A bit of Harry Potter raises money for School District
When University of Iowa sophomore Rachel Dudley turned 11 years old, she eagerly awaited her acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She wanted to learn the magic of Harry Potter’s fantastic world.
Alas, Dudley eventually realized she is a muggle. Still, she salvaged her magical dreams this past weekend.
At a Phi Sigma Pi fundraiser, Dudley found herself bolting across a Quidditch pitch pursued by broom-wielding Seekers.
In addition to making a young-adult fiction fantasy come true, the group helped raise $550 to buy books for Iowa City School District schools.
“It’s really important to us that the money goes to buying books,” said Phi Sigma Pi Vice President Courtney Lee.
Colleen Patton, who headed the committee in charge of the event, said she expects to start communicating with district officials this week about donating the money.
The Harry Potter world’s Quidditch game, played by wizards and witches on broomsticks, has been adapted to field play by college-age students nationwide .
Rather than flying on broomsticks, for instance, players run on a field straddling brooms. The magically winged Quaffle and Bludgers from the Harry Potter books, which normally fly alongside players, are represented by dodge balls.
Most difficult to replicate sans magic, perhaps, is the small, golden tennis ball-sized Snitch that flies on its own and eludes the players.
Instead of air-bound travel, the Snitch — played by Dudley, who was an alternate state sprinter in high school — ran within specified boundaries on campus and was hunted by the Seekers, who tagged the human Snitch to end the game.
The event drew 56 Quidditch players to the field on May 1 — each of whom made a $10 donation to the Iowa City School District during registration.
“I think that’s fantastic, and it sounds creative, too,” said School Board member Michael Shaw.
In the meantime, one athlete said he’d found his calling.
“My first thought was that [muggle Quidditch] was impossible,” chaser and team medic Mike Sowa said after taping up teammate Noa Kaufman’s ankle in between matches. “But then I looked it up on YouTube. It looked intense, and I thought, ‘This is the game for me.’ ”
Kaufman chimed in, calling on childhood memories.
“All people used to dream they could play Quidditch,” she said. “Now all we have to do is learn how to fly.”
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