Quidditch Tournament
to benefit Boys & Girls Club
Brinna Brown
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Life
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You may have spotted dozens of people running
around with brooms between their knees, throwing dodgeballs at each other.
You also may have asked yourself why any grown man or woman would do such a thing. As strange as it may have seemed, this strangeness was all for a good cause.
On Jan. 24, UNA hosted a Quidditch Tournament to raise money for charity. Teams of students from all over the area turned out for a full day of fun and fantasy. Armed with broomsticks and active imaginations, teams like "Dumbledore's Army" and "Swish and Flick'r" took the field and entertained.
For those who may not be familiar with it, Quidditch is a game played by characters in the Harry Potter novels and films. The game involves four balls, six hoops, four positions, 14 players, and a lot of magic. Quidditch is usually played in the air on flying broomsticks.
Due to the unfortunate lack of flying broomsticks,
some adjustments had to be made to the rules of the game.
Aside from the fact that Muggle (non-magic) Quidditch had to be played on the ground, the biggest difference in game play was the balls. Wizarding Quidditch requires the use of three enchanted balls and one ordinary ball.
The ordinary ball is called a Quaffle, and the enchanted balls are called Bludgers and the Golden Snitch. Muggles used substitutes like a volleyball for the Quaffle and dodge balls for the Bludgers, but the Golden Snitch was a bit more complicated.
In the wizarding world, the Golden Snitch is a lightning-fast ball the size of a walnut worth 150 points when caught. Catching the Snitch also ends the game.
In Muggle Qudditch, catching the Snitch will still end the game, but it will only earn your team
50 points. This is because a Muggle Snitch is a not lightning-fast or the size of a walnut.
A Muggle Snitch is a person, usually dressed in yellow, who ties a sock containing a tennis ball to the back of his or her pants. The Snitch runs on to the field at some point in the game and the people playing the position of Seeker, whose only job on the field is to catch the snitch, run after the Snitch and try to take the sock.
The Seeker who captures the sock earns the points for his team.
The audience seemed to really enjoy watching
the show, but there were a few special spectators who were more excited than any in attendance.
More than 20 children from area Boys and Girls Clubs turned out to watch the match.
Thanks to the efforts of Heath Matlock, the person responsible for organizing the Quidditch match, these children will soon be enjoying new programs teaching them about health, nutrition, hygiene, and the importance of doing well in school and preventing gang violence.
Matlock convinced area businesses to donate and sponsor the match, and all the money raised will go to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs and the children who attended the match.
Leilani Eady, a program director for the Boys and Girls Club from Carver Homes, said when the children were told about the opportunity
to go and play on Saturday, they were all very excited.
They brought seven children altogether. Kyle Bruckey, a staff member at Carver, was a huge fan of the Potter series and Quidditch before the match and seemed to have as much fun playing with the kids as they did themselves.
Alta Morrow and Mallory Robinson of the Cherry Hill Homes Boys and Girls Club brought 14 children and were both very pleased to be there with the kids. Robinson stated that the children were "so excited they didn't know what to do. They were jumping out of the van to run over here."
The children also really enjoyed the antics of announcer Steve Trash. Before the match got started he showed a fascinated audience a very amusing magic trick to much enjoyment and applause.
The match, which will hopefully be the first of many, was a great success. Students and faculty
from Muscle Shoals High School, Florence High School, Hibbett School, and UNA came together and shared in the fun.
Area businesses made generous donations and helped make the event possible.
Even Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling can be given some credit for introducing Qudditch to the world.
But the real magic was the happiness and excitement on the faces of the children from Boys and Girls Club. Those children will now have new programs and activities to look forward
to and enjoy.
Anyone interested in Muggle Quidditch can find more information at:
http://www.tollie.org/wiki/MQ/HomePage
Anyone interested in the Boys and Girls Club can find more information at:
http://www.bgca.org/
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