Turlock team is in search of new members to join them Saturday mornings at Donnelly Park for a game of Quidditch. What was once thought to be merely a wizardly activity in J.K. Rowling’s fictional series is becoming a reality for Harry Potter fans across the globe.

California State University, Stanislaus Music major and Turlock Quidditch team founder Bree Theodore created the team in March 2013.  After attending another team’s practice in Palo Alto, she realized the absence of activity throughout the valley and began forming her own group.

The Turlock team, the Central Valley Centaurs, has seven consistent members and many more who attend on occasion. Though most are students, the team is open to anyone interested.

“It’s completely gender-inclusive,” Theodore said. “It’s a community team, which was kind of the main reason of starting it.”

As for the game, players can look forward to experiencing bits and pieces of multiple familiar sports rules. Between scoring goals, dodging balls and limited hand-use, Quidditch proves to be a combination of different sports.

Theodore said she doesn’t want people to think they are just LARP-ing— referring to the live action role-playing often associated with fans of fantasy.

Theodore addressed how players have adapted a game that involves soaring through the air into a sport doable by the average flightless human—or as fans will understand, “muggles.”  

Do they really have brooms? Yes. Each player is required to be on their broom at all times (feet on the ground of course).

In fact, dismounting is a penalty the player pays by running and touching their own hoop—or “goal”—and then remounting the broom immediately.  For official tournaments, rules are made regarding what type of broom is allowed on the field.

“There are limitations for broom weight,” Theodore said. “So usually the broom is provided by the International Quidditch Association [IQA] during those games.”

The IQA is completely legitimate and charges itself with managing the spread and development of Quidditch for the now thousands of registered players on six continents. And the mystery of that golden, walnut-sized ball that flies around the game known as the snitch?  They have that, too.

“The snitch is a volunteer,” said team member Niki Milligan.  “It is a person that dresses up in all yellow and is released at one point in the game. The volunteer wears a sock with a ball attached, which is sought after by each team’s ‘seeker.’”

At Hogwarts, capturing the speedy snitch means an automatic win; however for Turlock’s Quidditch team and those alike, it simply awards the team a large number of points, being that catching up to a running human is much less of a challenge than a tiny ball with hummingbird-like wings.

Currently, the Central Valley Centaurs are working their magic to reach a solid 14 members in order to qualify for memberships.

This would officially affiliate their team with the IQA and enable qualification for the annual Quidditch World Cup. Those interested can begin by attending practices at Donnelly Park in Turlock every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

For more information contact Bree Theodore at [email protected].