Castleton welcomes Hogwart sport Quidditch
Four Quidditch teams met in the Castleton shape gym Oct. 18 for a showdown of wizardly proportions. Team XC took on Hufflepuff House in game one and Team Nana-nana Boo-boo We’re-better-than-you-you battled Slytherin House for the night’s second contest. Bludgers flew and so did elbows in Castleton’s first ever Quidditch event.
The rules are simple: there are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Seeker, and one Keeper on each team. Chasers try to score goals, Beaters try to stop the opposing Chasers, and the Seeker’s only job is to catch the golden Snitch. Each goal is worth 10 points and catching the Snitch is worth 150. Catching the Snitch also ends the game.
The twist is that the Snitch is not confined to the Shape Gym. He was free to run the entire residential side of campus.
After explaining these rules, referee Pete Marcano said the magic words: “The Snitch is loose! Brooms up!”
Team XC wasted no time getting on the board, as their powerful Chasers took advantage of some early confusion and slammed home the opening goal within the first minute. Only a minute later, they had tallied four more and seemed to be running away with it 50-0.
After 25 more brutal minutes of contest, news was phoned in that the Snitch had been caught. Cassie Pinaire made the call: “The Snitch has been caught, Hufflepuff wins!”
With the final score of 160-70, Hufflepuff pulled a huge upset. Chaser Josh Budzinski was the hero for the Badgers.
The MVPs of the game were McKynze Works and Shelley Audette who combined for all 70 of XC’s points.
“I feel disappointed (that we lost) but it was a good game and we all played well,” Audette said.
Game two saw Works hit the court as a sub for both teams, and she dazzled all the while. Again she struck first, driving in and slamming it home for Slytherin.
Jacob LaBounty was not to be outdone, and took a full-court pass on a bad angle before faking forehand and putting in a backhand shot behind his head. Again, Works’ team was running away with it, 60-20.
The night was full of twists and again the Snitch was caught by the trailer. Team Nana-nana won by a final score of 170-60.
Quidditch might seem like a joke to many, as it even did to some of the participants on Thursday. Brett Ford was hoping to play basketball in the gym but found himself as keeper and held a shutout.
“It ended up being more of a workout than basketball was going to be,” Ford said. “I’d definitely come back.”
Allie Swing, the Seeker who caught the Snitch in game two, also found unlikely fun.
“I didn’t think it was gonna be fun but I got dragged to it,” Swing said between breaths.
Dan Rivers, the Snitch for the night, also found the game to be entertaining. Upon hearing rumblings of a possible club team, he became interested in being the Snitch.
“I’d love to. The snitch is allowed to be very physical [in club],” Rivers said. “I watched videos of the snitch just laying people out.”
With the success of the first Quidditch match in Castleton, you may see more events like this in the future. There’s even a group interested in starting a club team to play against other schools.