Will Quidditch Make An Appearance At The London Olympics?

They may not fly on their broomsticks but Muggles have been holding regular Quidditch tournaments since 2005. Based on the game Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling created, Muggle Quidditch is as serious as any sport for its competitors and even culminates in a Quidditch World Cup each year. Now, commissioner of the International Quidditch Association, Alex Benepe, is arranging a match to take place at the 2012 London Olympics. Can you imagine how many Portkeys they’re going to need? 

“Today it is my pleasure to lay out a road map for the future of the IQA and real-life quidditch,” wrote Benepe in his State of the League Address. “In case you’ve been locked up in Azkaban, 2011 was a big year for quidditch. The IQA just held its fifth annual World Cup in New York City. We’ve come a long way in the five years since a ragtag gaggle of freshmen first played real-life quidditch on a field at Middlebury College in Vermont.”

The event was the biggest the International Quidditch Association has ever seen with 1,600 players in attendance and 11,000 spectators attended on one day alone. “This encouraging number proves that quidditch has the ability to become an economically viable spectator sport,” he said. The next obvious step? The Olympic games of course!

“In summer 2012 the IQA will organize an expo match in London during the Olympics. The IQA is currently assessing venues, working with media contacts, and reaching out to local teams,” said Benepe. “At minimum, the IQA will organize a UK vs. US match, and may bring additional European teams.”

I have no doubt this will happen for the simple fact that it would be taking place in London. American Harry Potter fans are already enthusiastic enough, get the Brits involved and it’s sure to grab attention.

(via So Geek Chic)

Previously in Quidditch

• Quidditch World Cup 2011 This Weekend In NYC
• Muggle Quidditch Is Struggling With Gender Equality
• Muggle Quidditch Might Become An Official High School Sport

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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