruby Pratka

Left: The Zilants practicing in a local fire hall. Right: The legendary Zilant after which the team is named. || Provided



The University of Oregon Muggle Quidditch League was conceived by Charmaine

Ng in fall 2009 and became a reality in January 2010, but if one looks at pictures from practices, there’s something different: no brooms. The team has struggled financially, with most expenses coming straight out of the captain’s pockets, though, like many teams, bake sales have proven to be a successful method of fundraising. Also, Quidditch was new to everyone when the team first began, so players worked on getting a hang of the game without brooms first. They weren’t very comfortable when they tried brooms last fall, but slowly grew fonder of the idea and recently had a full practice with brooms. There weren’t enough brooms and some of

them weren’t quite fit for Quidditch, but the team is getting accustomed to using them and plans for their next fundraiser to go towards standardizing brooms.

With or without brooms, UO practices every Saturday at noon for an hour and an half to two hours on Gerlinger Lawn, which is adjacent to the cemetery on campus. The team is small, with about 10 to 15 players, but many students are attracted while walking past a practice and stop to watch, take pictures, or even join in the game. Quidditch has been the focus of a number of class projects and short documentaries on campus, but lacks recognition from the administration.

Despite these challenges, UO was able to organize a tournament last spring for students from their school

and Lane Community College, which spread the word about Quidditch and connected student groups. Team members doubt that they will be able to attend the Western Regional Tournament, but would like to play closer teams next year, such as the University of Washington, and eventually make their way to a tournament.

Ng aims to create a comfortable community with the Quidditch team. She has devised questions to break the ice with new members such as, “Which Harry Potter character would you most like to make out with?” and in the spring the team takes trips over to the local ice cream shop. Unfortunately, they still won’t be able to fly there once they get their broomsticks, but they can try. n

By Laurie Beckoff

Flying high — without broomsticks

University of Oregon Quidditch players. || Photo by Molly Hart


F E A T U R E S



F E A T U R E S


Putting Quidditchon the map

|| Graphic by Kati Polaski

Hundreds of colleges and high schools play Quidditch in North America and beyond... does yours?

Features

The tip ofthe iceberg

We‘ve come a long way, but we‘re still just looking at the tip of the iceberg. The IQA is growing at the rate of twenty new teams per week and that rate is only accelerating. The last Harry Potter movie will not be the end of the IQA; it won‘t even slow us down. Real-life Quidditch, once described as a ‘passing fad’ by ill-informed cynics, is here to stay.

“” — Alex Benepe

F E A T U R E S


F E A T U R E S

With the first three years of international (and now transatlantic) Quidditch behind us, the IQA is experiencing burgeoning

development in every area of the sport, from a national referee training program to conferences to stat-tracking sportswriters.

T H E T I P O F T H E I C E B E R G

The finals bracket at World Cup 2010 || Photo by Jamie Kiernan


Jared Kowalczyk, gamplay director for the IQA and an Emerson College senior spending his last semester on film sets in

Los Angeles, gets visibly animated when he starts talking about the upcoming spring and summer. After a grueling World Cup 2010 experience running the tournament on a few hours' sleep with too few staff and trained referees, Kowalczyk has lost no time planning to make sure that 2011 is different.

“During the World Cup, Chris Beesley [a head ref] and I saw what Quidditch can do with referees,” Kowalczyk said. “We started brainstorming about referee workshops. From there we took a step back and asked, 'what we can do for the whole organization?'” They came up with the idea to create a separate committee to oversee referee training and certification. At the same time, Cameron Kim, a Duke freshman, certified United States Soccer Federation referee and member of the IQA Rulebook Council, approached Alex Benepe with a detailed proposal for a national referee program.

The first step to launching a successful referee training program is a handbook. “We’re developing a referee official guide to

basically teach people how to be referees,” Kowalczyk said. “The rules as they stand rely on good officiating, so we need to get official and make a separate docment and system to train people to become good referees.”

That document will explain the rulebook from a referee's point of view, listing different scenarios and how to handle them. It will include official hand signals and match procedures so that referees are better at communication and players know what to expect.

As membership in the IQA continues to grow and the World Cup and other tournaments bring together players from all over the world, most of whom have never played each other before, uniformity is important. Cameron Kim elaborates, “one of the admirable qualities of the FIFA Laws of the Game is that due to uniform training, I have the potential to officiate with a referee from Europe or Asia who may speak a different language, but the laws, signals, and mechanics of a match are the same.”

A tentative release date for the first version of the referee guidebook has been set for May or June, which means that over

the summer the IQA will be hosting its first referee workshops.

“Over the course of the summer and fall, in addition to doing videos to help referees and also small workshops, we would love to do one big weekend-long workshop,” Kowalczyk said, getting excited again, “where one day is spent in the classroom, going through the book, and referees from other sports come in and talk about what it means to be a referee, and the next day host a tournament for referees to practice in.”

While the structure of the referee program is not yet set, Kowalczyk envisions a national-level committee and at least one fully-trained "head ref" in each region, who will become the point person in his or her area to train local referees, answer questions and deal with disputes.

At the same time that the referee committee is drafting the referee guidebook, the twelve individuals on the IQA Rulebook council are working hard on the next version of the rulebook, 5.0.

