Though the University of Minnesota’s Quadball team has been out of season since the fall season ended, the group will be ready to play again in the spring.
Quadball combines rugby and football, with two groups of seven players each, trying to win points by throwing balls into the other team’s hoops while holding a PVC pipe in between their legs, as if riding a broom. Quadball is a sport heavily inspired by the game of Quidditch, popularized by Harry Potter.
The University’s Quadball team is currently the only competitive Quadball Team in Minnesota, according to team President Anna Nelson.
“It’s kind of like its own game of flag football, except everyone’s trying to catch the same person,” Nelson said.
A primary aspect of Quadball inspired by Harry Potter is the golden snitch or “flag runner,” as it is called in Quadball. In the books and films, the snitch is a flying ball that players attempt to catch.
This is adapted to real-life Quadball by having a runner wearing flags in bright yellow shorts run around and try to avoid two players called “seekers.”
The game is played for 20 minutes with a two-minute break in between. After the stop, 60 points are added to whichever team is in the lead. The snitch is worth 35 points, according to Nelson.
Nelson said the name “Quadball” aims to separate the sport from the creator of Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, who has been accused of transphobia.
“Because there’s so many LGBTQ+ people in the sport, it wasn’t really vibing with us,” Nelson said. “It had evolved into something by that point where it’s like, OK, well why are we still associating with this if it’s different from how it was in the books?”
The sport has also evolved past how the books described Quidditch, Nelson said. Unlike Quidditch, Quadball is a cohesive, full-contact sport that has garnered its own following separate from Quidditch.
Nelson, a fourth-year student, said she originally joined the team during her first year at the University and was soon interested in the physical nature of the sport. She said there were a lot of team members who joined thinking it would be stupid, but soon realized the physicality of the sport.
“It’s definitely funky to try to figure out how to make it work at first, but it’s a good time,” Nelson said. “It definitely equals out the playing field a little bit, as it’s an all-gender sport.”
Nelson said she wanted to take on a leadership role because she likes the sense of community amongst the team.
Aidan Curley, a third-year student and the team’s travel coordinator, said he especially likes the exercise he gets from playing Quadball.
“It is active, and it’s a really physical sport,” Curley said. “It has helped me be physically healthy, but also emotionally healthy. To be able to go twice a week, run around with all your friends and try to get good at something, that’s a tremendous bonding experience.”
Curley said the team is scheduled to start practices next semester in the dome at the University’s Recreation and Wellness Center. He said that the schedule for these practices will be announced early next semester on the team’s Instagram page.
