“READY? Brooms up!” the referee yells from the side-lines. There are 12 players on the field, six from each of the opposing teams and they are lined in a row opposite each other.
Within moments, the players, “armed” with “brooms” (simple PVC sticks) between their legs, “fly” (rush) towards the four balls arranged in the middle. And just like rugby players, they tackle each other for possession of the balls.
This is quidditch, a game that made its name in the pages of J.K. Rowling’s famed Harry Potter series.
If in the book the game is played by wizards on flying broomsticks, here we have muggles (humans with no wizarding powers, as defined by Rowling) playing the game on foot.
It’s a popular game among college students in America, with its origins dating back to 2005 when it was “brought to life” by a bunch of students at Middlebury College in Vermont, US. Since then, many American schools have added quidditch to their list of team sports.
The game has also spread across more than 25 countries and many international tournaments have been organised. The International Quidditch Association (IQA) is the official governing body and the host of the IQA Quidditch World Cup that began in 2012.
The gameplay
The rules are simple. You have three Chasers who are tasked to score as many points as possible by throwing a Quaffle (a slightly deflated basketball ball) into either one of three standing hoops.
For every successful throw,10 points are awarded.
A Keeper would guard the hoops to stop the opposing team from scoring while two Beaters would vie for the three Bludgers (slightly deflated dodgeball balls) on the field and begin throwing it at players from the opposing team to knock them out of the game.
Players who get knocked out would have to drop whatever ball they have in hand, then run and touch their home hoops to restart.
Watching it on screen, the field appears like a jumbled mess of bodies with players falling on top of each other and balls flying in every direction. That’s not counting the Seekers (one from each team) who are waiting on the side-lines for their turn on the 18th minute.
That’s a minute after the Snitch (a neutral player who has a tennis ball in a sock strapped to the back of his/her pants) is released on the field.
Both Seekers will attempt to snatch the ball from the Snitch to end the game and collect an extra 30 points.
Whatever rule that binds the other players on the field does not apply to the Snitch, making him/her the crowd’s favourite.
Loud cheers are given to the person decked in yellow as she tries to outrun and outsmart the Seekers from both teams.
Cartwheeling, throw downs, smooth and fast dodging are just a few of the antics shown by the mischievous Snitch.
At the end of it, the team with the most points wins.
Beginning of a team
As I watch the game on YouTube in a cosy cafe located in TTDI, KL, the co-founders of Malaysia’s only quidditch team, Andrew Mervyn Kasimir and Charmaine Goh Soke Mieng, who are sitting opposite me, look on expectantly, waiting for some kind of reaction.
“It’s practically just like how J.K. Rowling described it in her books, except that you can’t fly,” quips Goh, the more extroverted of the two.
“People have asked why we even bother with the sticks since we can’t fly on it. I guess in a way it serves as a handicap to the players. If not, it’ll just be like any other ball game,” chips in Andrew.
The duo are veterans of this ever-growing and popular international game.
Andrew himself has been playing quidditch since 2012, while Goh was introduced to it a couple of years later.
“I first got to know of the muggle version of the game when I was studying in Perth. My alma mater had a team called the Murdoch Mandrakes and I saw their advertisement calling for players in the university’s newspaper. So I thought, why not?” recalls Andrew.
“Ironically, up until then, I had never read the Harry Potter books or watched the movie. But it was a huge thing and most people my age knew what quidditch was.”
His love for the game saw him joining a more competitive team, the Perth Phoenixes, later on.
The switch gave him more experience as the team got to compete against other regional teams around Australia.
A year after his graduation, when he had returned to Malaysia, Andrew started missing the game. That in turn led to him persuading his girlfriend, Goh, and a handful of their friends to play the game at Central Park in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya one clear Sunday evening.
“When he told me he wanted to start a team of his own here so that he could play, I was a little incredulous. I was like, ‘Really? Who’s going to play?’” shares Goh, chuckling.
To their surprise, there were takers for the game and not long after, they had gathered enough people to form a team.
The Damansara Dementors, that’s what they called themselves, named after the dark creatures in the book that like to consume human happiness.
Moving forward
The team is based in the Klang Valley with players hailing from various backgrounds.
“I guess that’s what makes quidditch relevant. It doesn’t discriminate. Anybody can join, no matter the gender, shape, size, race or religion,” says Goh, eyes shining.
“It’s a co-ed game where each team has to have at least two players of a different gender. It’s in the rulebook,” explains Andrew, adding: “And there’s no rule saying guys should go softer on girls or vice versa. It’s a very equal playing field. You’ll be surprised at how strong some girls in the international teams are!”
Over the past five years, the team has grown from strength to strength. Although they have lost most of their original players, they have been fortunate as more athletic ones have taken over their place.
“We are the only two original players remaining in the team,” confides Goh with a laugh.
“We’re now playing and training more competitively compared to when we first started.
“In 2016, we kicked off the first ever Asian Quidditch Cup (AQC) held in Subang with about three teams playing.
“Last year, we held it in Vietnam – the numbers had grown to five teams by then. This year in July, we competed for the first time in the IQA Quidditch World Cup held in Florence, Italy and amazingly, we didn’t do too badly!”
Finishing at the top of the lower bracket in the World Cup competition (18th place out of 29 teams that participated) gave them a renewed sense of achievement and vigour.
However, the pair is disappointed that there aren’t more teams in the country or even in the neighbouring countries.
“There used to be one in Shah Alam and another in Subang, but they’re now inactive,” reveals Andrew, adding: “Hopefully the game will attract more people in the future, especially the younger crowd. After all, it’s slowly becoming an internationally-recognised professional sport. And it’s another option on top of the more traditional games we play.”
Nodding, the 30-something Goh chips in: “Why not do something different? After all, this sport has given me lots of benefits from health, to lifestyle and even personality.”
As patrons slowly begin to trickle out of the cafe, signalling its closing time, we rise to take our leave as well. But before we make our way to the door, Andrew concludes: “The brooms between the legs may be an off-putting factor for this game but we suggest that you put away any inhibitions and just come and try. Come and get to know us. You might just find yourself liking the game.”
For more information and to join the game, like their Facebook page at: facebook.com/DamansaraDementors/