“This year we’re really able to focus on the details and get our hands dirty,” Kowalczyk said about the rulebook. “Last fall we were

Referee Training Program + Rulebook 5.0

A head referee atWorld Cup 2009

By Alicia Radford




T he International Quidditch Association’s first conference games will be played this spring in the northeast United States.

The games will mark an important step in the development of the sport.

“It would definitely increase the competitiveness of the league and drive teams to become better,” said Jared Kowalczyk, Gameplay Director for the IQA. He said that conferences have to potential to benefit both players and fans by providing a ranking system and a more structured schedule.

Ideally, he said conferences would be structured and run like those seen in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Teams would be ranked based on their performance within the conference and a champion would be determined based on success in a conference tournament.

The IQA’s first conference will be overseen by Connor Loch, president of Big East Quidditch. Seven teams, including one community team, are part of the conference.Conferences are something Loch said he has been excited about for some time.

“I really see these conferences for added fun,” Loch said. He added that they could help Quidditch teams by increasing opportunities for local competition while keeping travel costs low.

Loch said that teams in conferences should not have to travel more than four hours to play another team. This way, players only need to take a day trip and don’t need to worry about finding and paying for accommodations. By working together, teams farthest apart could also arrange to meet for tri-meets on the turf of another team midway between them. That way, instead of having one team travel several hours, teams could travel half the time to play against multiple teams.

A minimum of five teams could form a conference and Loch says he does not want to set a cap on the number of teams able to compete. The only criteria for teams would be a commitment to the conference.

“We don’t want to exclusionary,” Loch said. “But we’re worried about teams that just don’t have the money to play.”

Because teams would need to commit to playing at least one game a month, travel costs could be considerable for teams on the outskirts of a conference. Loch said these teams should consider forming their own conference for local teams.

Loch said he would like the conference’s first games to start around the end of February or beginning of March. Teams would play until the end of the school semester in April. Results from the season’s games would be used to rank all teams. Teams could then play informally against each other over the summer.

The northeast is the obvious location for the IQA’s first conference because it boasts the highest concentration of active Quidditch teams. Presently, the IQA recognizes six regions: Northeast, Midwest, West, Southwest, South and Canada.

Though it may be challenging to build a Quidditch conference in a region where there is less interest in the sport, Kowalczyk said all regions have the potential to organize successful conferences.

“With strong leadership and enthusiasm, there's no reason why an particular region can't benefit or thrive as a conference,” he said.

Other Quidditch enthusiasts are coming up with alternatives to conferences.

Hannah Lindgren from the Ball State Quidditch team and Karla Bentcover from the Purdue University Quidditch team are working to organize the Midwest Regional tournament in October. Lindgren said this large regional tournament is an alternative to conferences. The idea is for many teams in the region to make one big travelling commitment to face off against the region’s other teams.

“We don't believe that it would be feasible right now to have a ranking system or bracket system in the Midwest because the schools are so widespread,” Lindgren said. “Having the one giant Regional Tournament is much more realistic because it is a tournament in one central location that you need not have any prior competitive experience to attend.”

Information about the first conference games and regional tournaments will be available through the IQA website. n

Conferences: the future of the IQA?

By Andrea Hill

trying to get everything down on paper so we could reference it, but now we’re trying to flesh everything out and think of every situation so there’s a rule written for everything.” He stressed that they're not making any huge changes — “nothing crazy, just a lot of clarification and tightning up loose ends.”

Version 5.0 is scheduled to be released in mid-summer, giving teams ample time to practice with it in time for fall regionals and the World Cup. n

Pennsylvania State University Yale University Stony Brook University Villanova University New York University Vassar College Delaware Valley Dragons

Big East Quidditch teams

Harvard University Emerson College Tufts University Boston University University of Massachusetts Amherst

Northeast Quidditch teams


Did anyone else totally geek out hen they read the World Cup 2010 Final Rankings spreadsheet? Seeing winning percentages, points per game, point differentials … it opens up a whole new way to

analyze Quidditch. The rankings are the beginning of something that I think will take Quidditch to the next level as a sport: statistics.

Do you ever wonder how many career goals you’ve scored, what your accuracy is with a bludger, or what your keeper save percentage is? Someday, we’ll have all these statistics and more that we can look up. We’ll be able to keep track of game, season and career stats for individuals and teams, and there will be leaderboards for all these categories. Hold on though, I’m getting ahead of myself … it might be a long time before we can keep World Cup statistics in that level of detail, but the 2010 Team Rankings are a great first step.

Anyone and everyone should feel free to try statistics out at their school, that is, if you have people willing to put the effort in. Grab a camera and record games from a wide angle, then look through the video for anything you can record as a stat: goals, shots, assists, steals, tackles, beats, beat attempts, saves, penalties, forced fumbles, and whatever else you might see. Use them to scout talent, track career records, or … Fantasy Quidditch, anyone?

But for now, feast your number-hungry minds on the stats we have. You all can and should take a look at the 2010 World Cup Rankings: from the IQA site, click the “News” tab, and you’ll see “World Cup Final Rankings.” Click “read more…” and at the bottom of the article, there will be a link to the stat sheet. Now there are over 500 different numbers to sift through on that one page, so I’m gonna go ahead and pick out the good stuff for you. Let’s start with the basics.

