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House brings Quidditch to life

Adaptation of popular fictional sport replaces Greyhound Games

By Susie Chen
<susiechen@hilite.org>

For years, Harry Potter readers were mesmerized by Quidditch, a sport of flying broomsticks, a Quaffle, two Bludgers and the Snitch. Although when students read about this sport, this sport is being played in a world of wizards and witches, they will have the chance to set up their own team and play a game of Quidditch on Nov. 15.

A couple of students saw that some of the Ivy League schools had Quidditch teams, watched their videos on YouTube and brought the idea to House sponsor Katie Overbeck. She said via e-mail, “They brought the idea to me to see if we could do something similar at CHS.”

Michael Cheng, Cabinet member and senior, said that speaker of the House Curtis Pittman brought the idea of changing Greyhound Games to Quidditch matches this year. “(Pittman) thought it’d appeal to more kids instead of Greyhound Games,” Cheng said.

The Quidditch matches will occur on Nov. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. The teams will consist of seven to 10 players; there must be at least three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker. The Chasers, who try to score 10 points, will try to throw the Quaffle, a deflated ball, through their opponents’ three hoops, which are guarded by the Keeper. The Beaters will attempt to stop the other team from scoring by hitting their opponents with Bludgers, which are duct-taped Nerf balls. The Snitch will be tied around a runner’s legs; this runner will enter the field at marked intervals, the only time when the Seeker has the opportunity to grab the Snitch. While the Snitch is not on the field, the Seeker becomes an offensive player, much like a Chaser. Although the rules are very similar to those in Harry Potter, the game will not end when the Snitch is caught. Rather, there will be seven-minute halves where the teams try to score as many points as possible.

Since the Quidditch matches are used to replace Greyhound Games, there is no specific charity that House will be donating to that will use the funds received at the event. “The proceeds are going to go to House itself, but we’ll probably take donations toward Dance Marathon at the event also,” Cheng said.

If students want to learn more about the game and how it is played, Cheng said that House posted four videos online on YouTube under “Carmel Quidditch.” Although there will be no flying broomsticks or a wing-tipped Snitch, students said they will still have a great time at the event.

Overbeck said, “House is sponsoring the Quidditch match for fun and to engage students in CHS events.”

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