The word most commonly used to describe real Quidditch matches is “chaos,” according to the person who oversees much of Quidditch play in Canada.
The sport came to life in 2005 when two college students decided to see how the magical game detailed in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books would come to life. But while Harry Potter and his classmates floated through the air on flying broomsticks, real-life players stay firmly on the ground and “ride” three-foot PVC pipes.
“Dodgeballs fly through the air. People crash into each other. Yes, it’s a chaotic game,” said Quidditch Canada Executive Director Yara Kodershah to Day 6 guest host Saroja Coelho.
But for many players around the world, including those in Canada, Quidditch will not be “Quidditch” for much longer.
Three of the sport’s governing bodies recently announced they are officially changing its name to “Quadball,” both due to trademark concerns and a desire to distance themselves from Harry Potter author JK Rowling given her controversial comments in recent years .
Yara Kodershah, executive director of Quidditch Canada, said the “enduring transphobia” Rowling has expressed in recent years “really contradicts our own values as an organization.” (Submitted by Yara Kodershah)
The name of the sport is set to change in 2023
Warner Bros., the studio behind the Harry Potter films, owns the trademark of the word Quidditch, which limited the sport’s ability to expand or pursue “sponsorship and broadcast opportunities,” according to Major League Quadball (MLQ) and US Quadball (USQ ).
Additionally, LGBTQ advocacy groups have accused Rowling of transphobia following a series of inflammatory statements about gender identity, which the leagues say run counter to Quidditch’s “reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world in terms of equality and inclusivity.”
Quidditch Canada says it “strongly supports” this decision by other governing bodies and has announced it will also seek a name change beginning in January 2023.
It noted that Rowling’s “persistent anti-trans remarks” were the impetus for the change, as well as Indigenous scholars’ claims of cultural appropriation in Rowling’s writings.
Where Quidditch was about flying broomsticks and enchanted balls, real players spread PVC pipes while chasing a dodgeball. (Joseph Verschuuren)
“There is the ongoing transphobia expressed in JK Rowling’s comments over the years […] that really goes against our own values as an organization,” Kodershah told Coelho.
“I would say once those statements became popular, it really was kind of an unbridgeable divide between our sport and their stories.”
“Anger and contempt” at Rowling’s remarks
Michael Howard, head coach of Canada’s national Quidditch team, said that “anger and contempt” at Rowling’s comments have long been present in the Quidditch community.
“There’s a sense of liberation that this community, which has been a super welcoming environment, especially in the sports world, can move away from that,” he said.
Michael Howard, head coach of Canada’s national Quidditch team, said “anger and contempt” at JK Rowling’s controversial remarks have long been present in the Quidditch community. (Submitted by Michael Howard)
The International Quadball Association (IQA) has been working to reaffirm gender inclusivity with an official “gender rule” stating that a team cannot field more than four players who identify as the same sex at the same time.
Depending on the phase of the game, each team has a total of six or seven players on the pitch. The rule will be enforced based on the players’ self-identified gender, according to Kodershah.
“It has nothing to do with assigned gender, it has nothing to do with her physical body. It’s entirely to do with how people identify,” Kodershah said.
“What has allowed us this rule is to be a sport explicitly designed for trans people and non-binary and gender non-conforming people.”
The approach to gender in Quidditch – or quadball – is part of a growing movement in sport to take gender more seriously.
Howard concedes that the sport’s inclusive gender rule may ultimately be a barrier to Quidditch being accepted at international sporting events such as the Olympics.
The players attend a Quidditch Eastern Divisionals game in Ottawa in 2021. (Joseph Verschuuren)
But he suggests that it is governing bodies like the International Olympic Committee that should revise their rules on gender.
“I’m excited about the proliferation of coed sports competitions and events with less rigid gender categories,” he said. “But before that, a lot has to change [quidditch at the Olympics] happens.”
A sport like no other
Middlebury College students Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe were the ones who originally adapted Quidditch for the real game. They were curious to see how the magical game described in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books would play out in real life.
The sport originally spread on college campuses, but as its popularity grew, high-level leagues, national teams, and governing bodies were formed. According to the IQA, Quidditch is now played by “almost 600 teams in 40 countries”.
Howard says that although “most people think of it as a live-action role-playing game, [quidditch is] a real sport that requires athleticism.”
“From the first open practice I fell in love with the chaotic nature of the sport and have been playing ever since,” he said.
Written and produced by Mickie Edwards.
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