Brooms up! Chants of exuberance rang out across Battell Beach last Saturday at 10 a.m., as Middlebury’s quadball team faced off in the first game of the annual Middlebury Quadball Classic. Headbanded players clutching PVC pipes — their “brooms” — chanted:
“WHO ARE WE? WHO ARE WE? MIDDLEBURY!”
Quadball, also known as Muggle Quidditch, is an adaptation of the wizarding sport-on-broomsticks in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series — without dementors, Nimbus 2000’s or Viktor Krum’s Wronski Feint maneuver (a throwback for Potterheads).
Invented in 2005 at Middlebury College, the sport’s name was changed in 2022 due to copyright issues with Warner Bros. and controversy over comments made by author Rowling about the transgender community. The name Quadball, though, fails to imbue the magic of Quidditch and the feelings of wonder and intense excitement it evokes in the pit of every first-time reader’s stomach. Quadball feels impersonal and sterile, while Quidditch paints a portrait of soaring heights and childlike awe.
As Quadball declines in popularity across the country, from 96 teams participating in the 2011 national championship to just 70 in 2024, perhaps a reckoning about a more familiar name and thus an easier entryway into the sport is in order.
Regardless, that original enthralling nature of the Harry Potter novels inspired players on each team competing in the Classic (Harvard, Emerson, Brandeis, University of Vermont, and Middlebury) to join the sport.
In this year’s Classic, Quadball teams include three Chasers, who attempt to score the Quaffle (a deflated volleyball — don’t tell Tom Brady) through three raised hoops on either side of the pitch. Beaters try to hit opposing players with dodgeballs — called “Bludgers” — which forces them to touch their respective hoops, slowing any offensive advance. As Chaser Jason Wu ’27 put it, “Quadball is really three different games. Chasers can’t touch the Bludger, Beaters can’t touch the Quaffle, and Seeking is its own insane challenge.”
The Panthers’ first game started slow, with cautious offensive approaches by both Middlebury and UVM Chasers, until Wu scored the first goal, weaving in and out of the defenders and firing the Quaffle into the middle net. Then, the game picked up speed. Quaffles were soaring through the air, Bludgers being fired without hesitation —- and I found myself crying “FOUL” each time an opposing Chaser made illegal contact, as if I were in the stands of the Quidditch World Cup.
The Panthers had a commanding grasp on scoring until the 35th minute, leading 5–4 when UVM scored a goal and simultaneously caught the not-so-Golden Snitch (which was released at the 20 minute mark), winning them the match.
The Snitch in Quadball is not a tiny golden ball with wings, but a rope ball tied to the back of a neutral person’s shorts. Seekers must grab the rope without making excessive contact with the person guarding the Snitch. This Snitch this time around was particularly excellent, keeping both teams away and extending the game to the point where a butterbeer break should have been in order for fans and players alike.
The Panthers then played Vermont United, a club team composed of Quadball alumni, including former Middlebury College Quadball treasurer Josh Harkins ’25. Harkins acknowledged the decline in Quadball play in the U.S., but emphasized the explosion of international Quadball, especially in Germany. According to Harkins, at the international level, teams run plays and engage in a much faster-paced, physical game. Wu confirmed.
“We have quick hockey-style line changes at the highest level of play. So a full team is 21 players, to be able to keep players fresh,” Wu said.
Vermont United ultimately went 3–0 to claim the Classic title, although in the record books it goes down as an exhibition. An underclassmen-heavy Middlebury squad struggled, but nobody is giving up.
“This is really all about development,” Wu said. “These are young, talented players who have tons of room to grow.”
The reigning national champions continue to fight for another title and hopefully mold this club into a more cohesive unit.
Some might ask: Why spend precious study time with a broom between your legs and a deflated volleyball in hand, or worse, watching other people do so? For those who have yet to attend a Quadball game, let me present three reasons why the experience is worth it:
Number one, they can tackle — enough said. A Chaser with a ball may be tackled between the neck and the knees. Ditch football and come watch quadball.
Number two, the energy is palpable. Music that spans generations booms from speakers, alumni bring the intensity as referees, and to top it all off, delicious food options, including chocolate frogs, are on offer.
Finally, it’s exciting to let your goofy side shine. Quadball might be unorthodox, but getting outside your comfort zone is good for the soul.
Kanan Clifford '28.5 (he/him) is a Sports Editor.
Kanan is a probable Molecular Biology/Biochemistry major, with additional interests in history and politics. At Middlebury, he sails, is on the board of the South Asian Students Association, and is an avid baker!
