#ecquidditch

You all did great this weekend at the Quidditch World Cup. I'm upset that I was unable to attend Saturday's games, but I'm very glad that I was able to drive down today. While it took a while for the IQA to get their footing with arranging the bracket, I was glad that I was able to see your games. You all did really well, and all of your hard work was seen out there on the pitch. 

And while the IQA rankings will change, there is one thing that won't. ECQ still has their #swag. And #maineswag. 

#swagswagswag

So there's been a lot of talk of how Quidditch isn't a real sport. Now, I'm not sure what exactly a real sport is defined as, but here is what my good friend Google had to say:

Now, I'll just leave that definition there for you to read and think about while I discuss my personal experiences with Quidditch.

At Emerson College, we take our Quidditch program very seriously. We have five intramural House League teams; the Boylston Beserkers, the Faneuil Hall Falcons, the J.P. Jaguars, the Old North Outlaws, and the Park Street Pulverizers. Our intramural teams usually have at least one practice a week. My House League team, the Pulverizers, likes to practice twice a week. Our practices usually involve some cardio, a series of drills, and then a scrimmage. The House League teams play games against each other on Sunday afternoons, rain or shine, in competition for the Griffith Cup.

Granted, the House League teams play Muggle Quidditch based upon our own sets of rules that the Emerson College Quidditch (ECQ) E-Board develops. This E-Board is in charge of making a number of decisions that affect both the House League teams, as well as the World Cup team (which I will discuss later). The ECQ rules take out unnecessary physical contact from the game so that it is accessible to all levels of athletic abilities. However, this does not detract from gameplay at all, and people have been injured in regular House League gameplay since protective gear is not mandated.

This leads me to my next topic of discussion, the ECQ World Cup team. This team is composed of the "all-star" players of the House League teams. The World Cup team competes against the Quidditch teams of other colleges either in arranged matches between the colleges, or at tournaments where multiple Quidditch teams gather and compete. Therefore, the practice regime of the World Cup team is more numerous than that of the House Leagues, as well as spending additional time in the gym doing mandatory workouts. The practices of the World Cup team are also much more rigorous. A greater emphasis is put on cardio, as well as the various drills to practice the various skills the different positions need to know. Since physical contact is allowed in International Quidditch Association (IQA) gameplay, drills and scrimmages tend to be a lot more violent for all players.

Lastly, the ECQ World Cup team also develops plays and has chalk talks to discuss new ideas that could be implemented into gameplay. The various positions are expected to communicate with each other, since unlike other sports, Quidditch has a totally of four balls out on the pitch. Chasers focus on passing and scoring with the quaffle, and beaters focus on beating chasers and other beaters with the bludgers. A total of fourteen players are out on the pitch at the start of the game. That is quite a few players when you think about it in the terms of Quidditch gameplay.

So let us revisit the definition that Google provided us with for the noun "sport". 

As far as I can tell, Quidditch fulfills this definition. "Physical exertion" and "skill" is definitely involved as any one "team" may "compete" against "another" opponent.

Therefore, Quidditch has to be a sport in some sense. And since it actually happens in real life, it must be *gasp* real. 

Still not convinced? Check out our website, Facebook page, or Twitter account. Better yet, check out the International Quidditch Association website, Facebook page, or Twitter account.

Oh, and what the heck! Here's the website, Facebook page, and Twitter account for the Quidditch World Cup, happening this weekend (November 12-13), on Randall's Island, New York, NY.