The Whimsical Wizards win the 2016 Quidditch tournament
The winning Quidditch team, the Whimsical Wizards, holding their snitch trophy after a nail-biting tie breaker game. From left to right: seniors Andrew Brady, Emma Roerty, Luke Staley, Nathan Horch, junior, seniors Ben Plugge, and Jacob Moorman.
May 20, 2016
On Tuesday, May 18, seven teams stepped away from Linganore and into the wizarding world of Hogwarts for the second annual Quidditch tournament. Under a stormy sky, teams competed to win the golden snitch trophy and a bag of Harry Potter themed prizes.
The teams who participated in the tournament included the Dumblebees, Daddies, Dementors, Nevilled Up, No Namers, Views from the Snitch, and the Whimsical Wizards.
After hours of running and dodging bludgers, Nevilled Up placed third; the Daddies came in a close second; and the Whimsical Wizards placed first.
The winning team consisted of seniors Andrew Brady, Ben Plugge, Nathan Horch, Luke Staley, Emma Roerty, Jacob Moorman, Hunter McKinney and junior Emily Daly. The game ended when seeker Staley caught the snitch, senior Tyler Fontanilla, and broke the tie.
“My favorite part of the game is when the golden snitch gets released. The entire dynamic of the game changes. It’s not about scoring anymore it is about making sure that your seeker gets the snitch,” said Brady. “It is important to wear good athletic shoes. I can’t emphasize this enough. Chucks aren’t the best thing to play Quidditch in.”
Horch also advises next year participants to “get on a team with people you know.”
The prizes the Whimsical Wizards received included: wands, quills, various chocolates, jelly slugs, Bartie Botts Beans (similar to the Bean Boozled jelly beans), an owl balloon, and a congratulatory letter from Harry Potter Alliance leaders Corinne DeFrancisci and Marissa Maze.
This year new rules were implemented into the game to make it authentic to an actual Quidditch tournament.
“We introduced pool noodles as the brooms and added more hoops to try to make the game a little more realistic. We also tried to diversify the teams by making them have to be co-ed, which was enforced to make the game more true to the book,” said Maze.
DeFrancisci and Maze raised $200 from the Quidditch tournament registrations which will be donated to an orphanage in the near future. Last year, $120 was raised and donated to the Frederick County Animal Shelter.
Next year, junior Katherine Knotts will be taking over the main leadership position for Harry Potter Alliance.
