Quad ball is based off of quidditch, the fictional game from the Harry Potter series. It was created in 2005 by Alex Benepe and Xander Manshel, flatmates at Middlebury College. The sport has now grown nationally and held its first World Cup in 2012.
The UTSA quad ball club started in 2013. Although the players cannot fly like the series, mostly everything else holds true.
“I played high school sports like football, that kind of stuff,” assistant coach and chaser Austin Watson said. “So I wanted something to stay active and kind of scratch that like a competitive itch that I had. Because this is a full-contact sport it kind of was like a bridge for me. I came for the sports aspect, I stayed for the people.”
A team consists of six players: three chasers, two beaters and one keeper. The chasers are the ones trying to score in the three rings, while the keeper protects the rings. The beaters throw dodgeballs to “beat” the other team, taking them out of play.
The players still use a “broom” which is a PVC pipe that must stay between the player’s legs at all times. If the broom is dropped, the player is out and must run back to their rings and touch the middle one to get back in play. This is the same for players who are hit by the beaters. Scoring is mainly the same as the series; there are three rings for each side. Each ring is worth ten points.
The first half of a quad ball game is 20 minutes; in these 20 minutes, both teams are trying to score as many points as they can. After the first half, the snitch comes out for half time.
The snitch is played by a person who wears gold shorts with a ball attached to the back of the shorts. During this time, both teams pick a chaser and they become a seeker. The seekers are trying to get the ball attached to the snitch while the beaters for both teams are playing and protecting their seeker. The snitch is worth 35 points and does not end the game if caught.
After the first half, there is a set score which is 60 points plus the highest score from the first half. The second half does not end until a team hits the set score.
This year, the UTSA’s quad ball team has six new members and has consistently had a team even through COVID-19.
The team practices every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. They are open to anybody who wants to join and no experience is necessary; the team is also co-ed. The quad ball team focuses on building bonds between the players on and off the field.
“This is where I come whenever I’m having bad days, it always takes all the stress off of me,” utility Terreanique Robinson said. “It just brightens my day, like seeing everyone. I’m so excited. Especially when we have our team dinners after practice. I look forward to those every single time. It’s just really like family.”
The Alamo Cup will be held at UTSA this year in October, to get more information about the games and club follow UTSA quad ball on instagram.
