NIU NARGLES
Quidditch Team
​​Do you love Harry Potter? Do you think muggles should get to play quidditch? Then you've come to the right place!
The Nargles are NIU's official quidditch team!
Here you'll find the number one place for exclusive Nargles info!
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NARGLES IN THE NEWS:
In this photo taken Sept. 21, 2011,Randy Bergman, a senior at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Ill, takes break between drills during an NIU Quidditch team practice at the Chick Evans Field House.
In this photo taken Sept. 21, 2011, with their brooms ready, the Northern Illinois University Quidditch team prepares for a practice game at the Chick Evans Field House in DeKalb, Ill.
SPOTLIGHT: Quidditch comes to life at NIU
By Nicole Weskerna
Published: Sunday, Oct. 9 2011 8:45 a.m. MDT
DEKALB, Ill. — Tamara Carlson admits it's kind of nerdy. However, that doesn't stop her from getting together with a group of Northern Illinois University students each week to play Quidditch — a sport lifted from the pages of the Harry Potter book series.
Carlson normally wouldn't be found practicing for a sport in the field house. But for Quidditch, she makes an exception.
"I'm anti-sports," Carlson, a senior, said during practice. "This is enough nerdiness to make it fun."
Though the game was designed for wizards with magical powers, "muggles" have figured out a way to play, too. The game played at Hogwarts requires players to fly on brooms and seek out the elusive "golden snitch" to win the game. At NIU, Quidditch players do use brooms, only they run while holding one between their legs. That means players need the skills to catch and throw the "quaffle" and "bludger" balls using one hand.
The quaffle ball is about the size of a soccer ball and can be thrown through one of three hoops of varying heights to score points. A bludger ball is smaller and is meant for knocking players from their brooms.
The walnut-sized snitch — depicted in Harry Potter as a small gold ball that flies around seemingly with a mind of its own — is actually played by a person who runs around trying to escape the "seekers." Seekers are after a small ball attached to the snitch's waist, kind of like flag football.
"The people who created it really worked hard to make it as legitimate as they could," said NIU freshman Micah Haji-Sheikh, who plays a beater position on the team.
The game requires a broad range of skills because it combines rugby, soccer, dodgeball, flag football and handball, said Bridget Hickey, the team's president.
Hickey, a sophomore, started the Quidditch club second semester of last year. It started with about 12 people, and this semester it has drawn as many as 40 students to practices.
Hickey said she's now working to make the team an official member of the International Quidditch Association, so NIU can compete against other universities. According to the IQA website, 319 schools have established Quidditch teams in the U.S., including 15 in Illinois.
"I can't wait until we're competing," Hickey said. "It'll feel like the game will come alive."
NIU junior Mary Clabots said even the least likely sports fans can enjoy a game of Quidditch. But the game, she said, isn't necessarily about the competition.
"Quidditch is a way to relive our childhood," Clabots said. "The transition into college is hard enough as it is. You feel like a kid again."
Quidditch coach Amanda Liszewski makes sure players can keep up athletically, too. Practices start with laps around the track, quick sprints, and passing drills. Players use one hand to catch balls, throw them into one of three hoops of varying heights to earn points or throw them at opposing players to knock them off their brooms.
Each team consists of seven players, including a goal keeper, two beaters who play defense, three chasers who play offense and one seeker whose sole mission is to capture the snitch. The snitch has no allegiance to one team and has free rein to run anywhere on or off the court.
"If you actually watch them play, it's a lot of endurance-building," Liszewski said.
Unlike most of NIU's Quidditch players, Liszewski never has read a Harry Potter book or seen any of the movies. Anyone can enjoy the game, Hickey said, and that's what's so great about Quidditch. The game draws a crowd of people who maybe wouldn't otherwise join a club or participate in a sport while in college, she said.
It's a chaotic game that players — Harry Potter fans or not — can easily get lost in.
"It feels like you're actually a Quidditch player," Clabots said. "All we'd need to do is levitate."
In this photo taken Sept. 21, 2011, Allison Sutton, left, a chaser, looks to throw a ball through a hoop past teammate Neal Heatherly, the keeper, during a Northern Illinois University Quidditch team practice at the Chick Evans Field House in DeKalb, Ill
Quidditch growing in popularity for Muggles on university campuses
Posted: Sunday, December 5, 2010 6:41 pm
By: Zachary Brictson
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Quidditch is picking up steam at universities in the Midwest.
