Ten years ago: Quidditch craze lands on Transylvania campus; team soon receives national attention
Quidditch came to Transylvania University in 2009 and hit the ground flying — er — running.
quidditch
On heels of Quidditch World Cup in New York, Transylvania team to play two exhibition matches for the public
LEXINGTON, Ky.—This past weekend, members of Transylvania’s traveling Quidditch team, the Transylvania Animagi, met up with 45 other intercollegiate Quidditch teams in New York City’s DeWitt Clinton Park to battle it out for the fourth annual World Cup title. The team will play two exhibition matches, free and open to the public, on Wednesday, November 17, at 6 p.m., and Sunday, November 21 at 3 p.m. Both games will take place on Transylvania’s Hall Field, at the corner of Third and Upper streets. The Animagi garnered attention at the World Cup for their enthusiasm and the Transylvania University name. Time.com’s Techland blog (http://techland.com/2010/11/13/quidditch-world-cup-diary-day-1) said the Transylvania team was “perhaps our favorite team” and Kevin Manno, cohost of MTV’s “The Seven,” played with the team in an impromptu scrimmage match that was filmed for the show. Participating teams came from colleges and universities all over North America and included Harvard, Yale, Middlebury, NYU, Boston University and Michigan State. Senior Kristin Grenier, who helped start Transylvania’s team, said she is continuing to receive emails from people across the country who want to purchase Transylvania Quidditch T-shirts. The T-shirts, screen-printed with a logo designed by first-year student Zachery Stanley, will be available for purchase at both exhibition matches. Proceeds will help the team repay a loan they received from the student activities fund to make their trip to the World Cup. For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.
Transylvania Quidditch team to play match Sunday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. on the lawn behind Old Morrison, in preparation for intercollegiate competition
The Transylvania Quidditch team played a crimson and white scrimmage in October. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Flying around on broomsticks and dodging self-propelled balls sounds like fiction, but at Transylvania University, students are transforming magic into reality with the game of quidditch. The wizard sport from the “Harry Potter” series of books by J.K. Rowling has become a phenomenon on college campuses across the country. ‘Muggle’ quidditch refers to the name for non-magical humans in “Harry Potter,” and is much like wizard quidditch, but played on the ground. Kristin Grenier, a junior environmental studies major from Cynthiana, Ky., and the organizer of Transylvania Quidditch, says the game is “fast and furious.” “It’s a mixture of tag, rugby, dodge ball, basketball, soccer and hide-and-seek, with an added bit of theatrics,” she said. Transylvania Quidditch has 100 members, 20 of whom are active players. “The other members play supportive roles,” said Grenier. The rules of muggle quidditch, according to a 2007 USA Today article, are as follows: Brooms are required, leaving only one hand available, making the game harder as you chase the game ball, a slightly deflated volleyball or soccer ball. Each team has seven players. Three chasers throw the ball among them as they work down the field. If they get it through one of three circular goals (think hula hoops on poles), the team scores 10 points. At the same time, two other team members fling around dark balls called bludgers in