Wheaton Wire

Thursday, April 26th, 2018

  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Features
  • Arts and Culture
  • Sports
  • Web Only
  • From the Editor

Sections

  • From the Editor
  • Contribute to The Wire
  • Subscribe

Archives

  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • April 2012
  • February 2012
Features

Quidditch Club comes to Wheaton’s Campus thanks to SGA

By Amanda Surrette on February 21, 2012

Have you ever wished that you could fly through the air on a Nimbus 2000 while chasing an ever allusive golden snitch? Do you dream about having front row seats to the World Cup as you turn in after long nights of studying in the Muggle World?

The fictitious sport comes to Wheaton’s campus thanks to student initiative and the approval of the SGA.

The fictitious sport comes to Wheaton’s campus thanks to student initiative and the approval of the SGA. Courtesy of harrypotter.wikia.com

Unfortunately, Hagrid most likely won’t be knocking down your dorm door to tell you that you’re actually a wizard any time soon. But fear not; being just a plain old Wheaton student might just be enough. Thomas Nagata ’15 and Caity Claflin ’15 have recently had their idea for a Quidditch Club approved by the Student Government Association (SGA).

When Nagata was applying for schools last year, he became increasingly interested in the prospect of playing on a Quidditch team. He chose to come to Wheaton, but noticed that the college didn’t have one. The thought of starting one himself then came about and stuck with him ever since.

Fellow FYS classmate, Claflin wanted to help out, and is now one of the club’s co-founders. Using Claflin’s Quidditch Rule book and the Wheaton College Club Guidelines, the two hammered out their constitution and are ready to start recruiting members. Claflin stated, “Everyone is welcome and we’re looking to have fun”.

But what does one do as a flightless member of a Muggle Quidditch team? “Well, you have to have a broom between your legs at all times, though swiffers are sometimes allowed”, Nagata says. The broom isn’t the only part of Muggle Quidditch that mirrors its Magical counterpart. Each team has seven players consisting of three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker.

The goals of the game are also the same, such as getting quaffles into goals, avoiding bludgers, and catching the golden snitch. Of course, a human Quidditch team has to use their creativity when playing a game originally intended for magic. Most supplies for the game could probably be found in a gym or custodial closet. “The quaffles are actually slighty deflated soccer balls”, Claflin states. “And the snitch is actually a tennis ball attached to the waistband of a snitch-runner using a sock” Nagata adds.

As the Quidditch Club gains a substantial amount of members, it can become a part of the International Quidditch Association (IQA) and play a number of different teams from the area. The team would also gain chances to compete in the World Cup, which is held in New York City. Nagata and Claflin claim that the making it to the World Cup would be a challenging goal as a newly formed team, but that they plan on at least going to watch. Nonetheless, both co-founders look forward to practicing and playing Quidditch, and highly encourage people to come join in not only in playing with cleaning supplies, but also in the worldwide phenomenon that helps keep the tradition of Harry Potter alive. “We might be crazy people running around in the Dimple”, both founders agreed, “but there are people all over the world just like us.”

So it’s alright, take out that copy of Quidditch Through the Ages you have been secretly hiding in your sock drawer. It’s time to make new friends, and embark on adventures of your own.

For more information about Wheaton’s team, Claflin and Nagata suggest to keep a look out for any posters that may appear about campus. A Facebook page is also up for interested students to join. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/294288470585239/). Any questions or comments can also be sent to Thomas Nagata (nagata_thomas@wheatoncollege.edu) or Caitlyn Claflin (claflin_caitlyn@wheatoncollege.edu)

Categories: Features

Post navigation

The Ken Aptekar: Look Again exhibit transforms old art
You know he’s right… Why Mitt Romney will never win

Recent Stories

  • Men’s Lacrosse loses to Coast Guard
  • The 1 in 5 Sexual Assault Statistic is False // Words and How They Matter in Activist Spaces: A Response
  • Wheaton students stage protest during Welcome to Wheaton
  • Campus Conservative and Democratic Activism
  • VITA Club: Taxes Made Easier
Tweets by @WheatonWire
  • Top categories: News/Arts and Culture/Features/Opinion/Sports/Web Only/From the Editor/Homepage Spotlight/Calendar/Meet the Staff
  • Top tags: abroad/ election 2016/ FURU/ Rachel Blanchard/ bond/ Welcome/ Back/ Whiteout/ Blizzard/ Snow
Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Broadsheet by Pro Theme Design.