The game-based sport featured in the Harry Potter books spells success at the Barrie Community Sports Complex
Visitors to the Barrie Community Sports Complex are used to seeing a variety of games played, but on Saturday they got to witness something they had never seen before.
Members of the Toronto community team, Valhalla, joined the University of Guelph Gryphons, University of Waterloo Ridgebacks and University of Toronto Centaurs for a one-day tournament, which transformed two of the facility’s soccer fields into quidditch pitches for the Quidditch Canada Central Divisional Tournament.
Based on the game played in the Harry Potter series, the sport was first played in the United States in 2005, with the first Canadian quidditch team established in 2009.
resident of Barrie and Harry Potter Fan Sarah Alexander brought her nearly two-year-old son, Archer, to watch the games on Saturday. Putting on his “Ravenclaw” sweatshirt (one of the Hogwarts schools), Alexander said BarrieToday as a fan of the books and movies, she was curious to see how the popular wizarding game would translate to real life.
“I’ve never seen him play before. I was really interested as a fan of Harry Potter, so we went out,” she said. “I knew people were playing, but I didn’t know there was actually a league, so I’m curious to see how they took something (fictional) and turned it into something that people can participate in real life.”
University of Guelph student Milo Ospina plays the role of “researcher” for the Gryphons. He said he found the idea of the sport intriguing when he heard about it during orientation.
“I have a background in wrestling and football, so I was at a football game during orientation week and they had set up a booth. They told me it was full contact like rugby and one of the main things I do is called research, which is what Harry Potter does in search of the snitch,” he said. -he declares. “It involves a lot of wrestling, so I thought it was (combined) two things I like, so I decided to join.”
The tournament, noted Quidditch Canada Membership and Events Director Alex Downey-Ging, went well, with only a few minor injuries.
“We were very lucky with the weather. We’ve never hosted quidditch events in Barrie, and we certainly have a lot of teams south of here…so we’re excited, first of all, to try this venue, but also to see if there is an interest in Barrie for sports. .”
Valhalla teammates Kyle Ross and Derek Li were on a break after their big win against the Gryphons, in which they got 215 points to their opponents’ 50. Both athletes have been playing for about eight years and said full-contact sport is quite a workout.
“It’s nice to be able to practice a competitive sport at an advanced age when not everyone has experience. You can learn it again,” said Ross, who noted that besides a love for Harry Potter, it’s just a fun sport to participate in.
Li started playing quidditch while attending Carleton University in Ottawa, and said he remembered walking by and seeing a booth, which piqued his interest.
“I grew up playing team sports. I’m from Hong Kong and played field hockey (and it’s kind of non-existent in Canada… Also, I’m open to trying new things,” he said. “On the sports side, I feel like it’s a bit like mixed rugby with elements of dodgeball in. It’s a good take on the books.
Yara Kodershah, General Manager of Quidditch Canada, grew up reading the Harry Potter books and watching movies, and always felt connected to the stories.
“It was a passion and a love for me growing up and I continue to be connected because I love the game and I love sports. I grew up playing sports, but that was my first foray in full contact (in the sport). Once I stopped playing, I was really determined to help the sport grow, so I’m volunteering now,” she said, adding that it was great to see the rivalries between the four teams present.
“It’s a fun competition and I can’t wait to see who takes gold.”
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