Loyola’s Quidditch team is seeking and chasing hard to attend the Sixth Annual Quidditch World Cup in Kissimmee, Fla. this April.
The World Cup is a national event for the top Quidditch teams hailing from across the United States and other countries such as Australia, France, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico to compete for the championship title. Players will collide in full-force tackles and compete in a game that is no longer just a fictional spot.
“Quidditch is fun in that everyone is pretty new to it. No one grew up playing Quidditch,” mass communication sophomore Etefia Umana said. “It’s constantly evolving and changing in strategy. As a current player, I’m helping with this evolution. Also it’s a contact sport and I enjoy playing sports in general.”
Though the characters in Harry Potter may fly around on broomsticks while playing Quidditch, Loyola’s team is doing anything but sitting around.
“It’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. It’s like a P.E. game on steroids. There is always something going on, it’s fast paced, intense, and impossible to be bored watching or playing,” Steven Gergen, environmental science sophomore, said.
According to Umana, the team has played around 24 games this year and is trying to raise $2,000 to attend the World Cup. Umana said that Loyola’s Quidditch team attending the World Cup will give the school large exposure on a national, even international, scale.
“Our team will have an opportunity to play against teams we otherwise would not have, potentially improving us in the future,” Umana, who plays the keeper position on the team, said.
“I set up the rest of the team defense and start the ball up the field on offense. Also an enforcer near the hoops,” Umana said.
Gergen said Loyola students should help Quidditch raise money, for the Quidditch team is deaply embended within the university’s community.
“Funding our success is extremely easy to see the results out of. Plus, we’re friends with everyone as were a diverse group,” Gergen, who plays the chaser position on the team, said.
“After keeper starts ball play, I stay open for passes. Personally, I play more defense than offense, so I stay around midfield and tackle whoever advances the ball for the other team,” Gergen said.
Umana said students should help fund Quidditch because the team worked hard this year and will make Loyola proud at the World Cup.
“We are one of the most visible organizations of the school and serve as great ambassadors for Loyola in terms of building relationships with other schools around the country,” Umana said.
Quidditch teammate Tad Walters posted an anouncement on the Loyola University New Orleans Class of 2015 Facebook
group page about a fundraiser to help the Quidditch team. The fundraiser is a poll where students can vote for their favorite Quidditch team ,and the team with the most votes will receive a donation to help attend the World Cup. More votes will equal more percentage of donation money.
“Please take three seconds to vote and remember to fly with the Pack,” Walters said.
Shamara King can be reached at [email protected]
