US Quidditch Cup comes to Columbia for one magical weekend

WHAT: Quidditch Cup 9

WHEN: Saturday April 16 and Sunday, April 17

WHERE: Palmetto Health Fields at Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Road

On Saturday, April 16, 60 teams from across the country will fly into Columbia via broomstick, Apparition, Floo powder or portkey for the US Quidditch Cup. (Just kidding, they’ll probably fly United.)

From its origins in the fantastical “Harry Potter” series, Quidditch has turned into a very real sport. It’s the pastime of choice for the witches and wizards in JK Rowling’s books, as well as a small contingent of real-world reader-athletes.

Teams competed in eight regional tournaments to make the Quidditch Cup, which will be played at the newly completed Palmetto Health Fields at Saluda Shoals Park. It’s the third year in a row that the national tournament has been held in South Carolina – Myrtle Beach hosted in 2014, Rock Hill in 2015. The weekend tourney will feature the sport as well as food trucks, live music by the band Harry and the Potters, and a “kidditch” area for kids’ activities.

The US Quidditch league started in 2005 at Middlebury College in Vermont as a coed intramural sport. Today there are more than 150 teams in USQ.

In the muggle, or non-magical version, players don’t fly high in the sky on brooms, but they do run with brooms between their legs. As in the books, there are seven people per team that score points by tossing a quaffle (similar to a volleyball) through one of three elevated hoops that act as goals. Players can hit opponents with bludgers (similar to a kickball) and end the game by capturing the snitch.

Unlike the books, the snitch is not a self-propelled golden ball. It’s a person dressed in yellow with a tennis-ball tail. The snitch can run to evade capture, or physically push away players that get near. (Some snitches have backgrounds in cross country, others in wrestling.)

The overall result is a mix of traditional sports like rugby, lacrosse and dodgeball.

“Or a football game mixed with a renaissance fair,” Andrea Mensink, directer of communications for Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism said. “It’s very quirky, but it’s also intense and tough and requires athletic strength.” Midlands Authority worked with the Columbia Regional Sports Council to bring this year’s Cup to Columbia.

Quidditch is full-contact. Players wear mouth guards but no pads. Concussions, torn ACLs and Hagrid-sized bruises are not uncommon.

For some players, Quidditch is about sport first, Harry Potter second.

“Some people found Quidditch because of ‘Harry Potter.’ But a lot have never read or watched the ‘Harry Potter’ series,” said Sarah Woosley, USQ's interim executive director and events director. “It's surprising to hear at first, I know.”

THE VIBE: For spectators, there’s a lot to see and do. Expect a festival-like atmosphere with food trucks and Harry Potter-themed activities. Alcohol also will be served (no word on butterbeer though).

THE VERDICT: Quidditch is a fun, family-friendly affair. It’s not just Harry Potter geeks running around a field; there’s strategy and athleticism in this quirky game, too. And with three games going on at the same time, you definitely won’t get bored.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 5:10 PM with the headline "US Quidditch Cup comes to Columbia for one magical weekend."