Western Canada's largest quidditch tournament features 'fast-paced' action, inclusive community
Dozens of players competed in the largest quidditch tournament in western Canada on Saturday at the Edmonton Rugby Football Club.
The muggle, or real-life version, has two teams of seven players with a stick between their legs trying to score points by throwing a quaffle, a volleyball or soccer ball, through one of three hoops.
Meanwhile, bludgers are trying to tackle or throw a dodgeball to ward off scoring runs. Near the end of the match, the snitch makes an appearance and seekers try to catch the golden ball to win.
The first team to thirty points wins, or the play ends if a team successfully catches the snitch.
"In real life, it's kind of like a mixture of handball and rugby and dodgeball," said Anthony Tabacchi, who has played the sport for seven years.
"The big difference between Quidditch and a lot of other ball sports is that dodgeball component because at any time you are on the pitch you are playing your time could be over for that round," Tabacchi added.
Josiah Johnson and a couple of his friends made the 21-hour drive from Salt Lake City to participate in the tournament.
"There's so many ways to impact the game," he told CTV News Edmonton. "It's just fun to play, whether or not you like to read the book."
Cayley Mendoza, the Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Club acting tournament director, said since the game was first created at Middlebury College in Vermont 12 years ago, it has evolved past its magical roots in the Harry Potter universe.
"I know our old head coach of our competitive program did not like Harry Potter at all," Mendoza said. "I was a Harry Potter fan as a kid, I think like a lot of us out here. But what I learned pretty quickly when I started playing this sport is completely different and I love it for what it is."
The mixed sport has a gender maximum rule where only four people of the same gender identity can be on the field at the same time.
"We are really trying to explicitly carve out space for every person, especially people who are often marginalized by a lot of traditional sports to have a place on the field," Mendoza said.
"We have people from all sorts of athletic backgrounds and non-athletic backgrounds (who play)," she added. "Any sort of body, any sort of strength can find ways to play and excel."
Quidditch players take part in the Summer Solsnitch on Saturday, June 25, 2022 (CTV News Edmonton/Alison MacKinnon).
"Once I got going, I found this incredibly inclusive welcoming community of people, both nerds and athletes and everywhere in between," said MJ McGraw, who has played the sport on and off for around 10 years.
"The community is what made me stay," McGraw added. "It's fast-paced, it's high energy, it's a lot going on so you never get bored for sure."
The Edmonton Aurors Quidditch Club offers several leagues of play, including youth, full-contact competitive, and casual recreation teams.
Jon Golla, who has played since 2015, said the inclusive aspect of the sport is the best part.
"The sport itself is crazy just cause it's got so much going on," said Jon Golla. "A lot of higher-level thinking than anything I've ever done before."
"We will all play against each other and we will all be competitive with each other on the pitch but then after we are all hanging out."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Alison MacKinnon
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.