August 2013

Got 99 problems, but a snitch ain’t one!

Real-life QUIDDITCH

We go inside the unexplored world of real-life Quidditch

Special Quidditch World Cup Edition

All the new equipment you need to take your game to the next levelVolume 1

Issue 1

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Letters to the Editor

What’s Inside

Dear Editor, I love this magazine so much! Every time I read it, it just seems to get better and better. One suggestion, if one day you could possibly review the sport called “Bossaball,” that’d be fantastic! I saw a few pictures of it in the past couple issues so I figured you would review it soon! Keep it up! Sincerely, John Smith

6-7 :: Profiles

10-13 :: Big EventsDid you know that Jai alai is a professional sport played in the Philippines and Latin American countries?

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ProfilesStephanie SantiagoPresident of the WarlocksQuidditch is not a word we hear very often in the world of sports. Most of the time we hear that word when they are referencing Harry Potter. For the Shippensburg Warlocks, Quidditch is not just a part of a novel, but also apart of their campus community. Stephanie Santiago, the President of the Warlocks, explained that she fell in love with Quidditch while reading the Harry Potter series and has dreamed of playing ever since she read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at age 11. “I am a huge Potterhead…When I found out Shippens-burg was forming a team, I had to take part in it,” Santiago said. She has played with them team for two years. Most colleges and universities have the traditional sports such as soccer, basketball and lacrosse, but after some research it was discovered that Quidditch is slowly making its move in the athletic world. In the United States, there are 862 teams in the International Quidditch Association. Penn-sylvania has 57 teams in the league. Santiago explains that Quidditch has been apart of the Shippensburg campus for two years. “We got started in Fall 2011 by Chris Kostick. He took care of all the politics of starting a club, and from there we started recruiting members.” Since the teams beginning Santiago says she has been the team’s president and has been very happy with the teams development.

Since Quidditch is not a very popular sport the rules and the positions are still unclear to many people. “There are seven players to a team: one seeker, one keeper, three chasers and two beaters,” Santi-ago explained. The keeper acts as the goalie and makes sure the Quaffle (volleyball) doesn’t get through the hoops. The chasers are the players responsible for scoring the points for their team. Bludgers (dodge balls) are thrown by the beaters at the opposing team to keep them from scoring. When a player is hit, they dismount their brooms, run around their goal posts and then, resume their play. The seeker’s job is to catch the Snitch, which is a person, dressed in yellow with a ball attached to them. Once the Seeker catches the Snitch the game is over. Each Quaffle that goes through the hoop is worth 10 points and the team that catches the Snitch gains 30 points. When asked what makes the ideal team, Santiago explains, “We just want to have fun and be able to play the game we love without having to worry about injuries or people playing too aggressive.” The War-locks don’t look for a particular team make-up. They are just looking to have fun playing the game. “We play the game, have fun and build relationships which is what Quidditch is about.”

Profiles continued

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Quidditch is played whenever the weather allows. Santiago explains, “Games usually pick up when the weather is beautiful, even though all Quidditch players have adapted to playing in all types of weather. The War-locks motto is ‘Quidditch is best in the rain.” Shippensburg is apart of the International Quidditch Association, so their match ups are organized through the organization. The game of Quidditch is a high-energy sport, so it is easy to make memories. Santiago explains that her favorite memory was when they played a tournament at Penn State their first year. “We had zero substitutes, it felt like 100 degrees outside, and the games were back to back. Even though the circumstances weren’t the best, our team stuck together and pulled through. We didn’t win every game, but we played our best.” Santiago and her team look forward to many more great memories. Quidditch is an exciting game and also a great workout. To anyone who is thinking about trying Quid-ditch, Santiago says, “Just try it out. Don’t judge us because we run with sticks between our legs. The game is actually really fun.”

10Big EventsIQA Quidditch World

CupComing up this year will be the Inter-national Quidditch Association’s Sixth World Cup, where hundreds of teams from around the world will compete to take home the crown.

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Cheese Rolling That’s right, we said cheese roll-ing! Every year in Brockworth in Gloucestershire, England at the Coo-per’s Hill Cheese Roll. Hundred of fans come to race their own Gloucestershire cheese. The festival dates back hundred of years where competitors roll a seven to eight pound roll of cheese down a hill. With rolls reaching speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, runners chase, tumble and slide down the hill after their cheese, but don’t usually catch it until the end. The winner gets to take home their cheese and runners-up get cash prizes.

12Urban Golfing Urban golfing is on particular sport that usually catches the eyes and ears. Every year on Urban Golf Day in Portland, Oregon, participants enjoy an “urban” golf course setup by officials throughout the city. Golfers must advoid many different obstacles including signs, cars and storm drains which are the most common, but the most mind-bottling obstacle yet is the unleashed dogs. They often run off with the tennis balls thats are used in-stead of golf balls.

13Pig-N-Ford Racing

Every year in August, a feature of the Tillamook County Fair in Til-lamook, Oregon, comes the annual Pig-N-Ford Races. It involves a whole heap of interesting stuff including pigs. Drivers stand next to the grand-stands. When the starter pistol fires, the drivers run to the opposite side of the front straight, grab a live 20-pound pig from a bin, then must hand-crank their car and drive it one lap. They then stop, kill the engine, get a different pig, and race another lap. The first driver to complete three laps in this manner without losing their pig is the winner.