Quidditch club makes its first appearance at Saratoga High

Students running around the field with brooms wedged between their legs and flat volleyballs in each of their hands may leave spectators perplexed as they pass by this unusual game. What many people may not know is that a quidditch club has been formed on campus.

Sophomores Jennie Werner, Mandy Lee and Lena Jewler started a quidditch club to help students who do not participate in a winter sport to stay active during the off season.

“We were looking for a way to stay active over the winter season and what better way than to play quidditch,” Werner said.

Quidditch, a fictional sport played on broomsticks, originated from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. But in the matches the quidditch club plays, there is no small gold-colored sphere with silver wings buzzing around; neither are there flying broom sticks traveling at high speeds.

There are just “muggles” recreating the game of quidditch with the use of the Quidditch Association rule book that are followed by over 300 universities and high schools in the United States and 12 other countries.

“You have to run around with a broomstick between your legs at all times,” Werner said. “The game usually has a time limit, unlike in the Harry Potter books.”

The quidditch club meets on Mondays after school on the softball field, but the timings might change to Fridays after school, due to the preference of the members. There are already 29 members on the Facebook group, and Werener expects an increase in members as the year progresses.

The Quidditch club uses certain objects to represent the different balls used in the Quidditch matches that are played in the Harry Potter books.

Red, rubber balls are used as the “bludgers,” and if a bludger hits a player, that player needs to drop all the balls that they are holding and run back to their goal post, which is an elevated hoop.

Deflated volleyballs are used as the “quaffles,” which can be thrown through the hoops to score points. A fit runner emulates the snitch and runs throughout the hallways of the school campus with a flag. Once the flag is pulled off, the game is over.

Werner takes pride in being an active participant in the Quidditch club because she enjoys telling others about her unique activity.

“[Quidditch] is something that is really fun and silly, since you are running around on brooms,” Werner said, “and it’s really funny when people ask, ‘What are you doing?’ and you say, ‘Quidditch,’ and they look at you like you are crazy.”

The idea of quidditch for a winter activity popped into Werner’s head as as she recalled her childhood obsession of Harry Potter.

“When I was younger, I dressed up as Harry Potter for Halloween multiple times,” Werner said. “Also, the first time I stayed up until midnight was to go get the newest Harry Potter book.”

Above all, the main goal of the Quidditch club, Werner said, is to share laughs and bond with friends.
“Quiddtich is a hilarious game and a great way to have fun with friends,” Werner said.