Move over Hogwarts, there is a new premier school for witchcraft and wizardry, and its name is Crescenta Valley High School.

The formation of Dumbledore’s Army on campus has caused a rise in the number of magical students at Crescenta Valley and, in response, the magical sport of Quidditch is the talk of the town.

Muggles sit tight, Quidditch can be for you too. While athletes do not have flying brooms, the form of Quidditch being played by the four houses of Dumbledore’s Army is equally exciting as its fictional counterpart.

Muggle Quidditch, like Wizard Quidditch, has four positions with seven players on the Quidditch pitch at one time. There are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker.

For those unfamiliar with Quidditch in general, chasers progress up and down the pitch passing the Quaffle attempting to score in one of three goals. The Quaffle in Muggle Qudditch is generally a large ball like a volleyball or soccer ball, although a Frisbee (of the unfanged variety) is sometimes used. The two Beaters attempt to hit the other team’s players with the Bludger, a softer, smaller ball like a Nerf or Wiffle ball, and try to block their teammates from getting hit. The Keeper tries to stop the opposing team’s Chasers from scoring. Finally, the Seeker attempts to catch the Golden Snitch.

In Muggle Quidditch, a neutral player who is dressed in gold clothes and sometimes wears wings plays the Snitch. The Snitch is allowed to wander off the pitch.

Quidditch has taken school athletic departments by storm in recent years. For the last three years, Middlebury College in Vermont has hosted the Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup where teams from colleges across North America come together to play the magical sport. There are currently 226 college Quidditch teams that are members of the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association. Magical Colleges include Harvard, MIT, Occidental, Stanford, and UCLA.

The first CV Quidditch game was played between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor on Saturday, February 20^th.

"We lost the first game but we still have a chance at the House Cup," junior Joe Anderson, Captain and Chaser of the Gryffindor team, said. "We only lost by about 50 points, which, in Quidditch, isn’t that much."

Dressed in their house colors with adoring fans, including CV’s own librarian Mrs. Leslie Snyder, cheering them on, the teams took to the Quidditch pitch, or football field, for an intense hour and a half game.

With the success of the first match, the game is slowly gaining popularity at school.

"We’re still taking players for all teams. Whoever is up for playing a fun but intense game is welcome to join us on the Quidditch pitch Saturday mornings," Anderson said.

The only difference between Quidditch at Crescenta Valley and other Muggle Quidditch is the function of the Keeper. The Keepers are also the Seekers. This allows for an open goal for a majority of the game as the Seeker/Keeper attempts to catch the Golden Snitch. The open goal gives the opposing team more of an opportunity to score, as well as giving the rest of the team a challenge in defending the goal while fulfilling their other duties.

At the end of the day, however, players are attracted to Muggle Quidditch because of the spirit of Harry Potter and the ability to live out childhood fantasies with good friends.

"Reenacting my childhood memories of Harry Potter is simply awesome," Anderson said. "Who doesn’t want to fight dragons and fly on a broom?"