After two teams dropped out, OU’s Quidditch team will travel to South Carolina for the national tournament.
Quidditch is no longer just a sport played on broomsticks in author J.K. Rowling’s famous, fictional universe. The Ohio University Flying Bobcats will prove that when they travel to South Carolina this weekend to compete in the eighth US Quidditch World Cup.
This year, the team became classified as a club sport, which attracted more legitimate athletes and less Harry Potter enthusiasts than when they first started three years ago, said A.J. Davis, a founder of the team and a senior studying journalism.
“We are a sport,” Davis said. “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, but I consider myself a student athlete because I play Quidditch.”
Quidditch teams must play a certain amount of tournaments and games in order to qualify for the World Cup, Davis said. The Midwest region, which includes the Flying Bobcats, had its regional tournament in November.
OU’s team ranked 20th in that tournament, initially eliminating them from World Cup eligibility. After the Marquette University and Grand Valley State University teams dropped out, however, the Flying Bobcats were able to make the cut.
“We kind of snuck into the World Cup,” Davis said. “Going into regionals we were expected to qualify, so I think it’s vindication for us.”
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The atmosphere of practices immediately became more serious when the team learned they could compete in the World Cup, said Tommy Salas, a junior studying business economics.
This year’s team is more dedicated and focused on the sport, said Brittany Follett, a founder of the team and a senior studying geology.
“This year we definitely have athletes who want to better themselves,” said Follett, who will sit out of the World Cup due to a broken collarbone she sustained in an earlier tournament.
“I’m not a Harry Potter fan at all. I just saw the team practicing at McCracken field one day,” Salas said. “I tried it out and kind of fell in love.”
Davis said going to the World Cup makes the past three years of the team’s time, money and dedication worth it.
“This means everything, especially with the team we have this year,” Davis said. “I wanted this for them. I’m so happy my last Quidditch tournament is the World Cup with the best people I know.”
The U.S. Quidditch World Cup will be live-streamed April 11 and 12.
@taymaple
