Brooms Up! Harry Potters Quidditch Returns to the Northeast with Two Events

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Harry Potter fans rejoice! This fall there are several events to get wizards and Muggles ready for the first half of the final Harry Potter film installment. Chestnut Hill College’s Quidditch team will be participating in two events this fall on the East Coast that are a must-see for Harry Potter fans.

•   Chestnut Hill will host The Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup, a regional Quidditch   tournament on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at noon on the College’s soccer field.

•   The College Quidditch Team will compete at the 4th annual Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup on November 13-14 at Dewitt Clinton Park, 52nd Street and 11th Avenue, New York City.

   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 bookand onto college campuses. Quidditch is a game that is a cross between football, dodgeball, 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 400 colleges and 300 high schools with teams in the United States and over 13 countries that are a part of the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association (IQA) membership.

The Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup
   Chestnut Hill College will host the first Philadelphia Brotherly Love Cup (PBLC) on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at noon on the College’s soccer field. The tournament, sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Activities Team (CHAT) will feature two Quidditch pitches with games playing simultaneously for spectators to view. The best three Philadelphia-area colleges will compete in the final bracket of the tournament.
The tournament will include a costume contest open to all guests and participants, and other Harry Potter themed surprises. The Chestnut Hill College team will also be collecting books for the International Quidditch Association Book Drive. Colleges that will be participating in the tournament include Villanova University, Penn State University, University of Maryland, Stoney Brook University, and Christopher Newport University.  The tournament is free and open to the public.

Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup
   Chestnut Hill College will be one of more than 57 teams competing in this year’s Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup taking place November 13-14 at Dewitt Clinton Park, Central Park, 52nd Street and 11th Avenue, New York City. The Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup, now in its fourth year, is similar to the World Cup tournament featured in the Harry Potter book seriess, with teams from all over the country competing. In 2009, Chestnut Hill College swept the Philadelphia Bracket and placed fifth in the third annual Quidditch World Cup held at Middlebury College. In 2007, the College team placed third defeating Princeton University, Louisiana State University, Emerson College, and Ives Pond before falling to Vassar College in tournament play.
This year’s World Cup was moved to New York City’s Central Park to coincide with the premier of the final Harry Potter film installment and to accommodate the increasing number of schools entering the competition. Harry Potter’s favorite game comes alive at this two-day tournament with participants and guests decked in capes, hats, and other magical garb celebrating all things Harry Potter.

   Members of the Chestnut Hill College Quidditch team are available to demonstrate the basics of the game for the media. Please contact Lisa Mixon, media relations manager at Chestnut Hill College for more information.

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