Broomsticklers for authenticity
The Monash Muggles
If you thought Quidditch only existed in the Harry Potter novels, you’d be wrong; Monash University has its own team. Their name? The Monash Muggles.
Manuel Thomson, who is in the second year of his Bachelor of Science degree at the Clayton campus, and Minister for Sports of the Monash Muggle Society, said the society had come a long way in a short time.
“Monash Muggles was founded in 2011, originally created to bring together Harry Potter fans to have movie and book discussions. Since then the society has grown with the introduction of Quidditch,” Manuel said.
“Unfortunately due to us not being able to fly on broomsticks, we cannot play the sport in the air, though broomsticks are still a major part of the Muggle (non-magic) version of the game. Instead, players run with broomsticks between their legs, with the exception of the seeker.”
The Muggles hope to take advantage of a growing interest in the sport and start running a Quidditch tournament at Monash in Semester 2 2012, along with other events such as Harry Potter trivia nights.
The Muggles recently played a match against the Victorian Quidditch Association (VQA), which Manuel described as a hard fought win.
“This was our first win out of three games against the VQA and it was great to win a home game against them,” Manuel said.
“With progressive training and teamwork, we hope to be able to have a team up to the standard to go play in the International Quidditch Association’s (IQA) World Cup, where teams around the world go to compete,” Manuel said.
The Monash Muggles are officially registered with the Australian Quidditch Association, a part of the Oceanic Division of the IQA.
For those interested in the game, training for Quidditch will commence after the Semester 1 exam period. For further details, contact the Monash Muggle Society on monashmuggles@monashclubs.org.
The recent match against the VQA was filmed by Channel 10. Footage is available online.