Grown-Up Potter Fans Compete In Quidditch Cup

While the spirit of Harry Potter is present — there are owls here and minstrel music — it's first and foremost a sport and competition. Many of the players haven't even read the books; they just like the game. Here, members of the McGill team chant as they march toward Middlebury's Mead Chapel, just before the World Cup.

The spirited Chestnut Hill College team, one of 12 teams from colleges across the U.S. and Canada, gathers for inspiration before its first match.

The players lift their brooms from the muddy turf, lock them between their thighs and then pretend to take flight. There are two separate objectives to the game — scoring points by throwing the quaffle (a volleyball) through one of the other team's three hoops, and capturing the snitch, a weighted sock hanging out the back of the shorts of a cross-country runner dressed in all gold.

Alex Benepe (left), a senior at Vermont's Middlebury College, was master of ceremonies for this year's World Cup. He is one of the primary forces behind expansion of the sport among real people. Brooms, ball (right) and imagination are key elements of the game. Middlebury won the World Cup title this year, beating out Vassar College for the second year in a row.