If you’re still waiting on your Hogwarts letter, don’t fret — you can still play quidditch in Kansas. Mizzou, KU and Wichita State all now offer collegiate quidditch teams, and Kansas City also has its own major league quidditch team called Kansas City Stampede (facebook.com/kansascitystampede).
Quidditch is a serious sport. You have to try out to be on the team, and if your team is skilled enough, they may qualify to compete for the national championship title.
Potential quidditch athletes must be adept with the skills to run with a broomstick between their legs. From there, they’ll be chosen as a beater, chaser, seeker or keeper.
Much like the sport in the books, each position has its own challenges. The chasers score points by shooting the “quaffle” volleyball through the other team’s hoops. The seekers try to catch a “snitch” tennis ball from the waistband of a designated player roaming the field. The beaters play both offense and defense trying to disrupt other players from getting the quaffle by throwing dodgeballs, and the keeper is the goalie for the hoops.
