When you hear the word ‘quidditch’ you probably think of the fantasy world of Hogwarts, in which Harry Potter flies around on a broom chasing golden orbs.
But fantasy has somehow crossed over into reality, with four London clubs competing in a mixed gender league. There are 40 quidditch teams across the UK.
This new contact sport has been adapted from the books and movies and involves running around with a pole between your legs (the broom) and throwing balls past a goalkeeper into one of three hoops.
There are also ‘beaters’ who are players who try to throw balls at people like in dodgeball. If a player is hit by one of these balls, they have to get off their pole and run back to their hoops before rejoining the game.
Quidditch UK, the organising body of the competitions, was at London Excel during MCM Comic Con teaching people about the sport. They even allowed people to try out the game by trying to get a ball into the hoops.
Peter Stace, a player for the Werewolves of London, explained the sport to me…