Quidditch, the fictitious sport that wizards and witches play in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter books, is being made a reality on campuses across the nation.
Closely adapted from the actual game in the books, "quidditch for muggles" (non-magical folk) began as an intramural sport at Middlebury College in Vermont.
According to the International Quidditch Association's website, it has spread to over 400 colleges and high schools around the world.
Nearby schools in the Midwest, like Illinois State University, have been participating in the activity regularly.
Megan Doherty, junior business and teacher education major at ISU who is a member of its quidditch team, said she was impressed at how authentic the real-life adaptation of the game felt.
"We can't actually fly, but the positions are really similar," Doherty said.
Doherty and Shayla Johnson , senior biology major and president of ISU's Quidditch team, both encouraged NIU to start its own team, and that is exactly what they've done.
Bridget Hickey, freshman special education major, is president of NIU's newly-found Quidditch Club.
"I've been a ‘Harry Potter' fan for years, so it just seemed right," said Hickey.
Hickey said the club is gaining a lot of interest and hopes to be facing other schools next semester.
She is currently focused on teaching new members how to play and getting them sorted into the four houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw). There are seven players per team that play on an oval shaped field, according to the official IQA rulebook.
A keeper acts as a goalie, protecting the hoops on his side of the field.
The three chasers on each team then try to score by throwing the "quaffle" (a volleyball) through the hoops.
In the meantime, two beaters on each team attempt to interfere with the opposing team by pegging them with "bludgers" (dodge balls).
Among all the madness, a seeker on each team must constantly be trying to capture the "snitch," a tennis ball in a sock carried by a very fast runner.
Catching the snitch awards bonus points and ends the game.
There is no time limit, and players must be mounted on a broomstick at all times. Tackling combined with dodge balls also makes the sport very physical.
"It can get kind of crazy," Doherty said.
"It sounded like a lot of fun, and I wanted a club to be involved in," Johnson said.
She said the sport is like a combination of rugby, dodge ball and tag.
Like in the books, Johnson said injuries do occur, as the sport is very competitive.
"The sport has grown so much, and the Midwest alone has large number of active teams," Johnson said.
She said Loyola University Chicago and Purdue University have been ISU's biggest rivalries.
While the majority of players are naturally fans of the books, Doherty and Johnson said that isn't always the case.
"One of our most active members has never read the books or seen the movies," Johnson said.
Doherty said players don't have to be fans of the Harry Potter books to play the sport.
Justine Brown, junior physical therapy major, said some of her friends might be interested in playing the sport.
"If you're into that kind of stuff, I think it'd be fun," she said.
Brandon Woodhouse, junior sociology major, said he believes it's more for fans of the books.
"You really have to be into that culture," he said.
Johnson said that ISU's team grew quickly and that "sometimes the easiest recruitment is just practicing and getting a crowd interested."
"It's really fun, and a good way to stay active while meeting awesome people," Doherty said.
(http://northernstar.info/city/article_35f7c468-00d2-11e0-906a-00127992bc8b.html)
​A Hogwarts pastime starts up at NIU​
Posted: Friday, September 16, 2011 12:14 am
By: Lauren Dielman
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Quidditch, a sport played in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, is growing at NIU, group organizer Bridget Hickey said.
Hickey, a sophomore special education major, attributes the growing popularity to better organization, having a new rule book and competing with other schools. Currently, there are 319 Quidditch teams in the US and 15 teams in Illinois.
The way NIU plays Quidditch is very similar to the version in the blockbuster novel. The official rules of the International Quidditch Association are followed. There are 21 people on each team, including chasers, beaters, keepers and a seeker, who tries to catch the snitch for each team.
Chasers try to score goals while keepers protect their goals, and beaters throw dodgeballs to try to temporarily remove the other players from the game. The game ends when the snitch is caught, and 30 points are awarded to that team. Each side also has a referee.
"Anyone can participate, even staff," Hickey said. "[Quidditch] has been adopted so it's just like any other sport."
