By Ripon Media in College Days on January 11, 2016
By: Jordan Grunawalt
Hold on to your wizarding hats, and grab your broomsticks because a Quidditch team is coming to campus next semester.
Muggle Quidditch is similar to the fictional game except instead of whizzing through the air, each member has a PCP broom.
The object of the game is to catch the golden snitch, a neutral player in bright yellow who has a ball attached to them and the added freedom of going anywhere on campus – except across the street.
A seeker’s job is to catch the snitch, which earns 30 points and ends the game. Wherever the snitch can go, a seeker can follow.
Ten points also are earned on the field each time a chaser throws a dodgeball – the quaffle – into one of three hoops.
The keeper is the goalkeeper trying to defend against points being scored.
Meanwhile, there are two beaters on each team who throw two dodge balls called bludgers to distract or intercept the other players.
The group’s vice-president, Emma Lemke, describes the game as “capture the flag and rugby meet Harry Potter.” The main goal is to get enough people to join to have each Hogwarts house represented.
This is not the first time the unusual sport has been played at Ripon. Roughly five years ago there were teams competing for campus cups.
There has been a rise in recent years in non-traditional sports like Quidditch making appearances on the school’s Intramural roster, including Frisbee Golf and Water Polo.
“People fantasize about going into their fantasy worlds all the time, and this is it,” explains Becky Bajt, the president of the club.
Though they may not really be darting across the sky on enchanted sports equipment, spots are open for anyone who is willing to learn to be a chaser, beater, keeper, seeker or snitch.
To find out more, email Becky Bajt and Emma Lemke. The executive council suggests keeping a watch out for their owl for the first scrimmage in the spring.
