You’ve got to admit that when you were little, you wished you could fly. So, when you saw Harry Potter and his fellow teammates on their brooms, you wanted to join them in winning the game and making Gryffindor proud. That will never happened, but for some students at uOttawa something similar is a possibility. Indeed, the members of the Quidditch team on campus get to ride on their brooms and make us Gee-gees proud. I had the chance of meeting two second year student’s part of the uOttawa Quidditch team to see what this wizardly sport was all about.
Her Campus: First of all, thank you so much for meeting me.Annabelle: It’s no problem at all. It’s a pleasure.
HC: For someone who doesn’t know, how would you describe Quidditch?Franco: Think of European handball that meets rugby…with a broom. (Laughs)
HC: What are the positions on a Quidditch team?F: There are four position: Chaser, Beater, Keeper and Seeker.A: So, the Keeper protects the goals. The Chaser is responsible of scoring with the Quaffle. The Beater is the equivalent of “defensive”. They protect the team from the Bludgers and…F: …And there is the Seeker who must catch the Golden Snitch before the other team does.A: For the film reference, Harry Potter was the Seeker. (Laughs)
HC: In the movies, the Golden Snitch is a little golden ball that flies…how does the Seeker in Muggle Quidditch catch the Snitch?F: In Muggle Quidditch, it’s a person wearing all yellow (gold) who enters the field at a certain point of the game. (Laughs)
HC: How many players are on the team?A: I think we are 21 players…F: We are about 21 to 25 players. We don’t all play at once on the field though.A: I’ll add that there are two teams: Gee-gees and Maple Rush.F: Gee-gees is our competitive and “professional” team whereas the Maple Rush is the new team who get called in for supply when the Gee-gees needs backup.
HC: Are there an even amount of girls and boys on the team?A: I think the team has more boys. However, we do have a rule that two girls have to be on the field at all time.
HC: How can someone get involved?F: Each year, the club has a table at Club Fair Week where they try to scout out new potential members.A: Afterwards, if you wish to continue there are try-out.F: If you don’t want to do competitive Quidditch, there is recreational one. It’s less demanding.A: You can also just decide to join the club, but not the team. It means that you will be able to come to our events and socials throughout the year.
HC: While on the topic, how demanding is being on the team?F: It’s about 10 hours of practice a week. Like any sport, it takes training especially when competitions are near. It’s a full contact sport.A: For the recreational team, it’s only 2 hours of practice on Sunday morning and there is no contact. They don’t come along on the competitions or tournaments.F: If you are on the Gee-gees team, you have about 3 or 4 practices of 2 hours and a half. If you are in the Maple team its 2 or 3 practices a week in order to get ready for competitions.
HC: How many competitions do you attend a year?A: If I am not mistaking, we attend about 7 competitions a year. Some are less formal so anybody from both teams can go to those.
HC: How much are the membership fees?F: If I’m not mistaken it’s between $66 and $75. It includes the equipment which is the jersey and socks. If you already have the equipment than you just pay for the competitive fees of 35$.
HC: How many Quidditch teams are there in Canada?F: I don’t know the exact number, but it’s becoming more and more popular. We are getting more exposure. Carleton University will be playing again this year which is exciting.A: The west coast has a team in British Colombia, Toronto has a team and Montreal may have two at the University of McGill and of Montreal.
HC: What made you choose to do Quidditch?F: During Clubs Week in my first week, I saw their table I got interested. I like Harry Potter so I thought I would give it a try.A: Same thing, I heard of the club during 101 Week and I wanted to see what it was all about. Best decision I’ve made.
HC: What do you want to say to our readers who would want to try Quidditch?F: Give it a try because it’s a very unique experience. You don’t have to be an athletic person to join. We are open to everyone.A: Come watch one of our games and bring a few friends. You will be surprised of what you will see.
(The executive team of the year 2015-2016- one member is missing)
If you want to follow or get involved with uOttawa’s Quidditch team, click here.
Picture Credits:
Pictures were taken by Vanessa Kraus & Ben Holland Photography