Understandably, those of you living in America will not have heard of the British Quidditch Cup, or the ‘BQC’, but it’s basically what it says on the tin: sixteen British university Quidditch teams come together at Oxford to play a tournament of Quidditch.
The countdown has almost finished.
For those of you who have little idea how ‘muggle’ Quidditch is played, the basics involve running around a pitch with a broom between one’s legs and catching a ball with one hand. The complications in play come from the number of players. Yes, it’s seven-a-side – chaser, chaser, chaser, beater, beater, seeker, keeper – and subs, but each intervene with the other, as I guess they should. The Keeper blocks the Chasers from scoring; the Beaters beat everyone who gets in their way, regardless of who one is. The Snitch comes in the form of a person dressed in yellow, with a tennis ball in a sock attached to the lower back of their shirt. Think tag-rugby, but with socks. The smaller the Snitch, the better…even if they do get thrown around a lot.
Sarah Dorricott of the Southampton team explains it a lot better than I… Amusingly, she was inspired to play Quidditch by going to the same Summer Games that I did.
I’m mainly a Beater. I get to throw dodgeballs at people. On odd days I get to sprint, lithe, through the opposing players and attempt to score with a volleyball as a Chaser. I may well explain in greater detail with a more personal touch in another post.
Keep your eyes peeled. Oh, and watch this video of last year’s final, set on the Whiteknights campus on my very own uni. Gameplay makes sense when one sees it…mostly…
This is also my reason for not posting this weekend, as, though I will not be playing constant games and the day ends when the sun begins to die (ie. 3-4pm), due to lighting restrictions, I will not be ‘on-hand’ – or, indeed, in the mindset – for blogging. But I promise I’ll try and write more about Quidditch. I am, after all, the Social Secretary of the QuidSoc, so my duties must include outreach and awareness.
Oh, and this is my 300th post, yay!
Alexandrina Brant 
How fun! It’s amazing to see all the ways Harry Potter has impacted culture. Good luck and congrats on your 300th post! That’s great.
Hehe, yes it is, and thank you!
The university that I work for in St. Louis, MO has a Quiddich team. There is a local league with six or so teams.
That’s awesome! The sport has become pretty popular now. More in the US, but having over sixteen teams (some couldn’t make the British Cup) in Great Britain is great news for the sport. It’s expanding exponentially.
Search YouTube for “Wheelchair Quiddich”. There’s an Australian league, there may be others.
Ooh…
Gratz on the 300th post! Wish I could go quidditching today. 😉
Tehehe. Have you ever tried it? It’s so much fun.
Haven’t. But if I ever come to England and visit you, that’s first on the list. 🙂
Yes! You certainly should, even if I have to kidnap you and drag you to Quidditch practise. *evil plan is formulating* xD
LOL. This would be my response in a fake, not really going to stop you kind of voice: “Oh no. I’m being kidnapped. Help, police, oh no now I’m in England.” 😉 BTW, are you gearing up for the 50th broadcast? I think they’re simulcasting it on BBC America, so we’re having a crazy party to celebrate. 😀
Haha 😀 Yay, kidnapping!
Yes, I am! 🙂 My parting is now reversed, since it’s my friend’s birthday tomorrow, so her party is a dress up as a character one. I’m going as River Song, obviously. 😉 Not sure it’ll be a ‘crazy‘ party over here, but it’s party nonetheless.
Sounds like fun. River Song totally works for you. 🙂 I have a way too blonde wig and a pink shirt with a blue leather jacket to go as Rose. My friend is going all out. She’s way obsessed with Doctor Who. I think the outside door of her apartment will look like the TARDIS door, and the inside is supposed to have a console. She’s insane. She even skipped our weekly movie night because she’s stressed about preparations. I know we plan to have fish fingers and custard, banana smoothies and whatever else people come up with. I’m thinking about making Weeping Angel sugar cookies and maybe some Dalek cupcakes. We’ll see how ambitious I feel post work. 😉 I’ll take pics and post.
Awesome. I’ve always been a fan of Rose since I started watching the show. She’s so genuine and real consistently. Actually, I recall cosplaying (before I knew the word) her when I was about 13 – amateurly, mind, but her character evidently resonated so much with me that I liked to emulate it.
Wow. I’m both inspired and slightly scared. I’ve got a couple of friends obsessed with Harry Potter, but none so much obsessed with Doctor Who. And I don’t have the ability to fangirl, unless it’s over authors (something my friends sadly don’t understand). Yeah, I love Doctor Who and the actors are great and the science thrills me for my stories, but I don’t physically feel that kind of fangirling thing.
Mmm, I’ve been having banana smoothies for breakfast recently. Love them. Those cookies sound scrumptious, too. It’s a shame that I have no time/energy to cook something quite simple like that.
Yay! 😀