The time is almost upon us fellow sports fanatics; on Nov. 13-14, Dewitt Clinton Park in New York City will host the 2010 Quidditch World Cup.

As bizarre as it sounds, quidditch — a sport featuring the flying broomsticks found in J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular Harry Potter book series — has been adapted into a sport that non-magical folks (or, muggles) can play at their leisure. Not familiar with Harry Potter or quidditch? Then allow me to explain how the wizard version is played.

Quidditch is a chaotic sport with four different types of players using three different balls all with specific characteristics. On each team, three “chasers” score points by getting the “quaffle” past the keeper and through one of three scoring hoops on each side of the pitch. They have to be aware of the two “beaters” on each team, who try to knock the other team off their broomsticks by hitting big heavy balls called “bludgers” with clubs. Finally, each team has one “seeker,” whose job it is to chase down and catch the mysterious flying “golden snitch,” a winged, walnut-sized ball that does its best to evade capture. The game is only over once the snitch has been caught, and the team that catches the snitch receives a bonus 150 points.

Oh, and everyone is flying around on broomsticks about a hundred feet up in the air. So how does this translate to the non-magical world?

Surprisingly well, in fact.

The role of the chaser is still to score with the quaffle (commonly, a volleyball or basketball), which is possible by throwing, kicking, or in any way passing the ball through one of the three goal hoops for 10 points. Physical contact is allowed, which includes stiff-arming and charging on offense and tackling on defence, but is restricted to the specific player-types (for example: beaters can’t tackle chasers and vice versa).

In this version of quidditch, commonly referred to as muggle quidditch, the beaters don’t hit balls with clubs but instead throw dodge balls, which represent the bludgers. When a player is struck by a bludger, they are considered knocked out and must immediately leave the play, return to their team’s goal area and touch one of the goal hoops before returning to the game. While the keeper is in the designated “keeper area” (comparable to a soccer crease) around the goal hoops, they are immune to the knock out effect, although this does not stop beaters from throwing bludgers at keepers to distract or annoy them.

Then there’s the curious conversion of the seekers and the golden snitch. Obviously, with there being a distinct shortage of flying magic balls with a mind of their own in the muggle world, the snitch was going to need some help getting around. So, in what is possibly the most ingenious aspect of the game, a neutral player, dressed in gold, plays the role of the snitch and has a sock with a tennis ball hanging out the back of their shorts. The socked tennis ball is what the two seekers are after, but the snitch player can do almost anything they want to prevent this from happening.

According to the International Quidditch Association’s official rulebook, “[restrictions] forbidding specific types of fouls do not apply to the snitch. [The snitch] can do whatever it takes within means to avoid capture, including pushing players away and wrestling pursuers to the ground.”

Furthermore, the snitch and the seekers are not restricted to the confines of the quidditch pitch, and as quidditch is traditionally played at a university, the snitch’s field of play can sometimes extend to include the entire campus. After a predetermined amount of time, the snitch is required to return to the pitch so that the game doesn’t go too long, and the team that snags the snitch is awarded 30 points.

The game essentially combines elements of rugby, basketball, dodge ball, tag, wrestling and wraps it all up into what appears to be a fun way to get active and have some fun. Unfortunately, a lot of people might be turned off by the other aspects of the sport that reference the whimsical nature of the source material, namely the required attire and equipment.

A broomstick is a mandatory part of the uniform and all players must run around with their broomstick between their legs, held in place by one hand. Capes are also recommended but not required, as are any sort of Harry Potter themed costume. Therefore, while the sport itself, sans broomstick, might be entertaining to participate in, the game is truly reserved for fans of the book and film series. With a minimum of only seven players required per team, it’s no surprise that there are several hundred colleges that currently have, or are in the process of forming, a muggle quidditch team.

This year will be the fourth Quidditch World Cup and, according to the International Quidditch Association, there have been 66 universities and colleges from across North America that have pre-registered to field a team. While it seems like Harry Potter mania is gradually receding into the distance, only time will tell if muggle quidditch and the Quidditch World Cup will have staying power. Considering the grassroots effort it has taken to get the game to the point where it’s at now, and the fanatical nature of those who embrace all aspects of the game, one has to openly wonder if it’s only a matter of time before more teams start to emerge on Canadian university campuses.

Could there perhaps be a muggle quidditch team in the University of Manitoba’s future?