Quidditch Tri-Commissioners discuss the World Cup and the future of Quidditch

Kate Olen '11

Senior Quidditch enthusiast Kate Olen ’11 is one of the veterans of the magical sport, as she has served as one of the Tri-Commissioners for two years and has been playing Quidditch since her first year at Middlebury. Olen plays the position of chaser, which as many Harry Potter fans know, is one of the players to throw the “quaffel” and score goals. This is an offensive position but there is also an opportunity for defense when the other team is in possession.

“You can think of the chaser as the forward in soccer,” said Olen.  “I like this position because I like scoring goals, and I am most used to offensive positions in sports.”

Beyond playing the position of chaser, Olen also has a larger role in the sport as a whole.

“The Tri-Commissioner role is essentially like a president position held by three people,” she said. “Andy [Hyatt], Phil [Palmer] and I organize Quidditch from Sunday games to the Middlebury Cup, from building equipment to public relations campaigns.”

Olen does admit, however, that the Tri-Commissioners do not do it all alone.

“We have an amazing team of about 10 dedicated kids that help us out.”  These students are known as “the varsity squad,” and Olen notes that Lara Andrade ’11, as the Quidditch treasurer, has does an “unbelievable job of managing our budget”

So why is Quidditch such a hit at Middlebury? According to Olen, “Quidditch is great because it’s unique, creative and inclusive. The inclusive nature of Quidditch creates a diverse community of people, all with various skill levels and interests.”

Olen also cites her general interest in Harry Potter as one of the reasons she got involved in the sport.

“I grew up reading the Harry Potter novels, as so many kids in our generation have,” she said. “I have always been excited by the story and the characters Rowling created. I was especially attracted to the idea of Quidditch because it is a sport that is central to life at Hogwarts.”

Since the creation of Quidditch at Middlebury, the sport has been expanding rapidly at Middlebury as well as at other schools.

“The International Quidditch Association (IQA) continues to grow exponentially each year, a trend I do not see slowing down any time soon because the energy and entertainment of the game are attractive to so many audiences,” said Olen.

A few schools are pushing to have Quidditch included in the NCAA, which has garnered a lot of media attention in recent weeks.  However, Olen envisions a different path for this sport.

“I see Quidditch as developing most as a collegiate sport, under the framework of a national club sport, rather than developing under the NCAA. I see Quidditch as more like Frisbee, which is organized nationally, but under a framework defined by its organizers,” said Olen. “This way, the [International Quidditch Association] can continue to be driven by the creative minds that originally developed the sport, preserving its magically exciting and entertaining nature.”

In anticipation of the first Quidditch World Cup in New York City, Olen expressed feeling both “uncontrollably excited” and “very nervous.”

“It is a lot of pressure to enter a tournament like this as the school who started it all, as the squad expected to emerge on top,” she said. “It will be different playing on a foreign field, since Middlebury has only ever officially competed on Battell Beach,” she said.

Fortunately, a little bit of Middlebury was with the team as they competed in New York. A sold-out fan bus traveled to New York for the two-day tournament to cheer on Olen and the Middlebury team.

“I am pumped to play and determined to bring the title back home to Middlebury.  I can say with confidence that every player on the Middlebury team feels the same way.”

Andy Hyatt '12

Like many other students who apply to Middlebury, Andy Hyatt ’12 had heard about Quidditch even before enrolling. While Hyatt was intrigued, it still took some convincing to get him on the field. After talking to Alex Benepe, Commissioner and President of the International Quidditch Association and founder of Quidditch at Middlebury, Hyatt signed up for the mailing list, which was his first step into the magical world of Quidditch.

As the first Sunday of the year rolled around, Hyatt could hardly avoid Quidditch as he left his room in Battell, so he figured he might as well join in.

“I threw on some shorts and a T-shirt, grabbed a towel to use as a cape and ran outside. I promptly discovered that Quidditch was one of the most fun things I had ever done in my life and have played every Sunday since.”

Hyatt has traditionally played the position of chaser, but he has recently begun playing beater as well.

