Quidditch – the fictional sport from Harry Potter. People have been playing a “muggle-friendly” version for over 10 years, so why does Bob Jones need a team now? According to senior Jessie Sloan, “We live in the Huntsville-Madison area, most of our parents are engineers, that’s exactly why we need a quidditch team. We’re all nerds!” With the recent addition of an E-Sports team to our school’s long list of extracurriculars, it seems fitting that the more athletic nerd is given an outlet.

Compared to E-Sports, quidditch is a more traditional sport. It is played on a field, and there is actual physical effort involved. There are several teams across the US and some internationally. Since 2010, there has been a US quidditch cup, and an International Quidditch Association has existed since 2008.

E-Sports seems to be a typically male-dominated pastime, and gamers are usually very unfriendly to girls who show interest in video games. This is not the case in quidditch. It is stated in the rules that while there are seven players on the field at a time, no more than four of them can be of the same gender.

While this may not be the most practical of ideas for an actual sports team, it could also make a fun repeating Patriot Path. There are enough teachers at this school who love Harry Potter, and going outside and running around would be a good break from sitting for hours on end. Not everyone maybe be willing to commit to the demands of a sports team, but a Patriot Path is a low maintenance way to enjoy the game.

This may sound extremely nerdy, and it is, but like any sport, it is a way to make friends who have similar interests as you. In the immortal words of Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Oliver Wood, “You can’t cancel quidditch!”