University of Cambridge quadball team hoping to build momentum
The president of a Quadball club says although there is a lot of curiosity around the game, recruitment can be tough.Originally based on Quidditch, made famous by the Harry Potter books, it is believed to be one of only a few mixed-gender, full-contact sports in the world.William Brilliant, a first year Astrophysics PHD student at Cambridge University, hopes to encourage people to try it.Mr Brilliant said it was "crowded" competing for recruits with other societies, but he was hopeful the club could build "momentum".
It has been nearly 20 years since Quidditch moved from the pages of Harry Potter to real-life playing fields.Quadball, which had to rename itself from Quidditch, is played by nearly 600 teams in 40 countriesPlayers aim to beat the opposite team by scoring volleyballs, defending with tackles and dodgeballs or catching a flag.The club has been running for about 10 years, apart from a break during the Covid-19 pandemic. Regular socials have about eight people attending. It is essentially played as it appears in Harry Potter, but sadly, players cannot fly and instead manoeuvre round the field on foot while astride a broomstick.Mr Brilliant said he had seen the films and read the books, but had no idea it was a sport until free pizza enticed him to a taster session."Quadball is unlike any other sport," he said."It's not like football or netball or hockey, where people have been doing it since they were eight years old and have had all that time to get very good."No one's done it before, everyone starts equally bad. As a team, as a group, you can move up together and that's honestly I think a fantastic team dynamic to have."
Perhaps the best-known element of the game is the golden snitch, famously very nearly swallowed by Harry Potter during his first-ever Quidditch match.But instead of a winged, walnut-sized ball, real-life seekers chase a flag runner dressed in yellow, who has a sock with a tennis ball in attached to their shorts.Mr Brilliant plays as a beater who disrupts play by throwing dodgeballs at opposing players.If hit they must dismount their broom and run back to their own hoops to tag back in.A Quadball university league in the UK is run by Quadball UK, and hosts tournaments between teams.As a former member of the club in Oxford, Mr Brilliant said recruitment for the sport in Cambridge had started slightly slower."It's definitely a little tough," he said."It's a crowded space. There are hundreds of societies and dozens of new sports."At Cambridge we started a little slow we didn't have anything to build off of initially, but I have good hopes we can begin to build up some momentum and keep going up."
Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
18 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Get him signed' say Celtic fans as Hoops legend's son scores goal to knock England out of major tournament
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CELTIC have been graced with some top class strikers over the years. And some of those famous forwards are now watching their sons follow in their footsteps on the European stage. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up 4 Jordan Larsson (right) is carrying his family name for Sweden Credit: EPA 4 Sydney Van Hooijdonk with dad Pierre 4 There's a latest youngster making a name for himself Credit: Getty 4 He scored for the Netherlands Under-19s against England this week There's Henrik Larsson's son Jordan and Sydney van Hooijdonk - son of Hoops legend and Dutch international Pierre. Neither of those players, though, have managed to reach the heights of their prolific fathers. But there's another rising Dutchman breaking through who could be on track to emulate his dad - who was capped 19 times for the Netherlands, scoring three goals. He made his first team debut for FC Twente this season just like his father did in 1996. The striker is only 19 but he's already the same height as the former Celtic player - standing at 6ft 3in. If you haven't already realised, the teenager is Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink - son of, you guessed it, Jan. The Dutch Under-19 international is enjoying his breakthrough season in the FC Twente first team and is now beginning to make a name for himself Dutch football. But now he's also catching eyes in the UK - particularly Scotland - after he found the net for his country against England on Friday night, eliminating the English side from the tournament. The youngster scored his side's third goal in the contest as the Dutch U19s side raced into a three-goal lead at half-time, with the young Hesselink showing his father's striking instincts to tuck the ball home on a rebound inside the box. It finished 4-2 in the end but it wasn't the match itself that had everyone talking. What's holding up Nygren Plus Kuhn & Maeda price tags REVEALED Celtic transfer special It was the return of the famous Vennegoor of Hesselink name that caught everyone's attention. Reacting on social media one fan wrote: "There's a new Vennegoor of Hesselink?!?!" Another said: "The Vennegoor of Hesselink name lives on." A third laughed: "No way there's another Vennegoor of Hesselink coming through." Celtic fans couldn't believe their eyes either as many called on Brendan Rodgers to make a move for the teenager. Someone said: "I've seen enough, @CelticFC sign him." Another stunned punter commented: "OMG he's back, get him signed Celtic!" While someone else added: "Sign him up. Loved big Jan, injury prone but scored a fair few crucial goals." The Netherlands youngsters now take on Romania in the semi-finals. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Belfast Telegraph
How Donegal boss Jim McGuinness secretly inspired a Louth club to an historic title success
The request to drive back to Louth from Clare for club training wasn't what Craig Lynch wanted to hear on a holiday in 2020. Naomh Máirtín were having a session on Tuesday and he was told that he needed to be there. But he was in west Clare with his wife, availing of an easing of Covid restrictions. The club remained insistent that he return a day early.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Finn Russell says Andy Farrell helped put any tension with Johnny Sexton to bed
Finn Russell has revealed that he buried the hatchet with Johnny Sexton with the help of Andy Farrell as the old foes join forces on the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia. Sexton has previously been critical of Russell, labelling him 'flashy' and a 'media darling', while adding he would choose Owen Farrell over him against the Wallabies because the former England captain is a 'Test match animal'. And in his autobiography, the Ireland great confessed that it 'kills me to this day' that he was overlooked in favour of Russell for the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa. Now the former fly-half rivals are working together to plot the downfall of Australia, with Sexton acting as the Lions kicking skills coach and Russell in pole position to take the playmaking duties in the Test series. When they first linked up after the players involved in the Gallagher Premiership and United Rugby Championship finals arrived into camp earlier this week, any acrimony quickly faded. 'It's just been bit of a craic. It was never a thing. When we came in, we had a laugh straight away and Andy kind of put it to bed so that was good,' Scotland international Russell said. 'Not that it was ever going to be an issue, I don't believe. We're all here with the same goal, which is to win the series. 'I've only been here a few days but it's been good working with Johnny. I'm happy to bounce questions off him and chat to him about what he's seeing. 'With the numbers we've had, he's had to jump in sometimes so it's been quite funny being on the same training side as him. 'It's good to have a guy with his experience here. I can chat to him and bounce things off him as and when I need. 'All the coaches seem open to conversations and chats. It's a good environment to be in.' Australia will be Russell's third expedition with the Lions, with all three set to be very different experiences. In 2017 in New Zealand he was part of the controversial 'Geography Six', a group of Scotland and Wales players who were called into Warren Gatland's squad not on merit but because of their close proximity while on summer tours. Four years later he travelled to South Africa where all matches were played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, denying the Lions their famed 'sea of red' support. The Bath ringmaster started the third Test against the Springbocks. 'New Zealand was still amazing because it was my first time being called up to the Lions,' Russell said. 'We weren't there for the whole tour, but to have gone to New Zealand and played was really cool for me. 'And then in 2021 it was special going the whole time, even though it was Covid. We couldn't have family and friends or fans at the game, but it was still amazing in a different way. 'In terms of the boys, we probably got to know each other a little bit better because it was just us in the hotel and whatnot. I'm looking forward to what this one's going to be like.'
