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Everything you need to know about quidditch and its journey from fantasy to for-real<\/span><\/h5>\n

Words by Taylor Eisenhauer<\/em>
\nVideo by Alex Payne and Allison Trebacz<\/em>
\nAudio by Jessica DiDominick<\/em>
\nPhotos by Allison Trebacz<\/em>
\nGraphics by Emily VanSchmus<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

The players fly down the pitch as four balls\u2014for now\u2014hurl through the air. One of those balls can be used to score. The fifth ball, also used to score, comes into play later, while the remaining three exist solely to hit other players\u2014and hit them hard. They\u2019re called bludgers for a reason\u2014glorified dodgeballs designed to disrupt, distract and not quite decimate players. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the moment they are flying all around, trying to stop the player with the scoring ball\u2014the quaffle\u2014as they sprint toward the three rings at the end of the pitch. If they get the quaffle through one of those rings, it\u2019s 10 points. So they need to be stopped. They dip and dodge and keep hustling forward, holding their broomstick\u2014a 4-foot-long yellow pipe between their legs. The action moves all around them. Then, out of nowhere, it hits them full force from the side and knocks them to the ground. It wasn\u2019t a bludger. It was another player delivering a serious body check\u2014and providing further proof that this isn\u2019t Quidditch: the magical sport from your favorite childhood books. This is quidditch: the rugby-reminiscent, bring-you-to-your-knees full contact sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting in 2005 at <\/span>Middlebury College<\/span><\/a> in Middlebury, Vermont, IRL quidditch has become an entity all its own, separate from <\/span>Harry Potter<\/span><\/i>. That doesn\u2019t mean players aren\u2019t fans\u2014they just don\u2019t have to be. The draw is the newness, the competitiveness, the inclusivity. In 2005, quidditch was very much a fan\u2019s game. But now, in 2016, it\u2019s a full-contact sport with its own agenda\u2014one that might leave you a bit bloody and bruised.<\/span><\/p>\n