Muggle Quidditch was invented here at Middlebury College in 2005. Since then, the sport has grown so that there are teams located around the world. Friends of mine who are on the Quidditch team were able to play Quidditch during their study abroad. One of them played in Scotland, and the other in China. It’s a sport that is a combination of soccer (football), American football, cross country, basketball, rugby, and pure magic. Over the years it has changed and developed. The rules for Quidditch have changed to the extent that we are currently on rule book eight. I could go on about the early years of Quidditch, but if you want to learn more you should definitely check out the History of Quidditch.

If you had a chance to read my bio then you know that I play Quidditch at Middlebury. It is a sport that I have always wanted to play, and when I was applying to colleges I knew that it was something I would do. In fact, my family would often joke and say that if a college didn’t have a Quidditch team I probably wouldn’t go there. If I’m being honest with myself, I would have to say that they were right. I knew that I wanted the college I would end up choosing (in this case Middlebury!) to have an environment that supported creativity, innovation, and activities like Quidditch.

A couple of weeks ago, the Quidditch team was contacted via Facebook to see if there were any players still on campus who would be interested in teaching Quidditch to a group of eleven year-old girls from the local area. I responded, and was able to provide brooms, hoops, balls, and equipment. Although the girls were hesitant and unsure of themselves, they quickly caught onto the rules and were having a blast! We played from one until about four o’clock. As one of the girls was leaving she said that she wanted to play Quidditch when she was a college student. It made me smile! It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm.

The practice gave me the idea of creating a community group that would allow other kids (and community members) to play Quidditch. I think that it is really important to strengthen connections between Middlebury College and the town, and I see this as one opportunity to achieve this. I think that we are going to have a day on the weekend for everyone to come together and practice. I still have to figure out some of the details with other members of the team who are here, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. So far this summer is off to a good start!