Not So Lazy Days: Muggle quidditch

For those of you who don't know, "muggles" are non-magic persons and "quidditch" is the sport wizards play. Because of the popularity of Harry Potter, students on college and high school campuses worldwide play muggle quidditch, a grounded version of the sport.

Today, we tried this game in a nearby park, with a little bending of the rules due to the number and ages of participants.

First of all, the game is played on broomsticks. Since we are muggles and cannot fly on broomsticks anyway, anything about the same size of a broomstick, like a hockey or lacrosse stick, is okay.

The game usually has four balls: the quaffle, two bludgers and the golden snitch. The usual seven players on each teams have roles corresponding to each ball.

The quaffle is used by the three chasers to score goals through one of the three hoops suspended above each side of the field. The goal posts are defended by the keeper. The two beaters use the bludgers to distract and attack opponents.

Finally, it is the seeker's job to find the golden snitch. Once the golden snitch is captured, the game is over.

Each score through a goal post is 10 points, while capturing the snitch is worth 150. In most cases, the team that captures the snitch wins the game.

Because we had teams of three instead of seven, we played with two chasers and and one seeker on each team. We didn't bother with the beater/bludger aspect. Until the snitch was revealed, the seekers played as chasers also. An adult hid the golden snitch (a yellow ping pong ball) in their pocket, and once they pulled it out of their pocket, the seekers could start their chase.

(To give both seekers, the youngest children playing, a chance to catch the snitch, we let the golden snitch out twice and ended the game after the snitch was caught a second time.)

For the goal posts, we tied hula hoops (we found ours at Five Below for $2 each) to trees and even attached one on each side to garbage cans. The quaffle was a basic playground ball.

To move the quaffle down the field, players passed the ball to teammates. Players could not run (some were discouraged from running several times) with the quaffle in their hands.

Final score was 180-160, Gryffindor...

I've challenged myself to find a new activity to do five days a week every week of the kids' summer vacation. Activities will fall under one of three categories: Arts & Crafts, Sports & Games or Field Trips. Follow me on Twitter @readallaboutsam for immediate updates on posts!

We have since played Muggle Quidditch each summer. When we've had more kids, we have had beaters. They throw a soft ball at the other players, and when a player is hit, he sits on the ground for a count of ten.

We have also figured out a way to eliminate the need for a trash can by stringing all three hoops together across the space between two trees.

Another change we've made involves the golden snitch. I've created a "tail" with a foot-long length of duct tape folded in half. One end wraps around the adult's belt loop, and the other end has a stick-on velcro square. The corresponding velcro square is on the ping pong ball. This makes catching the golden snitch like pulling someone's flag in flag football. (Stick-on velcro squares can be found in most craft stores where sewing accessories can be found.)