Chestnut Hill College to Host Quidditch Match Against Middlebury College March 23, 2010

Chestnut Hill College students will pick up their broomsticks once again after sweeping the Philadelphia bracket of the 2009 Quidditch Intercollegiate World Cup to play Middlebury College on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 2 p.m. on the College’s campus. The match is sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Activities Team (CHAT), and will feature food, fun, and all things Harry Potter. Chestnut Hill College is located at 9601 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia.
Chestnut Hill College, the first Philadelphia area college to play Quidditch, was selected as a stop on Middlebury’s 2010 Spring Break Quidditch tour. Middlebury’s Quidditch team will travel to six cities throughout the Northeast to spread the word about Harry Potter’s favorite past time that is quickly becoming a popular collegiate sport. Chestnut Hill College has been playing Quidditch for more than two years and has participated in two Intercollegiate World Cup Tournaments at Middlebury.
Muggle (or for those unfamiliar with the books, non-magical people) Quidditch, the wizarding sport played on broomsticks in the beloved Harry Potter series has leapt off the pages of the fantasy book- and onto college campuses across the country. Quidditch is a game that is a cross between football, dodgeball, and rugby as well as a game of hide and go seek, although all elements from J.K Rowling 's tale are fully represented, including riding broomsticks. The “Golden Snitch,” the flying ball that was Harry’s job as a seeker to capture, is now a track runner with the ability to run all over the campus; Quaffles can still score points, and players can still get bludgered. Muggle Quidditch, created in 2005 at Middlebury College, Vt., has since become a popular nationwide sport, with more than 300 teams forming the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association (IQA) membership.
The Quidditch match is free and open to the public, and is appropriate for all ages. For more information, please contact Kimberly Cooney, director of student activities at 215.753.3648. or CooneyK@chc.edu