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
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.