Report: MuggleNet attends 2010 Quidditch World Cup

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Last weekend marked the 4th annual Quidditch World Cup (hosted in New York City), and believe it or not this is in fact a real sport! Over 400 schools from around the US and Canada compete a yearly tournament and the top 46 are invited to compete in the World Cup. Some of you may be wondering how exactly players fly on brooms… And so did we, so MuggleNet attended the event to find out!

Disappointingly enough, we discovered that players do not in fact fly (shockingly), but that isn’t for lack of trying. Each player is required to have a broom between their legs at all times – partially because like all aspects of the game, all of the rules described in the Harry Potter books are respected, and partially because it probably just feels quite comfortable. Each team consists of chasers, beaters, a keeper and a seeker. Points are scored by throwing the Quaffle through the 3 hoops; if players are hit by a Bludger (think dodgeball), they have to drop the Quaffle and return to their team’s hoops before rejoining play. Finally, when the snitch is caught (which is worth 30 points instead of 150), the game ends.

Despite being played on foot, matches in the Quidditch World Cup (QWC) are every bit as violent as its fictional counterpart due to rough tackles, rogue Bludgers and a serious desire to win! Ambulances were on hand to treat the injured since Madam Pomfrey couldn’t make it; thankfully our friends at Alivan’s were also there, providing wands for those players that needed to cast the odd Reparo charm to fix any smashed brooms.