summer 2012

QUIDDITCHIN HARRY POTTER’SHOMELANDBY KATHLEEN RICHTERWith the Summer Olympicscoming up,many in the quidditchworld are understandablygetting revved upabout sending their nation’s respective teamto London—but what about the teams thatare already there?While according to the IQA there are 33teams in the UK, only one of them—justrecently—has become an IQA official team:the University of West England (UWE) inBristol. Chris Holgate, team captain, saidthe move was a way “to add credibility towhat we do,” as even in the home of HarryPotter, the sport is often approached withskepticism.“The initial response was more than oftena strange mix of surprise, laughter, and ‘areyou serious?’” said Holgate, talking about apresentation he did for UWE’s Sports andSociety Council. Once he showed themYouTube clips featuring the sport, “manyseemed to warm to the idea, especiallywhen sports individuals saw how it was likea sport like any other.”As for UK teams in general, “quidditchis overall the same here in the UK [as itis in the US],” according to Kyrie J. Timbrook,who has played quidditch on a USteam (the Silicon Valley Skrewts) and ona British team (Kingston University). “Oneof the main differences is that they’re stillbuilding up steam…In the UK, there are sofew teams that it’s been difficult for themto play each other. At Oxford they get lotsof people because different universities inOxford have teams. However, they play bytheir own set of rules.”“Though I can’t speak for all UK teams,”Holgate said, “a lot of those interested inquidditch here are openly ‘nerdy,’ wheresport wouldn’t be the first port of call...After seeing many of the U.S. teamsplaying it, we feel we may never takeit as seriously as them, to the extent ofexcluding the full-contact aspect of itto make it more appealing to potentialmembers.”Robert Barringer, from Keele University,noted that though the sport iseven newer in England than it is in the US,it has the potential to become just as popular—andas athletically competitive—as itsiteration in the US. “Comparative to theUS, the UK is a very dense island (realistically),so it’s easy for a craze to spread overthe country and encompass the nation, “ henoted, citing the fact that in just six months,the Quidditch UK network (QUK, pronounced“qwuk”), has grown to just under150 people, and that some schools have alreadyadded quidditch totheir physical education curriculum.“It’s a waiting game currently,” Holgatesaid about the future of quidditch in theUK. As many schools are now out for thesummer, there’s not much that can be done.“But when we come back we’re hoping tobe in contact with both the IQA and ourlocal quidditch enthusiasts who’ve contactedme to organize games and whatnot andreally get this put onto the map!” nKathleen Richter started playing quidditch when she found it through Meetup and thought, “zomg must play NOW.” She now co-captains the Silicon Valley Skrewtsand spams the IQA West Facebook page as often as feasible.ABOVE: KEELE UNIVERSITY QUIDDITCH. (PHOTOS: LEFT COURTESY MELANIE PIPER; RIGHT TOM CRAVEN)Quidditch Quarterly • Summer 2012 27