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Michelle Negley
Professor Sheila Fielding
Critical Reading and Writing 103
1/31/16
Equality: Level Quidditch
When I tell people that I play quidditch, I can usually predict a series of responses
that they would give me. Some of them would try to hide their laughter or disbelief.
Some would ask me to repeat myself. Some people would gently tell me that it is not a
real sport and that it is fictional, similar to if they were to have to tell a small child that
fairies are not real. Then of course, nine times out of ten, people would ask, But how do
you fly? Whenever I get any of those responses, I normally have to defend quidditch and
state that it really is a sport. It may not be a varsity sport like football, or track. But as an
insider of the Madison Marauders B team, I can state that it meets all of the requirements
to be an intramural sport. However, quidditch acts as so much more than an intramural
sport for me. It played a vital role in helping me conquer the trials and tribulations (at
least, thats what they seemed like to me at the time) of my first semester at James
Madison University. It sparked my journey to self-discovery by redefining my standards
of what it means to be a woman.
Most people know quidditch as the infamous sport from the Harry Potter series by
J.K. Rowling. In the novels, quidditch is a mix of soccer and dodge ball, played by
wizards aloft flying broomsticks. Upon a glance, it is hard to see how a fictional sport can
translate in the real world (or Muggle World as Rowling would call it). But in 2005,
Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe combined their love for Harry Potter and their love for

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athleticism by starting quidditch at Middleburry College in Vermont. They translated the
sport by having the players run around the field on PVC pipes, to represent the players
flying on broomsticks. By translating the sport from the air to the ground, the two men
added elements of rugby into quidditch, which makes it more of a physical contact sport
in real life than in the novels or movies.
Quidditch was originally formed to be an athletic option for people who were fans
of Harry Potter, and who wanted to channel their nerdy side in an athletic way. One of the
main beliefs and the core value of quidditch is that it is an all-inclusive sport, especially
when it comes to gender. The fictional version of the sport was co-ed. The same applies
to the real life version even though it is a physical contact sport. In fact, quidditch is one
of the only physical contact sports to be truly co-ed. USQ (United States Quidditch) has

set many rules that protect the importance of co-ed inclusion. There is the 9

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rule

which states that you cannot have more than four people who identify as the same gender
play at a time. This rule protects female and LGBT players who might have been denied
the chance to truly execute their skills otherwise. But as Rowling praised coed sports by
featuring one in her book, the translation will honor the same idea. One idea held at heart
is that no one should by excluded from the pitch based on their gender, sexual orientation,
or athletic ability.
There are three main requirements that must be followed in order to become a
Madison Marauder. In order to be initiated, you need to pay a fee for tournaments, travel,
and jerseys. You have to show an interest in the sport and strive to work hard to improve
your skill. Finally, no matter what your specific views are about a certain group of

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people, you must treat your teammates with respect regardless of their gender or sexual
identity. Failure to follow the last requirement could lead to your banishment from the
team.
There are not many controversial elements within the sport itself, but plenty of
people outside of the team question its title as a sport. Although there is plenty of
evidence to support that it is a sport, some people refuse to believe so because it is based
off of a fictional activity. Its also hard to picture people running around pretending to be
wizards on broomsticks and take it seriously as a sport. Also, some people argue that it
cannot be a true physical contact sport because it is coed. They believe that the action by
the male players has to be altered in order to uphold the safety of the female players.
Later in this paper, I will reveal, based on my personal experience, why this is false.
Before I started going to JMU, I wanted to play quidditch. I describe myself as a
geeky individual who cannot sit still. So participating in a sport that satisfies my geeky
side seemed like the way to go. Quidditch is a sport that fits the criteria. As soon as I
learned that there was a quidditch team at JMU, I did not hesitate to sign up. My
approach to this was that this would be a great source of exercise. Plus, I would have a
group of people that I could become friends with. I was going to a university where I
knew nobody, so a free ticket to friendship was a high priority for me.
I play a beater on the Madison Marauders B team. The beater is a highly active
defensive player. I chose this position because the beater is more physical and they do not
run as often as the chasers (another basic position on the team). There are a healthy
number of expectations that I have to uphold as a member. I am expected to actively
participate in practices, matches, and other team functions. Outside of practice, I have to

