Team Spotlights I.Q.A.
High school team takes flight By Rebecca Seidel
T
he story of Wayne Hills High School’s Quidditch Club will sound familiar to many muggles: it started out as a joke. But now, just two months since their first officia lmeeting ,Quidditch enthusiasts at this New Jersey high school have their club up and running. Flying – well, that’s the next step. In the wake of November’s Quidditch World Cup, held in New York City, sophomores Anthony Gilgur and Thomas Mattera joked around about introducing Quidditch to their school. For Gilgur, the joke started when she saw a Facebook post by Wayne Hills alum Gabby Taub saying she would be playing on the New York University team at the World Cup. “I remember commenting on her status somewhat sarcastically that maybe I could start a Quidditch team at Wayne Hills,” Gilgur said. “After her response saying that there were actually high school teams at the World Cup as well as many college teams, I actually wanted to make one.” The club attracted Potter enthusiasts right away, and about 20 people showed up to its first meeting. Those interested were separated into two teams led by captains Natalie Mikhol, a freshman, and Greg Zuber, a junior, who double as seekers. “Keeping with Potter tradition, the original team names are Gryffindor and Slytherin,” said Zuber. “We haven’t really had much time to practice or have matches, as we are still starting up, but once the spring meetings begin when the weather improves, a game schedule will most likely be written up for weekly practices and possibly bi-weekly matches.” The club is currently run by five copresidents: Gilgur, Mattera, Zuber, junior Justin Ort, and sophomore Alyssa
15| The Monthly Seer • February 2011
High school Quidditch teams, like the St. Ursuline Koalas, are becoming more common. || Photo by Jamie NYC
Scheiner. “We run a Facebook group and a website to keep all of our members informed,” Scheiner said. “Overall, we consider this club to be a team effort, and that’s how we run it, as a team.” Since it’s the off-season, there isn’t much action on the field right now for these Quidditch players. But they’re using the time to get a faculty advisor, brainstorm ideas, and generate enthusiasm. “Once we completely settle down and work out all the kinks of our club, we’ll start the planning for a competitive team,” said Mattera. “For now, we’re just a group of friends and high school students who share a common interest.” “It’s a way to connect with all the other Harry Potter fans who people think are weird,” he added. “The people who go around singing the theme song and shouting spells. The people who shout [Hogwarts] house names in the hallways. We have something to do with each other.”
The team members are excited to start playing regularly and to make a splash at their school. “We’re planning to have one of our snitches dress up in yellow or gold one day during school, and we’ll run around trying to catch him in between classes,” Gilgur said. The team doesn’t have a mascot just yet, he added, but “if we do make one, it’ll probably be something crazy and fun like we are!” At Wayne Hills High, Quidditch draws people of all athletic abilities. “For those of us who are not that sporty, it’s a fun extracurricular,” said senior club member Neha Gandhi. Of course, the Wayne Hills Quidditch Club has World Cup aspirations. “Though we’d need plenty of fundraising and practice before then, it sure is a dream we’d like to accomplish, and perhaps we’d see some of our alumni while competing,” Gilgur said. “If not next year, definitely the year after we’ll go to the World Cup. I’ll make it happen!” n