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VIDEO: Quidditch in the Kootenays

Young wizards and witches played a muggle-version of the sport

There was no golden snitch or flying, but plenty of magic could still be found in the Kootenay version of Quidditch.

Sixty muggles ages 11 to 15 took to a pair of fields at Taghum Hall on Saturday to play the game made famous by the Harry Potter series. The event was held as a fundraiser for the community hall’s kitchen, which is in need of renovations.

Quidditch as portrayed in J.K. Rowling’s books can be a violent sport. Professor Aurora Sinistra, who, as you may have guessed, is not the actual character from the books, said the Haghum School of Witchcraft and Wizardry adjusted the rules to make it a little more muggle friendly.

“There’s college and university teams that play Quidditch, but it’s a pretty rough game if you’ve ever had a look at it,” she said. “We play with slightly different rules that are a bit easier on the kids.”

Young wizards and witches brought their own brooms — each named, of course — and were divided into houses. Quidditch may have been the main event but there were also other activities including quests for items based on the books.

On the field, the game included all the standard elements of a Quidditch game including chasers, beaters, keepers and seekers.

“The difference between the actual thing is they’re not flying, obviously,” said Haghum’s flying instructor Rolanda Hooch (not the real Hooch).

“We have an actual person as the snitch, so a person running around instead of in the wizarding world, which is a ball.”

In practice, it looked a little like organized chaos as kids ran around with brooms between their legs.

“We can’t keep track of everything,” said Hooch, who stood on the sidelines taking note of points and infractions with several other professors. “There’s a lot of rules. Honesty [is the] policy. You’ve got to trust a lot of people.”

When the 20-minute match was over, the winning team shook its brooms in the air and prepared for another round of Quidditch.

These muggles had a bit of magic in them after all.



tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com

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Toss that quaffle! A wizard takes part in a match of Quidditch at Taghum Hall. Photo: Tyler Harper
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Sixty kids took part in the second annual Quidditch tournament. Photo: Tyler Harper
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Kids weren’t the only ones who dressed up for the event. Photo: Tyler Harper
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The games were played with a modified version of Quidditch. No flying on this pitch. Photo: Tyler Harper


Tyler Harper

About the Author: Tyler Harper

I’m editor-reporter at the Nelson Star, where I’ve worked since 2015.
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