Vassar Quadball: How the Butterbeer Broooers Aim to be Recognized as a Sport
On an overcast, winter Saturday with 18-mile-per-hour winds, students at Vassar College are nonexistent. Perhaps some students made it to the men’s basketball game at Vassar’s Athletics and Fitness Center, while other students possibly walked to the dining hall. One thing is for sure — on a cold, winter Saturday, the Butterbeer Broooers will be on Joss Beach practicing quadball.
Established at Vassar in 2007, quadball is inspired by the fictional game “quidditch” in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Quadball itself was established in 2005 by Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. Since 2005, more than 100 quadball teams have been established all around the U.S.
Quadball made its official name change from quidditch in 2022 to distance the sport from J.K. Rowling. Not only did the organization aim to distance itself, but it also aimed to receive sports recognition.
“We’re just trying to pivot from being more of a fantasy, semi-official sport to being a fully serious sport…We want to be taken more seriously with our image,” says Jesse Koblim. Koblim is a junior at Vassar and one of the captains of the quadball team. Koblim has been a part of the team since his freshman year.
The Butterbeer Broooers will travel to Texas to compete in the US Quadball Cup in April. To be as prepared as possible, they host practices every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday with their 12 members.
Practices are held on Joss Beach, the campus quad. The Broooers set up a total of six hoops on the pitch, three on each side. In the width of the pitch is where the action takes place: seven players on each team take position. These positions range from chasers, beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. The offense uses a “quaffle” to score, which is a red, leathery ball about 12 inches in diameter. The defense uses a “bludger”, a dodgeball, to knock the opposing team’s players out temporarily. Koblim describes the sport as a mix between basketball and dodgeball.
“There is a lot of physical aggression from other teams…It takes a really surprising amount of cardiovascular strength to have the endurance to go back and forth on the pitch multiple times while also implementing strategies,” says Koblim.
As the Butterbeer Broooers continued their practice on a Saturday afternoon in the dead of winter, all that was heard were strategies, directions, and boisterous laughter. While the two-hour practice consisted of running and pushing, it also consisted of lots of smiles and apparent fun.
“My favorite aspect of quadball is the people that are on the team. It’s where I found my friend group,” says Kate Bamberg, a senior on the team. Bamberg has been on the team since her freshman year and has grown up with the team.
As quadball grows nationally, the Butterbeer Broooers struggle to find more players. In 2007, the team had about 30 members. Now, they only have 12. Despite the low numbers, the Broooers are hopeful for the future of quadball. “It’s not a fantasy anymore,” says Bamberg.
In two months, the largest quadball event in the country will take place. Quadball teams everywhere will compete to not only win but to instill the idea that quadball is a sport.
