Starting next fall, Eastern University will be joining the Inter-Collegiate Quidditch League and winning games faster than you can say “Expelliarmus.” The all-star lineup includes sophomore Laura Temons as Captain and Chaser, junior Eric Mayhew and sophomore Sam Moger as Beaters, sophomore Kaitlyn Albone (aka Katy Elbows) as Seeker, and first-year Kim Alloway as the Golden Snitch.
For Temons, the dream of playing on a Quidditch team began when she was a child.
“When I turned eleven, I checked my mail every day for my Hogwarts acceptance letter,” Temons said. “It never came, so after a lot of crying I decided that one day I’d make my own Quidditch team. I mean, who needs wizards when you have crazy Harry Potter fans?”
With this determination, Temons sent out a Facebook message to all of her friends asking them if they wanted to join her Quidditch team. Members were picked on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“I wanted to be Seeker so I could be as much like Harry Potter as humanly possible,” Albone said. “And of course I brought my wand and Nimbus 2000 to the first practice because I totally have those.”
Although practices have already begun, the team will not actually compete until next fall. Temons said she has to make sure her team is top-notch before going public.
“I won’t accept anything less than perfection, especially since our first game will be against Slyther–I mean, Cabrini,” Temons said.
“I just want to hit things,” Mayhew said and also confirmed that, despite the rumors, he will not use his hang glider during games. “It wouldn’t be fair. I mean, we’re going to win anyway so we might as well give the other team somewhat of a fighting chance.”
Alloway is especially excited about her position as the Golden Snitch and finds it to be a better alternative to freshman hazing.
“I would rather be chased around campus because I’m the most important part of a game, not because upperclassmen want to initiate me into their circle of friends by throwing me into one of the ponds while I’m dressed as a goose,” Alloway said. “I think if more colleges played Quidditch, hazing would decrease exponentially. Quidditch releases all the aggression without the consequences.”
Temons is still looking for more team members. Quidditch is a very dangerous game and the players risk serious injury during every match. Of course, that doesn’t take away from the satisfaction of scoring points and catching the Golden Snitch in the name of sweet, sweet victory.