It looks like the old sports cliché of “defense wins championships”

applies to Quidditch too. High-ranked defenses fared much better overall than high-ranked offenses. Although these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt: with no time limit, the offensive and defensive stats get very skewed. Middlebury’s and Pittsburgh’s presence on both lists show an elite level of balance between both offense and defense, which is why you’ll find them on the next list: point differential. I would say it’s the most telling stat of the 2010 final rankings.

This stat basically tells us the single-game average margin of victory for a team in World Cup—basically, if all of their games had the same score, how much would they have won by (or lost by if they had a negative point differential).

As comprehensive a stat as point differential per game is, I’m going to say say that it’s not good enough. There’s one more big factor in play here, and that’s schedule difficulty. With such a wide range of experience and intensity among the teams, and only three games in the Saturday pool round, there was a lot of disparity in terms of each team’s schedule difficulty — how tough were those other three teams that each team played. Alright, are you ready for some math? The best way we can measure schedule difficulty is to add up the point differential per game of each team they played, and divide that by the number of games the original team played. That gives us the average point differential of all of a team’s opponents. For any team, the higher that number is, the stronger its opposing teams were, and the more difficult their schedule was. Adding that average opponent point differential to a team’s point differential per game gives an adjusted point differential. This number shows a team’s performance combined with its schedule difficulty, giving the best number we can come up with to show how good each team’s overall performance was, aside from wins and losses. It boils down to mean the number of points a team would win by against a team in the exact middle of the pack (theoretically with a .500 winning percentage and a point differential of 0— exactly where UMass Amherst ended up in the 2010 World Cup). So, here are the teams

2010 World Cup StatsBy Dan Hanson (Keeper #9, Emerson)

Top 5 Point Differential Point Diff/Game1. (1) Middlebury 87.142. (15) Texas A&M 863. (3) Pittsburgh 74.294. (8) Tom’s River 52.55. (5) Emerson 505. (6) Louisiana State 50

Top 5 Offenses Points/Game 1. (15) Texas A&M 120 2. (1) Middlebury 108.57 3. (3) Pittsburgh 100 3. (8) Tom’s River 100 5. (26) Lenox Memorial HS 93.33

Top 5 Defenses Pts Allowed/Game1. (1) Middlebury 21.422. (3) Pittsburgh 25.713. (5) Emerson 264. (10) U of Rochester 27.55. (13) Ives Pond 28.33

World Cup 2010 Top 5 Defenses and Offenses

F E A T U R E S

World Cup 2010 Top 5 Point Differentials


F E A T U R E S


Top 10 Point Differential Point Diff/Game Opp. Point Diff/Game Adjusted Point Diff1. (1) Middlebury 87.14 -7.39 79.752. (15) Texas A&M 86 -5 813. (3) Pittsburgh 74.29 -7.06 67.234. (8) Tom’s River 52.5 -41.25 11.255. (5) Emerson 50 26.3 76.35. (6) Louisiana State 50 -34.48 15.527. (2) Tufts 45 12.05 57.058. (16) McGill 38 -13.1 24.99. (4) Vassar 36.25 21.49 57.74 10. (9) Chestnut Hill 30 -5.42 24.58


with the top ten point differentials per game. Let’s see how their adjusted point differentials look when you factor in their schedule difficulties (see chart above).

In the end, clutch teams being able to put together dramatic and impressive wins means more than these numbers, but stats are always interesting to think about. They tell us a lot. Look out for Texas A&M in 2011. They had the best adjusted point differential in the tournament, and were only stopped by two very narrow losses to Emerson. Other than A&M, the top five ranked teams in the final rankings are the top five teams in adjusted point differential. A&M will be right there with Middlebury, Tufts and the rest of 2010’s top finishers as teams to beat in 2011’s World Cup. Not that I should encourage gambling, but … these are the stats that I would use to

decide which teams to put my money on.

With the 2010 World Cup rankings and more detailed team stats like adjusted point differential, we can spread out the skill level of teams for the 2011 World Cup so that schedule difficulties are much more similar for every team. With these stats and the 2011 regional tournaments, we can learn a lot about the skills and styles of other teams. Start scouting now—World Cup '11 is almost halfway here!

If you want me to determine these stats for your school or explain them in more detail, feel free to email me at [email protected]. n

World Cup 2010 Top 10 Adjusted Point Differentials (Schedule Difficulty)


For perspective: World Cup 2008 stats

The 2008 World Cup featured 12 teams playing a double-elimination tournament over the course of one Sunday at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Wins and losses were the only statistics tracked consistently. Teams were asked to report their scores after the tournament had ended, and if either team from a particular match didn't remember, those scores were lost to history.

Amanda Ungco put on her first pair of ballet shoes when she was four years old. Since then she has

trained in tap, jazz, hip hop, modern and aerial silk. Though she may not be planning a career in professional dance, for now she said the sport gives her a sense of identity.

“As a dancer I’m confident in all of what I do,” Ungco said. “I work hard and I get a lot out of it because I put a lot of effort into it.”

