When it comes to Quidditch, KU players are wizards
By JAMES A. FUSSELL
The Kansas City Star
Nicole Denney hears the snickers.
But when it comes to the sport the University of Kansas junior loves, she has a message for the critics.
“It’s way more challenging than just a bunch of nerds running around with brooms between their legs,” she said.
The sport is Quidditch, the game played on flying broomsticks in the “Harry Potter” books and movies.
And the KU Quidditch team is no joke. Earlier this month, it took first place in the International Quidditch Association’s Midwest Regional Tournament in Indiana, beating 17 other teams from throughout the nation.
No, the players don’t fly. But they do keep the “Harry Potter” spirit alive by using broomsticks in a game that defies easy description. And now these Midwest Muggles (mere humans) are ranked No. 2 in the country behind only Middlebury College in Vermont. Next month they are set to fly to New York City for the Quidditch World Cup, where they will face players from around the world.
Collegiate Quidditch started in 2005 between two dorms at Middlebury and is now played at more than 300 universities and high schools in the United States and 12 other countries. A Middlebury student named Xander Manshel is credited with coming up with the rules...