“Chaser is great because that’s where all the action and glory are…the rush you get from scoring is great,” he said. “Beater, however, has a lot more strategy to it, and I would actually argue that beating is one of the most important positions in the game…There’s a lot of power in that.”

While there are many aspects of the game that attract Hyatt, he stresses the combination of both sport and spectacle as something he enjoys being a part of. Like Phil Palmer, another Tri-Commissioner, Hyatt values the lighthearted nature of Quidditch

“It’s very competitive, but in a friendly way that doesn’t lose sight of the silliness inherent in the game,” he said.  “We are, after all, playing a game invented by an author who wrote a series of children’s magical novels.”

As the sport continues to grow and include “more schools over the country and the world,” the biggest challenge that Hyatt anticipates facing is “the necessity of maintaining the playful spirit we all love about the game.  We need to make sure that new players get the same joy we get from the game, and that they understand how it is meant to be played.”

That being said, Hyatt does take his role as Tri-Commissioner seriously. When describing some of the responsibilities of this position, Hyatt notes that they are responsible for the health and well being of Middlebury Quidditch, which includes organizing pickup games, the Middlebury Cup and the intercollegiate tournaments. The Tri-Commissioners also interface with the administration, recruit new members, fundraise and handle all other logical tasks of organizing Quidditch.

“Given our prominent place in the history of Quidditch, we have acted in something of an advisory role for the [International Quidditch Association],” Hyatt said. “And beyond all of this, we want to make Quidditch fun and something the whole campus can continue to enjoy.”

TTAs for the transition from having the World Cup in Middlebury to having it in New York City, Hyatt is excited about the expanding audience and team base that will have access to the game, making it more accessible than was ever possible before.

“I’m really thankful to be part of something so amazing, and something that remains so uniquely Middlebury. I hope that Quidditch only grows stronger here on campus and that future Midd Kids will be part of the magic.”

Phil Palmer '12

It may come as a surprise to many that Quidditch Tri-Commissioner Phil Palmer ’12 actually missed the first weekend of Quidditch his first year at Middlebury because he “thought it looked ridiculous.”

“I’m not a die-hard Harry Potter fan, to be honest,” Palmer said. “Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy [the books]. I’m just not a die-hard fan.”

However, after hearing his friends rave about the magical game, he decided to try it out and has played ever since.

“What really hooked me were the construction projects for the 2008 World Cup,” he said.  “We had to build a sports center desk and scoreboards, and this was a wonderful bonding experience with some of the club members that has stuck with me.”

Palmer plays the position of chaser, along with Kate Olen, another Tri-Commissioner.

“I enjoy the overall athletic skills needed for the position: speed, power, throwing ability, tackling and hand-eye coordination.”

Although some take Quidditch very seriously, Palmer is able to see the more humorous side of the game, and even concedes that it still looks ridiculous to him after three years of playing.

“Quidditch is just fun to play. It is a silly game so it acts as a great stress-reliever for our crazy schedules here at Midd.”

As for the future of the game, Palmer is unsure of where Quidditch is headed. He sees Quidditch as “more of a game than a sport,” and does not support the push from other schools to have Quidditch gain NCAA status.

“It is supposed to be fun and not taken overly seriously but still competitive,” said Palmer. “It just feels right to have Quidditch be more of a grassroots tradition with large tournaments as the reward, not the NCAA as the end goal.”

This past August, the International Quidditch Association (IQA) announced that the Quidditch World Cup would be transported from Middlebury to New York City.  Commissioner and President of the IQA Alex Benepe cited three main reasons for the move: the centrality of the location will allow more teams to compete, a large audience will be able to attend the free event and become inspired to start their own teams and the move will allow Middlebury to showcase one of its many creative products and give back to communities.  Palmer supports the IQA’s decision to move the World Cup to New York City for logistical and atmospheric reasons.

“As much as I hate to see the World Cup leave Middlebury, NYC will be fun,” he said. “There is no way we could have housed 50 teams on campus. It also helps increase the enthusiasm by having it on such a big stage. Plus, Middlebury is hard to get to.”

The performances, festival atmosphere and bands that will be at the World Cup in New York are also among the many reasons Palmer is excited about the transition.
“And then, of course, playing under the lights in Manhattan will be a blast.”