Ungco is a senior at Ursuline High School in New Rochelle, NY. Last year, she practiced dance seven days a week. She would head to the gym before class, after class and on the weekends. Though her schedule was busy, Ungco said dance helped make her days better.

“After I come back from a dance class I’m very at peace with myself,” Ungco said. “If I have a bad day or do really poorly on a test and I go to dance I come back and it’s like nothing ever happened.”

Ungco’s favourite type of dance is aerial silk – an art that has her performing aerial acrobatics while suspended from silks hanging from a ceiling. Ungco began taking classes in aerial silk two years ago and has since trained with a number of professional dancers. Last summer she was accepted into a prestigious training program in Vermont headed by renowned circus artists. For a month, she trained 10 hours a day.

Ungco said her dream is to one day work as a circus artist for Cirque du Soleil but she recognizes that it is difficult to make it as competitive dancer. In order for her to train enough to perform with the esteemed circus

group, she would not be able to go to college and this is not a sacrifice she is prepared to make.

The knowledge that she will likely not be a professional dancer does not abate Ungco’s love of the sport. She shares her passion through teaching kids aged four to 14 years elementary ballet. It’s an experience she describes as rewarding.

“It’s great to see them go up there and try it themselves and then feel good about themselves, having accomplished this skill that they didn’t ever think they’d be able to do before,” Ungco said.

Ungco’s love of dance is rivalled only by her love of Quidditch. This year, she cut down her busy training schedule to six days a week to make time for the previously fictitious sport. Ungco founded a team at her school last year after organizing a group to participate in the International Quidditch Association’s exhibition game in Central Park. The team began practicing regularly and was one of three high school teams to compete in the fourth annual Quidditch World Cup this past November.

“It’s a really fun combination of being athletic and creative,” said Ungco, a chaser on the team. She said she plans to play Quidditch at college next year. n

LifestylesAmanda Ungco

Amanda Ungco performing aerial silk. || Provided

By Andrea Hill

The Monthly Seer’s player of the month

The people who play Quidditch are an extraordinary bunch and the Monthly

Seer wants to tell their stories.If you know someone on your team who deserves to be profiled, email Andrea

Hill at [email protected] with the person’s name, team, contact information and a brief explanation of why they deserve to be featured in the Seer.

Who inspires you?


29 March 2011 • The Monthly Seer The Monthly Seer • March 2011 30

L I F E S T Y L E S

Why do you love Quidditch?

Why do you love Quidditch? Is it because you finally get to play the game from your favorite book? Is it because of the victory that you share with your fellow teammates after the fight is over? Or is it the journey that you took to get where you are today? Whatever the reason, we at the Monthly Seer would like to hear about it. The Seer will feature one story each month about why you (the athlete or fan) love Quidditch. Entries should be at most one page single spaced. If you’re interested, please send your entry to kathryn.

[email protected].

}

Why I Love Quidditch

I love Quidditch because it has shown me what all the fuss over team sports is really about. The fun, the camaraderie, the exercise, etc. I now know what "keep your eye on the ball" means. Especially

when one of my teammates isn't. How can I throw the ball to you if you aren't looking at me?

I am an older person playing Quidditch (over 50) and yes, old people can play Quidditch too! We don't use brooms for fear of injury, and we have a no running rule to make it easier on the knees. But we've had falls, spills, twisted ankles (thanks, gopher), etc.

We've also had to make up rules as we go because we didn't have a rulebook. Example — you can't hit the bludger away from you with the quaffle. Of course, we only have one or two players who are coordinated enough to pull off this maneuver — that's why we made the rule. :-)

I was one of those uncoordinated people who couldn't hit, throw, catch or kick well enough to ever be on a school team. Usually the last one chosen for gym games, etc. So, I was amazed to discover that I could play Quidditch. I'm a chaser, sometimes keeper, sometimes I throw a bludger. We choose teams by lining people up by height, then alternating picks — this saves hurt feelings all around.

But I really love Quidditch because no matter if my team wins or loses, I have fun. To run around a field with friends who share my crazy passion, to throw the quaffle towards the hoop and have it go through, or to deflect a really good throw from entering the hoop, to dodge a bludger — Quidditch is the only sport for me. n

By Marie Todd

The Gold Coast Quidditch League started as a result of the parties. This photo

is from Renata Fossett - People - front row - left to right - Renata Fossett, Marie

Todd, Jim Engebretson, Nigel Gomezback row - left to right - Heather Young, Jessie

Peissig (holding Rio Peissig Gomez), Tom Ream, Kelsey LaMarca and Bob Morris.

We're sitting three rows up in a set of bleachers at the Medieval Festival in Fort Tryon Park in New York City. The sun is starting to creep over into our section as it comes closer to noon time.

“I wonder what they’re going to use for a snitch,” my friend Larissa says as we watch the players from the Chestnut Hill and Vassar College’s Muggle Quidditch team run up and down the field, tossing what we assume is the Quaffle back and forth with one hand. After several minutes of wondering why they would be throwing and catching one handed, we hear someone asking if any of the two teams have an extra sock for the snitch. We look at each other skeptically.

