Beyond the Hill Briefs

Broomtricks | Students at Middlebury College pioneer ground-based version of Harry Potter game

By: Kasey Panetta and Conor Orr

Posted: 4/3/08

Xander Manshel's favorite sport requires that he run around donned in a cape with a broomstick between his legs.

Quidditch, first introduced by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series, was adapted by Manshel, a Middlebury College student, in the fall of 2005. Since then, the Intercollegiate Quidditch League has expanded to 105 teams from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and even Argentina.

Each team must have seven players: three chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker, according to the official Intercollegiate Quidditch Rules and Guidebook.

The chasers are responsible for scoring points with the quaffle - a volleyball - by throwing it through their opponents' three hoops on either side of field. It is the keeper's responsibility to guard the hoops.

The beaters throw bludgers - dodgeballs - at opposing members in attempt to knock them off their broom. Any player hit with a bludger must immediately stop play and run around their goalposts one time to simulate the amount of time it would take a real Quidditch player to steady themselves while flying on their brooms.

Lastly, it is the responsibility of the seeker to find and capture the snitch from the snitch-runner.

Alex Benepe, the Middlebury junior who developed the official rulebook, said the idea for the game was created simply to have a good time.

"He just started it for fun," Benepe said. "I guess (Manshel) enjoyed the idea of just doing something for the hell of it."

Kate Olen, a Middlebury freshman, says the rules of the game have been adapted to invent a new "Muggle-friendly" version of Quidditch, referring to Rowling's slang word for a non-magical person.

"A lot of people are immediately like, 'How do you fly? How do you adapt that?'" Olen said. "They kind of chuckle and laugh and have this image of kids frolicking - running around looking like freaks."

Chris Free, a Middlebury sophomore, explained that in order to be considered flying, players must always have a broomstick between their legs.

Rafael Velez, a Middlebury freshman, said the broomstick-required rule sets this game apart from other versions of Quidditch. It levels the playing field between athletes and non-athletes, he said, because "you can't do as much with a broomstick between your legs."

Like many of the other players, Velez's favorite part of the game - or at least what he finds most entertaining - is the snitch-runner.

In this version of Quidditch, the snitch is a person, dressed completely in gold, who runs at will around the campus, doing anything necessary - including hiding behind buildings - to avoid being captured by the seeker, signaling the end of the game. The guidebook recommends using an athletic former varsity wrestler and encourages back flips, cartwheels and other acrobatic feats to entertain the crowd.

The snitch's sole task is to humiliate the seekers, according to the guidebook. He can run from them, hide from them, throw them to the ground or dodge away just as they dive for them and leave them eating his dust.

"I think the snitch definitely makes that game the most amazing," Olen said.

The various antics of the snitch keep the crowd and players entertained. One snitch walked to a bagel store, bought a dozen and returned to the field eating a bagel, holding the rest in a bag. Another drove a van up to the field, honked the horn and drove away, she said.

As in any civilized sport, there are, of course, rules. Any players caught cape-grabbing will receive a yellow wand, signaling a warning, according to the rulebook. After two yellow wands, a player receives a red wand, which means expulsion from the game. Other offenses include body tackling, hitting, ignoring a bludger hit and using a ball reserved for another position.

Headlocks are also forbidden but "players are still allowed to and in fact encouraged to target the head with a bludger, mostly for the satisfying sound a direct hit makes," the guidebook said.

View the Quidditch Rulebook online!

kpanetta@syr.edu

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Compiled by Conor Orr