quidditch

Though the J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World has recently ventured over to 1920’s New York City thanks to ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’, magic is still alive and well in Harry Potter’s homeland of the United Kingdom. But we’re not just talking about ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, which is currently enjoying an excellent run in London’s West End. Next summer, Quidditch comes to the UK in a very official capacity.

First conceived in Rowling’s beloved novels about the Boy Who Lived, the magical game sees seven players per team mount flying brooms to defend a trio of hoops, throw quaffles through the other team’s hoops to score points, and ultimately catch the golden snitch to win the match. It was then adapted by American college students and brought into the real world as a full-contact sport played while holding brooms between a player’s legs where the various equipment was substituted with dodgeballs (bludgers), volleyballs (quaffle), and a sock with a tennis ball in it attached to a cross country runner (snitch). And though it is currently played by nearly 20,000 people in 25 different countries, Quidditch is about to get even more legitimate across the pond. 

In a recent interview with The Guardian, organizers Tom Newton, Jack Lennard, and their team have announced that they have formed the UK Quidditch Premier League. Set to run from May to August of 2017, the league will consists of eight teams (London Monarchs, Eastern Mermaids, Yorkshire Roses, West Midland Shredders, Southwest Broadside, Southeast Knights, Northern Watch, and East Midland Archers) vying to be crowned the Quidditch National Champions. Lennard, who will act as the director of the league, had this to say about the announcement:

“The Quidditch Premier League is such an exciting opportunity and development. It’s an opportunity for the sport to grow and gain prestige. It’s an opportunity for players to compete at the highest level. And, most importantly, it’s an opportunity for more people in more places to find out about this incredible sport.”

There is currently no word on the specifics of where and when these games will take place or whether the matches will be televised for those of us not in the immediate vicinity to watch, but those details are expected to be revealed as the season gets closer. Until then, are you excited for the Quidditch Premier League to debut? Do you think that this will lead to more countries following the UK in forming their own league, which may result in a Quidditch World Cup similar to the one seen in the Harry Potter books and movies (minus the attacks from Death Eaters)? Sound off in the comments.

horizontal lineDespite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.