Quidditch Returns to CHC in 1st Ever Brotherly Love Cup!

Veronika Wilson, ’14
(From the Chestnut Hill College Griffin, October 2010)

     As Chestnut Hill’s regal campus begins to change this autumn, eager students anticipate a sport that was once only found in fiction. Quidditch season has arrived again, marking the College’s third year as a contender in the International Quidditch World Cup and tournament host.  The unique sport, adapted

for muggles or non-magical persons, was created at Middlebury College in Vermont, and has since proved to be one of Chestnut Hill’s most anticipated events.

 How Quidditch Began

CHC Ravenclaw vs Stony Brook (Photo by Nicole Mezzanotte, CHC '13)

     In 2008, when the Griffins were mere novices to the art of catching the snitch, the steadfast team managed to defeat the seasoned players of Princeton University at the World Cup, as well as several other hefty competitors.  The path to reaching such vigor isn’t necessarily a simple one. Although the law of gravity still applies, it doesn’t impede skilled players from swiftly swooping along the soccer field,

perched on their hand-crafted broomsticks. Actually, the broomsticks the College uses are authentic, Potter-approved brooms from accredited Quidditch supplier, Alivan’s.

Things to Know Before You Play

     Terms to be familiar with include the quaffle, a volleyball tossed by the chasers, and bludgers, dodge balls hurled by beaters. Chasers score goals by throwing the quaffle through one of the three goal posts while beaters take aim to
keep the chasers from scoring.

Don't Forget the Snitch!

     Of course, what would the game be without the snitch, the goal for every seeker? Donned in gold

from head to toe, the snitch (often a cross-country runner) acts as the golden ball flitting about campus, accessing any and all areas in which a Snitch chooses to escape. The seeker then has the daunting task of catching the flighty object—while remaining perched upon a broomstick, needless to say.

  
Quidditch Players Don't Mess Around

     As humorous a sight as it may be witnessing the players scrambling about on broomsticks, dodging and flinging various flying quaffles and bludgers, the tournament is anything but a farce. The practices alone begin drilling knowledge of basic maneuvers, tactful skills, and general jargon of the sport into the teams heads. The turnout for qualifying practice is something to be impressed by alone, as the collective fanfare creates a spirited frenzy itself.

  
Meet the Teams

Students play Quidditch at CHC (Photo by Nicole Mezzanotte, CHC '13)

     Through a selective process of weaving together a team, the Quidditch Committee composes a force to be reckoned with; previous rosters have included the Big Black Broomsticks, the Death Eaters, the Hungarian Horntails, the  Mudbloods, the Norwegian Ridgebacks, the Polyjuice Pistons, and finally the revered Ravenclaw. Often compared to a combined game of flag football, dodgeball, rugby and tag, the competitors’ battle for supremacy begins the moment the Snitch is released, brutally seeking their goal, and ultimately suffering a bruise or two.

The First Brotherly Love Cup

     With Quidditch season officially beginning, Chestnut Hill Activities Team offers a terrific way to commemorate the first ever Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup. As the three-year anniversary approaches, popularity continues to grow and the magic carries on within every spectator and participant. To be sure, the Hippogriff mascot will be making appearances for moral support, and possibly to steal a bit of media attention for himself.  While the freshly turned fall season breezes in, why not celebrate the change in atmosphere with a truly spectacular event, in which an array of colors and action grip the senses? Be prepared to drape those Hogwarts-inspired scarves about your necks, huddle together in mutual muggle camaraderie, and fly away with your imagination as the Griffins embark on yet another adventure in this 2010 Quidditch spell.

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