Quidditch: NCAA sport?

Tina Fineberg/AP

Okay, athletes. It’s time to voice your opinion. What makes a sport, well, a sport? The number of fans it has? Players? The level of enthusiasm it evokes? And does it really matter if the sport in question originated in a children’s fantasy book?

Collegiate players of quidditch, the sport (?) that’s booming in Universities across the nation, want the NCAA to answer this question. The game, which originated in the Harry Potter series, is played outdoors, has an offense and defense and requires a dodge ball. A full list of the rules can be found here.

Quidditch players have a lot of work to do if they want their sport recognized by the NCAA. They need at least 50 clubs at colleges across the US, and then the athletic directors of those teams have to petition the NCAA to get recognized.

UT has its own team, Texas Quidditch, and competed at the Southwest quidditch tournament last year, along with a number of other teams. Its purpose is “to play amateur quidditch, compete in intercollegiate quidditch as sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association (IQA), and celebrate the Harry Potter universe.” The only requirement to play is owning an IQA-approved broom. Check out Texas Quidditch for yourself.

So, what’s your opinion? Should quidditch be NCAA recognized? Or is it just a silly way to burn some calories? Vote in the poll and comment below!

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