Mount your brooms because Quidditch is no  longer a sport confined to the wizarding world. 

After watching intramural  Quidditch teams compete on campuses during college visits, sophomore Katie Marcum said she was motivated to make Quidditch an activity available to students.

At the beginning of the year Marcum proposed the idea to Barry Ruppert, head of intramural sports. Marcum said it was not difficult to gain faculty support because Quidditch would be an intramural sport that provides physical activity for a wide variety of students.

“Quidditch would reach out to a group of people, such as the stereotypical ‘nerd,’ who normally wouldn’t participate in other sports,” Marcum said.

In the “Harry Potter” series, Quidditch is a sport played by wizards where the “chasers” try to score points by driving the quaffle, a type of ball, through the opponent’s hoops. Meanwhile, there is other activity happening on the field. The “keeper” acts as goalie, who guards his or her team’s hoops, and there are also “beaters” who try to hit the other team with dodgeballs which serve as “bludgers,” another type of ball in Quidditch. In the books and movies,  the “seeker’s” job is to capture the small, golden, winged snitch that flies around the field. When the snitch is acquired, the game ends and the team who captured it wins. In contrast, in intramural Quidditch, when the snitch is captured, the game does not end, but the team who caught the snitch is awarded 30 points.

Marcum said participants in intramural  Quidditch will follow the roles accurately. Although the activity may seem unfamiliar to students, the game contains aspects seen in traditional sports.

“I heard [Quidditch] is like a hybrid sport  of basketball and soccer…kind of like rugby,” Marcum said.

Marcum said the main difference between intramural Quidditch and Wizard Quidditch from the books is the inability to fly. For instance, instead of playing in the air, intramural players run around on the ground with sticks, Swiffer Sweepers or household brooms in between their legs. Also, players compensate for the snitch by assigning a person dressed in a yellow jersey to run around and act as the snitch.

According to Marcum, her biggest worry was being able to maintain the competitive nature of the game, but at the first get-together all the players worked very hard.

“We were able to utilize the entire length of the fieldhouse, so there was a lot of room to run around,” said Marcum. “It was really easy to pick up the rules, and we were able to play the whole time. Of course we were all shocked by how physically exhausting it was, running around for two hours, but everyone had fun.”

Marcum said anyone is welcome to participate in games held in the field house on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. For now, players will be able to divide into teams they choose themselves.

“We were originally going to separate based on the different houses of ‘Harry Potter,’ but we wanted the club to be fun and house rivalries could get pretty intense,” Marcum said.

By contacting teams at Deerfield, New Trier and Glenbrook South, Marcum said she hopes to create a league among neighboring schools and hold tournaments.

Aron Gebremichael, public relations officer of Texas A&M University  Quidditch, said Quidditch is a fantastic activity for people to get involved in, because the community is very tight-knit. Gebremichael said he credits his team’s success to the school’s “huge program with extremely dedicated members.”

“Since this sport is full contact between guy and girls, there is a strength aspect involved which also deters any thoughts of Quidditch being a nerdy sport,” said Gebremichael. “Whenever people see all the work we put in or watch us play, it is pretty enticing.”

As of 2013, the Texas A&M University Quidditch team is ranked No. 1 out of over 300 official teams, according to the International Quidditch Association, known as the IQA. Along with rankings, the association provides updates about events, information about teams and rules on how to play.

“Details of the game are pretty prevalent in the books and there’s a lot of information online through the IQA website,” said Marcum. “It’s very accessible because the IQA wants people to start up their own teams.”

Marcum said she believes the club is heading in a positive direction.

“We’re hoping we’ll be able to keep an interest in Quidditch,” said Marcum. “It’d be great if we’ll be able to come back next year and just keep playing.”