Harry Potter sport works its magic in Winnipeg
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/10/2014 (4092 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Muggles and mudbloods gathered at The Forks Sunday for a friendly round of quidditch.
The sport popularized by the wizarding world of Harry Potter finally made its debut in Winnipeg this summer.
The Winnipeg Whomping Willows are the first competitive quidditch team to call the Prairies home. Many East Coast universities have adopted recreational quidditch leagues, and there are 21 competitive teams across Canada.
When Jason Rosenberg moved to Winnipeg earlier this year, he created the Whomping Willows to keep up with the sport he fell in love with in England two years back.
“It’s actually a lot more athletic than people expect it to be given that it’s targeted at nerds,” Rosenberg said. “It is full-contact at the adult level and it’s a one-handed sport because you have a broom, and you must have one hand on your broom at all times.”
There are seven team members per side who run around on broomsticks while aiming to shoot balls — bludgers and quaffles, to be specific — through a series of hoops on either end of the pitch.
Meanwhile, the golden snitch races around, trying not to be caught. Once the snitch is caught, the game is over.
In the world of Harry Potter, the snitch is a flying gold ball that moves at breakneck speed. In the real world, the snitch is a person dressed in yellow spandex.
“They are released at the beginning of the game to go anywhere they want within a predesignated area. After 10 minutes, the seekers are allowed to go look around for the snitch,” Rosenberg said. “After about 18 minutes, we request that the snitch comes back because it’s unlikely that they’re actually going to be found.”
Rosenberg said the team’s quidditch matches usually last around 20 minutes.
Next weekend, the Whomping Willows will head south to play in a tournament in Minneapolis.
Every other weekend, they practise at 2 p.m. in Assiniboine Park in front of the Lyric Stage. Rosenberg said every practice is open for new players who want to join. The Whomping Willows supply brooms and hoops, so all players need to bring is athletic gear suitable for running.
Rosenberg noted capes have been banned from the sport by the International Quidditch Association, which hosts an annual Quidditch World Cup.
“If anything, the sport is trying to start to pull away from the Harry Potter roots and become its own thing with national and international tournaments,” Rosenberg said. “We’re trying to get some recognition outside the Harry Potter community.”
jessica.botelho-urbanski@freepress.mb.ca