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Getting Ready for Quidditch Regional Action

Jordan Palmer

The sport inspired by the Harry Potter stories will hold its Midwest Regional Championships November 21 & 22 at Veterans Park in Macomb.

“It is one of the sports where there’s a lot going on. But it is very easy to pick up,” said Sarah Woolsey, Events Director for US Quidditch.

“This is a fantastic sport for a spectator. It’s very hard to be bored while watching a game of quidditch.”

She said there is no cost to watch the regional action in Macomb.  She said the community was chosen to host the event after a site visit by organizers, who came away impressed with the park and amenities.

In quidditch, seven players per side compete on a field that’s about half the size of a soccer field, playing a game that Woolsey said includes elements of rugby, dodge ball, lacrosse, basketball, and more.  The players do all this while carrying a broom between their legs – though they won’t be flying like players do in the fictional series.

“We’re working on the technology,” Woolsey said with a laugh.

14 teams will compete in Macomb, and four of those teams will qualify for the national championship, known as the Quidditch Cup, which will be played in April in Columbia, South Carolina.  Woolsey said the University of Texas won the cup the past three years.

The Macomb Area Convention Center & Visitors Bureau estimated 250-300 athletes will compete in the games.

Woolsey said US Quidditch is a non-profit organization that governs the sport of quidditch.  The organization has been around for five years and the sport has been around for ten years.

Rich is TSPR's News Director.