“A sock for the snitch?” Larissa asks.“That’s lame,” I add. “How are they going to pull that off?” As the start of the game draws closer, we notice a guy step onto

the field dressed from head to toe in a gold spandex suit, gold swimming cap, and gold shorts. The inquiries about the sock is cleared up when we spy it dangling behind him, the top tucked securely into the rim of his gold shorts. He was crouching in the middle of the field with the quaffle and bludgers, fluttering his arms as if they were wings. The teams were ordered to stand at their goal ends and close their eyes.

“The snitch is released,” the announcer says, and the snitch runs past the players and out of the playing field, and the game begins.

Muggle Quidditch is not a complicated sport. The game consists of scoring goals by throwing the quaffle through three hoops, dodging bludgers, and catching the snitch in order to gain an extra 30 points and win the game. Easy right? Maybe a history lesson is in order.

The first Harry Potter book, and the world’s first taste of Quidditch, came out in 1997. J.K Rowling invented the magical sport when she spent the night at the Bournville Hotel in

uidditch: Not just for wizards

I

’ve never enjoyed playing sports. Sure, when I was a kid I signed up for soccer and T-ball and basketball,

but I’ll admit I was never any good. I was that kid who paid more attention to the random butterfly passing by than what

was going on in the game. After sixth grade I vowed to never join another sports team as long as I lived. I dreaded going to

gym class where I was forced to play whatever sport the teacher decided on. In high school, I purposely signed up for “Track and

Tennis” in gym class because I knew that meant walking around the outside track the entire class period instead of participating

in contact sports. The only time I was ever forced to play was when it rained, and we were stuck inside. Half the time I found a

way to spend the class period sitting on the sidelines instead. I was ecstatic at the thought of leaving high school. I would never

have to worry about being forced to play sports again. I thought sports were finally out of my life forever. Until I watched my

first Muggle Quidditch match.

L I F E S T Y L E S

By Casey Murphy


The snitch at the Medieval Festival at Fort Tryon Park || Photo by Sandy Wood

L I F E S T Y L E S

Didsbury, Manchester. In an interview she said that she “always wanted to see a game where there was more than one ball in play at the same time.” Quidditch uses four different balls during the game. There’s a quaffle, two bludgers, and a golden snitch (also known as the snitch). The quaffle is a red ball the size and weight of a volleyball used to make goals and can only be handled by the chasers and the keeper (goalie). The bludgers are two iron balls bewitched to fly around and knock players off of their brooms. The beaters hit the budgers with miniature bats toward the opposite team in an attempt to knock them off their brooms. Finally, the snitch is a walnut-sized winged ball that the seekers must catch in order to win 150 points and the game. The only time when the game is not won by the team whose seeker catches the Snitch is when the opposing team is more than 150 points ahead. Only the Seeker is allowed to catch the Snitch.

Muggle Quidditch is played similarly to Quidditch, except without all the magical aspects (sorry kids). The names of the balls are all the same, but they are slightly altered to fit the muggle, or non-magical folk, lifestyle. The quaffle is conveniently represented by a volleyball. It can only be handled by the chasers and keeper. The bludgers are represented by three dodgeballs which the beaters throw at the opposite team. If a player is hit with a bludger they must touch one of their goal posts before returning to the field. Only the beaters can handle the bludgers. Since there is no walnut-sized flying object in the muggle world, the only choice was to use a human being. The snitch runner is a person dressed from head to toe in gold. The snitch is a tennis ball placed inside a knee high sock and securely tucked into the rim of a snitch runner’s golden shorts. In order to “catch” the snitch, the seeker must take the sock from the snitch runner. The seeker who catches the snitch wins his or her team an extra 30 points and the game, unless the opposing team is ahead by more than 30 points. In order to tell the players apart they wear colorful headbands: keepers wear green, chasers wear white, beaters wear black, and seekers wear yellow. All players must play with a broom in between their legs, even though they can’t fly.

My first taste of Muggle Quidditch was in 2006, my junior year of high school, when I found an article online about a group who played Water Quidditch, which is Quidditch played in a pool. That year I put together my own Muggle Quidditch game at my birthday party, which no one thought was odd because I was well known at my school for liking Harry Potter. I would wear homemade Harry Potter t-shirts, I read the books about six times each and I even learned to knit so I could make myself a Hogwarts scarf. Wizard Rock (music based off the Harry Potter series and played by bands with names such as Harry and the Potters, the Remus Lupins and the Whomping Willow) was constantly playing from my computer speakers. I was obsessed. The only thing that was missing, that I didn’t even know existed, was Muggle Quidditch. But I wasn’t in the dark for long.

It was pretty warm out for November. Warm enough to walk around DeWitt Clinton Park in New York City with only a light jacket on.

“Are we allowed in there?” Larissa asked as we stared through the fence at the four fields set up for the fourth annual International Quidditch World Cup.

“I think so. I mean, all these people can’t be on a team. Half of

them aren’t even wearing uniforms.” Too excited to care if we got in trouble, we walked through

the opening in the fence and made our way between the fields, weaving in and out of people. In the distance we could read the banners of teams hanging on the fence that encircled the fields: New York University, Penn State University, The Harvard Horntails, Yale University and Vassar College among others.

