There is a new athletic team at Cedar Ridge this year: the Norwegian Ridgebacks. Any Harry Potter fan will recognize the name as a creature from the series, and any Harry Potter fan will be thrilled to find out that it is indeed a Quidditch team.
The sport, a combination of soccer and football (and in the wizard world, broom flying), was first introduced to us in the ever-popular Harry Potter series. Lately, Quidditch has become a trend among “Muggles” (non-magical folk) and teams are being formed across the nation, as well as around the world. It is more popular on college campuses, including nearby UNC and NC State, but campuses everywhere compete regularly with one another.
The International Quidditch Association was founded in 2007, shortly after the very first inter-collegiate match. This group is considered the governing body for the sport, and has even set up “World Cup” tournaments for Quidditch.
Freshman Gabby Gerlach decided to start up a team at Cedar Ridge. According to Gerlach, there were about 24 people at their first meeting and she “was surprised” at the amount of interest in the club. In order to set up the team, Gerlach sought advice from Nick Toptine, former CRHS graduate and founder of the current NC State Quidditch team.
“The thing I like best about Quidditch is the fact that the players are actually running around on brooms,” said Gerlach.
There are four positions on each Quidditch team: Chaser, Keeper, Beater, and Seeker. In the novels players are, of course, flying around on brooms. Muggle Quidditch involves players running around with a broom between their legs, although Gerlach says you can substitute just about anything for an actual broom. Teams use hoola-hoops and other objects as goals and a dodge ball or another softer ball is used as the “quaffle.” Chasers score points, Keepers protect the goal, Beaters attempt to protect their teammates from getting hit by Bludgers, and Seekers try and catch the Golden Snitch. The elusive Snitch is a single player running around the field, often wearing gold, and the Seekers must catch him or her in order to win the game.
The team has only had a few practices, but their advisor, English teacher Melinda Barnhardt, is hopeful about the upcoming Quidditch season.
“I loved watching them practice and begin to come together as a team,” Barnhardt said. “Much of the practice was spent gathering supplies, which several faculty members donated, and we ran drills to help them practice catching the balls with one hand and maneuvering around the field. We also did a lot of team building exercises.”
Many schools around have Quidditch teams of their own, and both Barnhardt and Gerlach are hoping that our school team will soon be able to play against other teams rather than just themselves.
“I hope this is a club that carries on, there are teams at the collegiate level and all over the world, so I hope our team is able to compete more,” said Barnhardt. Gerlach feels a similar enthusiasm for the newly created team.
“I hope that the members of this club will feel encouraged to read the series and to have a really fun time playing an amusing sport,” said Gerlach.
The team is still accepting new members, so please see Mrs. Barnhardt or Gabby Gerlach for more information. Hopefully, the Norwegian Ridgebacks will be sweeping the competition soon.