What’s the snitch: Quidditch is growing on campus

The Muhlenberg quidditch team, the Berg Boggarts, is entering their second year as a club on campus. The Boggarts have quickly reestablished itself after a hiatus, which was ended by Muhlenberg graduate Adam Elwood. Current Captain, Raigne Adler ’17, was a part of the founding executive board who helped put quidditch back in action: “I knew Adam from MCEMS and he approached me asking if I’d be interested in joining and being on the e-board, and I said I would! I was looking for a fun way to exercise and doing a sport is a great way to do that. I had also never played it before and was interested in learning.”

Adler has been a part of Muhlenberg quidditch as an e-board member since its second inception in the fall of 2015, and has played an important role in increasing its presence on campus. Adler and the team are looking to continue the legacy Elwood left after his graduation last year by growing the team through recruiting dedicated players. But the most important thing, according to Adler, is just to have fun!

Soon the Boggarts will travel to Lancaster, Pa. to take on Franklin & Marshall in a tournament on Saturday, Nov. 5. Around the same time last year, the Mules competed in the same tournament in Lancaster. Lafayette College, Franklin & Marshall, Juniata College, and Dickinson College all brought teams to compete. Muhlenberg fell to Franklin & Marshall and Lafayette rose to the top to win the championship game, but the Boggarts are ready for some redemption, and fun, at this year’s tournament.

Quidditch, and its popularity, is growing all around the world, so it makes sense that it would find a home on Muhlenberg’s campus. Despite the team only existing for two years, it has already made many strides. As just a club on campus (not a club sport), the quidditch team could not originally compete in tournaments. But it has since been allowed to compete in unofficial tournaments to represent the Boggarts in the area and to start making a name for themselves. Adler looks to continue to improve the team on campus and off, saying “I hope to see the team prospering. I hope that we continuously get better and find recruits who are really enthusiastic and committed to making the team better.”

Adler sees a bright future for the Boggarts: “I hope that this quidditch team will become a staple in the Muhlenberg community as much as any other club. We’re always looking for new members too so if anyone’s interested please contact us!” President and teammate Daniel Schneider ’18 agrees, as he hopes quidditch will become more like the ultimate frisbee team on campus as a club sport with committed and strong players who will lead the team into the future.

The future for the sport of quidditch is bright, especially on Muhlenberg’s campus. The sport is quickly growing and hopefully soon the Berg Boggarts will be able to represent Muhlenberg in their first official tournament since its reestablishment.

The game of quidditch that most people know can be found in books or on a movie screen, but it has since been brought to life as a sport for muggles. Two Middlebury College students, Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe, designed the game in 2005 and it quickly grew in popularity, ending up at Muhlenberg less than a decade later.

Quidditch is a fast, competitive, and vicious sport at times, as it combines the likes of rugby, handball, and dodge ball. It is a full contact sport, so it can be rough at times, and it requires great skill to catch and throw the ball while maneuvering around the defense. Yet, the people who play the game are out there for the love of the sport, Harry Potter, and the aggressive yet friendly nature of competition.