We found seats at field one and watched the end of Green Mountain College vs. University of Minnesota. Afterward we stayed at that field, choosing which team to cheer for while watching them warm up before the match started. Although this was only the second time we were watching a Muggle Quidditch match, we acted as if we had been loyal fans our whole lives, screaming when our team scored, booing when they didn’t, and yelling at both teams when things weren’t going the way they wanted. And we weren’t the only ones. Two kids sitting next to us were ten times as enthusiastic as we were.

It was at the World Cup that we learned what a brutal sport Muggle Quidditch could be. Players would purposely trip other players and put them in headlocks as they tried to steal the quaffle. One player, who we thought was recruited last minute, would get off his broom, an illegal move in the game of Muggle Quidditch, trying to gain an advantage. Several times I winced as a player was tackled to the ground, terrified their broom would snap in two. But it seemed that only the college teams were this brutal. There were two high school teams, but they seemed to care more about letting each other fairly score points than fighting for the quaffle (the high school game was the highest scoring game: 290 - 170). But the funny part about each game is as we watched we would pay attention to the game until the snitch runner showed up, then the score was forgotten and all we cared about was where the seekers were and who would catch the snitch, which is exactly what would happen in the books. It was as if the books had been brought to life and we were all characters in it.

Looking back at the two times I played Muggle Quidditch, I wish I thought of certain elements and rules that are now staples of the game, such as a snitch runner. It would have made my games a lot easier to play. Instead I made up clues and hid two different snitches painted to represent Hogwarts house colors. The game was officially over when the first seeker found his or her team’s snitch, just as the game should be played, but there was a lack of excitement in the matches because no one could watch the seekers in action. There was no man in gold shorts running around my backyard.

If I had known about the International Quidditch Association back then I would have wanted to start a team for my high school. Even as I’m preparing to graduate from college I wonder why my university hasn’t started up a team of its own. When I first mentioned Muggle Quidditch to my friends they asked, “Why don’t we have a team?” But I always wonder if there would be enough people at my university interested long enough to keep the team alive. After all, Muggle Quidditch has passed the five year mark, and continues to grow. Even if all the teams quit playing tomorrow, Muggle Quidditch would live on in the hearts of every Harry Potter fan. Those who experienced it would feel a connection to each other, and those who hadn’t would wish they had. So brooms up! Let’s play some Muggle Quidditch! n

L I F E S T Y L E S


L I F E S T Y L E S

The Quidditch ComicBy Leah Vogel


L I F E S T Y L E S L I F E S T Y L E S

Have you ever compared the unique movements in Quidditch to those of other sports? Ever wondered

how to achieve the best technique behind “brunning” (running with a broom between your legs)? Find yourself asking about the science behind one-arm tackling? Has one-arm quaffling got your brain turning?

Faced with such questions of movement, Biomechanists find answers by applying physics to the biology of human motion. These guys could answer many questions of Quidditch.

My interest in this subject was sparked when my biomechanics professor described to me a kinematic analysis of a 100m sprint in class. I asked myself, “How could analyses such as this be applied to other sports? What advantages could they give to the players?” My excitement grew each time he described a new concept or showed us new media depicting biomechanics in sports. Eventually, I found myself asking if I could apply biomechanics directly to Quidditch; is it possible to study this sport as a scientist? The more I learned, the more I realized a strong relationship existed between these two subject areas.

Biomechanics can be approached in many different ways, but I will focus on kinematics and kinetics. Let’s begin with kinematics, the start of any basic movement analysis. kinematics focuses on the description of movement, independent of the cause. The tools used in this process are position, velocity, and acceleration. Measuring how fast an object is moving, how high it is going, or how far it is traveling allows a biomechanist to pinpoint factors affecting specific movements. Educating oneself on how these factors operate gives one better control over the construction of any particular movement.

For example, a kinematic analysis of a free throw in basketball reveals three factors which affect where the ball goes: height of release (meaning how high off the ground the ball is when released), speed of release (the velocity of the ball once released) and

angle of release (referring to the angle at which the ball is released with respect to the horizontal). A change in any one of these factors will alter the path of the basketball by affecting either the position, velocity, and/or acceleration of said basketball. Kinematics breaks apart a movement into its parts to better understand how it is constructed and how one can manipulate these to his/her advantage. However, it is incomplete without a thorough understanding of the forces causing that movement.

This is where kinetics comes in to complete the picture. As one analyzes the forces causing motion, one begins to better understand its affects on the creation and execution of human movement. Measuring these forces produces a blueprint detailing how one could alter movement production to better suit one’s needs (i.e. improve technique, or prevent injury).

A strategy has been found to maximize height in the vertical jump. It is referred to as a countermovement action, where one undergoes a “popping” action after a quick downward drop (it mirrors one making as if to sit down on a chair before quickly “popping” back up into the jump). Because jumping demands a high amount of force, the musculature requires a specific amount of time to prepare for it. The countermovement action lengthens the time period in which the musculature prepares, resulting in a more effective jump. This effect is measured by analyzing the forces behind two vertical jumps (one with a countermovement action and one without). Thus the lengthened preparatory time period produces the difference in height seen between the two jumps by increasing the amount of force which goes into the jump itself. Using a kinetic analysis therefore boosts the understanding behind production of this particular movement.

