The IQA World Cup 2018 competition was held in Florence, Italy. (Photo courtesy Miguel Esparza/US Quidditch)
Author J.K. Rowling created quidditch as a sport for wizards in her Harry Potter fantasy novel series. This weekend, you can watch an international quidditch competition in Richmond, no magic required.
The inaugural Pan-American Quidditch Games will be held Saturday and Sunday, July 13 and 14, at Henrico County’s Glover Park in Short Pump. The free event will feature the U.S. National Team, two regional teams from Canada, and Team Mexico.
In Rowling’s books, quidditch was a magical sport in which the young wizards fly on broomsticks above a playing field, chasing an enchanted winged golden ball (the golden snitch). Since 2005, fans of the books have swapped flying brooms for everyday broomsticks, playing their own grounded version of the game.
“It’s equal parts physical and mental,” says Julia Baer, a U.S. team member and former University of Richmond student who has played quidditch for eight years. “It’s pretty tricky … to develop the awareness of what’s going on around you, definitely takes a while,” she says.
Quidditch is sort of a fusion of rugby and handball, played by two teams of seven players each. While scoring points with multiple balls, teams compete for ownership of the coveted golden snitch. The snitch is represented by a neutral athlete wearing a golden uniform. When a ball is caught, players score by making shots into three different hoops. To secure the golden snitch, however, players must chase it down and claim it for their team. Games end once the snitch is secured.
Quidditch players undergo grueling practices to be ready for their hours-long games. “Oh, my goodness, [practice] is crazy — the training camp is the highest level of competition in quidditch that I’ve experienced,” Baer says.
So what keeps them moving? Players often attribute their love for the game to its supportive body of teammates and fans. “It’s a very wholesome, great community," Baer says. "I’ll say that doing an international competition for quidditch is very meaningful to me. Going back to when I was at University of Richmond, we’d eat together, we practiced three times a week together, we missed events on campus because we had tournaments. … I was telling my friends just the other day that I wonder what percentage of my life has been dedicated to this sport.”
The Pan-American Games are in Richmond through the combined efforts of the International Quidditch Association, U.S. Quidditch and Richmond Region Tourism. Glover Park is also set to host other quidditch events, including the 2019 Major League Quidditch Championship Aug. 10-11, and the sport’s World Cup in July 2020.
Last year’s win by the U.S. National Team in Florence, Italy, prompted quidditch officials to consider an American location for the World Cup. U.S. Quidditch suggested the Richmond region for the event. Glover Park’s large, heat-minimizing artificial turf playing area and readiness to meet their requirements won over the International Quidditch Association’s Assembly of Members.
“It’s been really exciting,” says Mary Kimball of U.S. Quidditch. “The facility is excellent. Having everyone be so supportive of the event has been such a pleasure.”