Freshman accounting major Allison McKenzie saw an article about Quidditch online and decided to look into it.
"This is my first meeting, but I love everyone's enthusiasm," McKenzie said.
For senior biology major Lyndsey Jones, there was no question about whether or not to participate.
"I like being on a sports team," Jones said. "I'm also a big fan of the books. It's nice to be with people who are also fans of the books."
The team meets every Wednesday from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Chick Evans Fieldhouse; the first game is next week.
(http://northernstar.info/campus/news/article_64fe2fd2-e023-11e0-9d9e-001a4bcf6878.html)
​Photo by: Jerry Burnes​
Senior economics major Randy Bergman looks for a shot Wednesday night at the NIU Quidditch Club practice in the Chick Evans Field House.
​NIU Quidditch
Posted: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 10:02 pm
Melissa McKenna
Quidditch: It's the sport of the wizards.
Filled with brooms, bludgers, beaters, seekers and, most importantly, the golden snitch, it combines almost every element of athleticism and magic that a person could possibly ask for.
Unfortunately for us Muggles, neither magic nor Quidditch really exists.
Stuck with nothing but football and soccer, we have been forced into only the most mundane and mind-numbing sports; that is, until Bridget Hickey.
Enter Bridget: the mastermind behind the new sport in Dekalb. The mastermind behind the NIU Quidditch team.
I will admit, when I imagined meeting the creator of the NIU Quidditch team, I didn't quite expect to meet someone so...well, normal. I for one will be first person to openly admit my love for all things Potter, but when I pictured meeting the creator of the Quidditch team, you can only imagine whom I expected to meet. Would she be wearing Harry Potter garb? Would she be able recite spells and quote the movie on demand? I had no idea. All I know is that I was very pleasantly surprised. Walking in with sleek brown hair and a grey hoodie, Bridget happily greeted me outside of the Neptune West lobby. We immediately sat down and got straight to business as she caught her breath from walking back from a braille class.
I began by asking her what first sparked her love affair for Quidditch.
"In third grade," said Hickey. "I walked into the library and picked out a book with a dude on a broom on it."
The rest is history. After taking a trip down memory lane, for she is now a sophomore at NIU, Hickey explained how the idea occurred to her to start a Quidditch team.
"I was in orientation freshman year," Hickey said. "I was asking about sports teams and made a joke and was like, ‘what about Quidditch?' I saw that they didn't have one and decided I wanted to start one."
The team was both recognized by the SA and officially formed in November 2010.
"Yeah, it's Harry Potter, but I want people to see this as a sport," Hickey said. "That's what I want to get across. It's for people who want to get active, but at the same time be imaginative and have fun. I would best describe Quidditch as a combination of rugby/football/basketball/dodgeball/flag football while on a broom. We have broom bruises, which are horrible bruises in between legs that are awkward to explain. So yeah, we get hurt too."
Quidditch isn't all fun and no rules; the members of the team all follow certain guidelines and measurements that are used for the sport.
"There are certain broom measurements [and] one needs to meet the requirements to play," Hickey said. " The IQA (International Quidditch Association) creates regulations. I ordered my broom online, and have a Scarlet Falcon, but some people use things such as swiffers and brooms that they sneak from their floor janitorial closets."
Hickey said there are 300 Quidditch teams throughout the U.S. and 13 in Illinois.
"Kids on the team are really into it," Hickey said. "One boy on the team will only wear Harry Potter clothes; it really is a lifestyle. I'm not saying I'd do that, but I could definitely hold my own in a game of Harry Potter trivia."
If you're interested in joining or just like Harry Potter and want to see what it's all about, Hickey is always welcome to newcomers.
"We play Wednesdays from 8 to 10 [p.m.] in the field house," Hickey said. "Come, and we'll teach you. It's a lot of fun, and it's a very ultimate sport."
(http://northernstar.info/dekalb_scene/article_04f121ee-e4c9-11e0-a740-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=story)
​Wingardium leviosa! Muggles enjoy quidditch in the park.
Meghan Connell | Posted: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 10:16 pm
Claire Seelinger, 2 of DeKalb, keeps watch at the Quidditch team's practice game at Central Park Monday afternoon.