On a separate note, there are two important characteristics of the force pushing the subject into the air. One is the point of application — the point at which the force is applied. In this example

it is where the feet have contact with the ground. The second is the line of action, the direction in which the force is acting. Since the point of application is on a horizontal surface when the subject jumps for the ceiling, the line of action points straight up. This is why any velocity and/or acceleration experienced by the subject results in the subject moving upward. This illustrates how the forces causing motion direct the expression of the tools used in kinematics. In other words, kinematics and kinetics play off of each other to create the full comprehensive understanding found in biomechanics.

A one-arm tackle further demonstrates this concept. Two chasers, one of them (let’s call him Bob) holding the quaffle, are “brunning” directly at each other on the pitch. They are each brunning at a constant velocity, and therefore with zero acceleration (since their velocities are not changing). As they collide, they at first stop moving, meaning both their velocities suddenly jump to zero. As Bob keeps pushing forward and his velocity jumps back up again, the opposing chaser falls to the ground — but how? The previous kinematic analysis cannot answer that question. A kinetic approach can be built on top: as Bob accelerates forward, he applies a force on his opponent. How the overall point of application of this force is oriented will determine the direction of the line of action. As long as Bob produces enough force to overpower the opposing chaser, then all he has to do is orient the point of application on his opponent so that the resulting line of action has an acute angle with respect to the horizontal. This will ensure that the line of action points toward the ground, spelling doom for his opponent.

Investigating the biomechanics of Quidditch can improve on an already fantastic game. It will take time and effort to answer any biomechanical questions pertaining to the sport, but the result will definitely be worth their while. n

A biomechanical perspectiveQuidditch:

By Aaron Bergeron


What exactly is Muggle Quidditch?

For those of you that are brand new to this fandom-inspired sport, welcome! Quidditch was created by Middlebury College students Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe in 2005. The sport was specifically designed for us non-magical folk to enjoy. We may not have any flying capability, but we do try our best to meet expectations and make it as real as possible. In a real-world sense, the sport can be described as a combination of rugby, soccer, dodge ball, and cross-country running with a medieval-like atmosphere.

What are the different positions?

Just like in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, our teams are composed of seven players each: three chasers, one keeper, two beaters and one seeker. All players run around on broomsticks.

Chasers act as forwards and score 10 points each time they throw the Quaffle (a deflated volleyball) into one of three hoops situated at both ends of the field. The goals are guarded by keepers who act as goalies. Beaters bludge opposing players with bludgers (kick balls) to distract them from game play. The seeker’s goal is to catch the snitch. The snitch, a tennis ball inside a sock, dangles from the waistband of a fast, nonpartisan person dressed in gold known as the snitch runner. When the snitch is snatched, the seeker’s team is awarded an extra 30 points (downgraded from 150 points as occurs in the Potter books) and the game is ended.

the pitch

The Quidditch pitch is oval in shape and approximately 48yd x 33yd. Lines are mainly aesthetic and there is no penalty for playing outside of the boundaries. n

The full rulebook can be downloaded from the IQA website. n

Quidditch 101I.Q.A.

A crash course in Quidditchpla

yers’ C

orn

er

By Kathryn Mudgeway

“Quidditch was this bridge between the fantasy world of the books and the more concrete world of

college … For us [playing] was a way to have both.”

~Xander Manshel~


P L AY E R S ' C O R N E R


Warm up and drills: It’s always good to start off a practice with a few laps around the pitch to get the blood flowing. Get the players used to handling the quaffle and bludgers with some passing up and down the pitch. Brooms up: Gaining possession of the quaffle and bludgers at the start of a match can prove to be a huge advantage. Practice sprinting out to grab the balls in the middle of the field before the opposing team gets there.Controlled scrimmages: A smaller version of the game involves just two chasers and two beaters on each side trying to score against each other while preventing the other side from scoring. This allows players to get accustomed

to the basic situation they face in a full match in a more controlled setting, with fewer players and no keepers or seekers.Other sports: Since Quidditch attracts a

whole slew of athletes with experience in different sports, use this to the team’s advantage. Strategies from different sports including lacrosse strategies of playing behind the goals can be incorporated.Placement: Consider the locations of chasers and beaters around the pitch in order to set up formations that make scoring and bludger attacks easier. This technique can make gameplay smoother and keep players in the optimal spots.Conditioning: Even when the weather is less than accommodating, find a suitable indoor area to play or work on personal training. Team training can motivate players to keep their skills honed. n

Raise money for your team by selling IQA t-shirtsA message from IQA president Alex Benepe

In order to help raise money for the league and for teams at the same time, the IQA is creating an additional fundraising tool for all teams. Each time someone who supports your team buys an IQA or World Cup 2010 shirt on the IQA website, your team will get part of the profits.

In order for this to work, people purchasing the shirts online must specify your team name in the buyer instructions. Send messages to your club email list, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, etc. and let them know! Raise money for your team and help raise money for the league at the same time. It’s a win-win situation.