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make an effort to improve my skill through exercise. Another thing that is expected of
me, that I did not realize at the start of practices, was that I have to be challenged like,
play like, and put forth the same effort as a male player.
Before I signed up for quidditch, I knew that the sport was going to be coed.
However, I did not truly understand what that meant, as I learned the hard way. I have
played on a coed swim team before but we were still divided and tried by gender. The
girls and guys would practice together but they would never be tried at the same level. In
fact, looking back, the girls got some special treatment. So, going into quidditch, I
thought the same thing was going to happen. It was at one particular practice that I
realized I was wrong.
It was my second week of practices as a beater. The first week was easy for me
because I was learning the skill. At this point, I would actually start participating in the
scrimmages and drills. We were doing this one particular drill where the captain would
partner us up, and we had to race our partner down field and try to retrieve a loose ball
before them. I expected the captain to pair me up with one of the slower female players. I
did not think that he was going to partner me up with a male player. He ended up
partnering me up with a third year, male quidditch player, who was the fastest on the
team. So, of course, I lost every round of that drill. It was surprising to me that the
captain would set me at opposition with a male player. I did not realize how seriously the
team took the coed rule.
What finalized it was during one of our final drills that day which involved
wresting a ball out of the arms of an opposing player. This meant that we were tackling,
and wrestling. Again, I assumed that I was going to do the drill with other female beaters.

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In this drill, I was wrestling female beaters, and
male beaters who were larger than me. After this
practice, I realized that being on this team meant
that I was going to be challenged at a level that I
thought was only reserved for male players. This
practice was an eye opening experience for me. It
also excited me with the prospect that I was going
to be treated equally as a male player on the team.
This experience made me ecstatic about going to
future practices. In a way, I was receiving special
treatment, because this time I am treated with the
same respect as a male player, and my performances
effect on the team has an equal weight to that of a male
player.
Quidditch shaped the way I view myself as a
woman. I never realized how much of a cushion I had as

This is a photo that was taken

during a break between
scrimmages. Featured in this
photo are male and female
chasers, and a female beater.
This picture shows that the
Madison Marauders are proud
to be all inclusive.

a female until I was challenged at an equal weight as my

male teammates. Even the little things in my past should
have been evidence. For example, I worked at my local Childrens Theatre in high school,
and they would only reach out to the males to work in the set shop and not any of the
females. That may be minute compared to other challenges that women superior to me
face on a daily basis, but it does act as evidence of sexism that shaped my previous
understanding of being a woman in society. It was not until I was in a truly coed sport,

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that I realized that people underestimated my mentality, and my physicality because of
my gender.
Before quidditch, I have grown up thinking that a woman could not perform at the
same level as man, and that is why she is inferior. Even though I labeled myself as a
feminist, and wore the title proudly, I unconsciously viewed myself as inferior to men. I
learned through my personal experience, and through watching my other female
teammates that there is no reason why women should not be challenged equally to men.
Quidditch has boosted my confidence in the sense that I no longer see myself as inferior
to my male teammates. If I do, it is because of their superior knowledge of the sport, and
not their gender. I also learned how to treat men and women equally in my interactions
with them. I have learned not to underestimate women, and their mental and physical
strength. Inside of practice, there is this gender-neutral safety net where no social
standards, and negative views of a specific gender can penetrate and harm the mentality
of the team. I would get so used to this euphoric feeling of equality that I would almost
forget about the everyday sexism in the real world. Inside of practice I am a teammate
whose strengths are agility and tackling opposing beaters. Outside of practice, I am girl
who is definitely going to die if I go to my local grocery store after 4pm (at least
according to my mom). I wish that all the positive views that quidditch holds about
gender could be applied to the real world.
Quidditch was possibly the best thing to ever happen to me during my first
semester. It helped me form friendships at such a pace, and degree that I do not think
could have happened had I not participated in a team activity. It played a vital role in
boosting my confidence, which I then took with me to activities outside of quidditch. One

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of the things that I am most grateful for, is that quidditch has taught me to view myself in
a more positive light when it comes to my gender. It has changed my views of women,
and how much we should be respected, for the better. So, to anyone who questions
quidditch and its value as a sport, yes, it is an actual sport. Yes, there is an actual team of
exceptionally talented athletes who have become like a family to me. Yes, it is a place
where I feel like I am truly equal to my teammates, regardless of gender. No, we do not
actually fly around on broomsticks.

Works Cited
Cohen, Adam, E. Nicole Melton, and Jon Welty Peachey. "Investigating a Coed

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Sports Ability to Encourage Inclusion and Equality." Journal of Sport
Management JSM 28.2 (2014): 220-35. Web.
Cohen, A., and J. W. Peachey. "Quidditch: Impacting and Benefiting Participants in a
Non-Fictional Manner." Journal of Sport & Social Issues 39.6 (2014): 521-44.
Web.
"USQ." US Quidditch. US Quidditch, Aug. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.