Visitors to the Barrie Community Sports Complex are used to seeing a variety of games being played, but on Saturday, they got to witness something they’d never seen before.
Members of Toronto-based community team Valhalla joined the University of Guelph Gryphons, the University of Waterloo Ridgebacks and the University of Toronto Centaurs for a daylong tournament, which transformed two of the facility’s soccer pitches into quidditch pitches for Quidditch Canada’s 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.
Barrie resident and Harry Potter fan Sarah Alexander brought her nearly two-year-old son, Archer, to watch the games Saturday. Donning her “Ravenclaw” sweatshirt (one of the Hogwarts school houses), Alexander told BarrieToday as a fan of the books and the movies, she was curious to see how the popular wizard game would translate into real life.
“I have never actually seen it played before. I was really interested as a fan of Harry Potter, so we came out,” she said. “I knew people played, but I didn’t know there was actually a league, so I am curious to see how they’ve taken something (fictional) and turned it into something people can participate in in real life.”
University of Guelph student Milo Ospina plays the position of “seeker” for the Gryphons. He said he found the idea of the sport to be intriguing when he learned 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 a booth set up. They told me it was full contact like rugby and one of the main things I do is called seeking, which is what Harry Potter does looking for the snitch,” he said. “That involves a lot of wrestling, so I thought it (combined) two things that I enjoy, so I decided to join.”
The tournament, noted Quidditch Canada’s membership and events director, Alex Downey-Ging, was going smoothly, with only a few minor injuries having taken place.
“We got really lucky with the weather. We have never held any quidditch events in Barrie, and we definitely have a lot of teams south of here … so we are excited to, first of all, try out this venue, but also to see if there’s any interest in Barrie in the sport.”
Valhalla teammates Kyle Ross and Derek Li were taking a break after their big win over the Gryphons, during which they earned 215 points to their opponents’ 50. Both athletes have been playing for about eight years, and said the full-contact sport is quite a workout.
“It’s nice to get to play a competitive sport at an older age where not everyone has experience. You get to learn it again,” said Ross, who noted in addition to a love for Harry Potter, it’s simply a fun sport to be a part of.
Li started playing quidditch while attending Carleton University in Ottawa, and said he remembers walking by and seeing a booth, which piqued his interest.
“I grew up playing team sports. I am from Hong Kong and I played field hockey (and it) is kind of non-existent in Canada … Plus, I am open to trying new things,” he said. “From the sports side of things, I feel like it’s kind of like coed rugby with dodgeball elements. It’s a good interpretation of the books.”
Quidditch Canada executive director Yara Kodershah grew up reading the Harry Potter books and watching the movies, and has always felt connected to the stories.
“It was a passion and a love of mine growing up and I continue to be connected because I love the game and I love the sport. I grew up playing sports, but this was my first full-contact foray (into sports). Once I aged out of playing, I was just really committed to helping the sport grow, so I volunteer now,” she said, adding it was great to see the rivalries between the four teams in attendance.
“There’s some fun competition and I am excited to see who takes home gold.”