Profits are as follows:1 - 24 orders: $1.50 per shirt25 - 49 orders: $2.00 per shirt50 - 99 orders: $2.50 per shirt100 + : $3.00 per shirt This project will only last until June 1 (or when current supplies

run out) so we advise interested teams to get started now.In order to take part in this fundraising project, your team

must fill out a form available at www.internationalquidditch.org/quidditch-tshirt-fundraising.html.

Additionally, those who sign up will receive email blurbs and pre-formatted Facebook posts and tweets to make it as easy as possible for your team to raise money. n

From the captains’ mouth

By Laurie Beckoff

Lafayette College Quidditch captains Jared Katz, Rin Metcalf and Austin Weidner

Lafayette College Quidditch team. || Provided





Dear Luke,Advice for Quidditch players

The fact that you have 50 people on your email list already is a great sign that you have been advertising well and have started getting people

jazzed up about Quidditch. Since you have the contact information, it would be good to start from a logistical standpoint. If you haven’t already, it is a good idea to take a quick poll from amongst your contacts and see which times throughout the week work best. Odds are there will be a day with lots of down time, allowing something like Sunday afternoon practices. What is even better, if you set up at multiple optional practice sessions each week, players with busy schedules will be able to make whichever one is more convenient for them.

Along the same lines, you need to make Quidditch as accessible as possible. All it takes is finding a few dedicated people to make a solid foundation. If you can gather enough people to take care of all the administrative aspects of the sport and furnish the supplies, which may require a bit of creativity for teams without much of a budget, then all it takes is for your athletes to show up to play Quidditch and have fun. It may be a lot of work, but ensuring the ease of their involvement will mean they have absolutely nothing to lose.

Another thing to consider is that many people love playing for a crowd. We all know that in muggle

quidditch, there is no better crowd pleaser than our snitch runner! Once you snag an all around athlete to snitch for you, word will spread and you will be able to draw in a larger audience at your matches.

Like many other things in life, people are often most motivated by setting goals. People love striving toward their objective and therefore more willing to commit to an absurd sport like Quidditch after seeing future plans. As soon as I had mentioned the Quidditch World Cup at our university’s first informational meeting, we had no problem getting more people involved than we could handle, excited for the future of quidditch on campus. Now, depending on where your school is, shooting for the World Cup might be a little optimistic — and optimism has never hurt anybody — for your first year. It would work just as well to work towards sending a team to compete in your local IQA sponsored regional tournament, which will be closer to home and maybe a more obtainable goal.

Last but not least, get the players who have already committed to Quidditch out and playing! Make one of your matches an event in a public space if you can. The most interest generated by quidditch is within the audience that witnesses the sport firsthand. Even if you need to instate a bring-your-own-broom policy to get the match together, it will be worth it. From that

Right now, I am having troubles getting people to come out to practice. I have about 50 people on the e-mail list, but no

one seems to want to come out to our twice a week practices. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can coax people

to come out and have fun?

— Steven Sola

By Luke Zak

P L AY E R S ' C O R N E R P L AY E R S ' C O R N E R


point, it doesn’t take long for passersby to recognize the magic on the pitch. The brooms make Quidditch a highly identifiable sport and the first thing everybody wants to know is “How do you play?” and for quite a

few the second question is “How can I get involved?” both asked with wonder and enthusiasm. Just keep up your dedication and determination, word will spread from there and interest will grow.

Besides My Sports Dreams, what are some ways teams have fundraised?

— Amanda

It sounds like some schools have been disallowed to work with the IQA’s official fundraiser since it is a third party. If this is the case with your team, do not

be discouraged! There are countless ways to fundraise and many have seen enormous success.

The classic way to go is having a bake sale. Whatever your specialty may be, muggles will flip over the chance to buy cauldron cakes, fizzing whizbees, and butter beer. On top of earning money for your group, preparing the goods can be one of the best team bonding activities.

Other Quidditch programs have had great success with musically centered events. Whether you are aiming to please the young crowd with party music like at Stony Brook University’s rave or you are going 1994 and throwing a Yule Ball, this is an incredibly fun way to fundraise and can be a very effective way to get your name out there around campus.

All these fundraisers considered, in my experience, the best way to get money for your Quidditch team is by selling t-shirts. When bought in bulk, shirts can come

as cheap as $6 a unit. To find the best price you can get, check your local print shops and online providers that let you order shirts with your personalized quidditch logo. With bulk shirts sold to fans and athletes for 10 to 15 dollars each, this is an option with one of the best returns possible. Plus, there are countless people who would be willing to sport a new tee repping their school’s Quidditch team! It may seem like a stretch, but Middlebury uses this as a main fundraiser, earning thousands of dollars each season in shirt sales alone. And it isn’t just because it is muggle Quidditch’s motherland. This fundraiser is also effective to the point that the money earned from selling t-shirts was one of the key factors that actually enabled the University of Minnesota to travel to and compete in the Quidditch World Cup last fall.

As always, there are many fundraising opportunities that haven’t been tried yet. If your team has found a different way to successfully build up your budget that I didn’t mention, feel free to let us know!

Luke Zak is the captain of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Quidditch team and brought his first-year team to the 2010 World Cup. He is also the Midwest Regional Director of the IQA and can give you advice on all your Quidditch dilemmas. Email him at [email protected] with your questions. A few questions will be printed in each issue of the Monthly Seer.

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