Quidditch in Iceland is awesome... and totally free!

Stúdentablaðið/Francesca Stoppani

An interview with Sigurður Skúli Sigurgeirsson, coach of the Icelandic national quidditch team

Quidditch is a sport in which two teams of seven players face off on a grass field. The game is sometimes referred to as “muggle quidditch” in order to distinguish it from the homonymous fantasy game found in the magical world of Harry Potter, where the idea originated. In J.K. Rowling’s series, the characters play quidditch while flying on broomsticks and using magic balls. Unfortunately, broomsticks don’t fly in the boring real world, so players simply have to run.

Invented in 2005, quidditch is an increasingly popular sport that has adopted elements of rugby, dodgeball, and handball and is now practiced all over the world. The rules and regulations of the sport are defined by the US-based International Quidditch Association (IQA), with various championships and tournaments managed either by the IQA or by individual national sports federations.

There are several different positions on each team, and each player must wear a headband in a specific color to indicate their position. There is two kinds of balls: one quaffle (a volleyball) and three bludgers (dodgeballs). Chasers score by getting the quaffle through the opposing team’s hoops; beaters throw bludgers to knock the other team’s chasers and beaters off their brooms; keepers, similar to goalies in other sports, defend their team’s hoops from the opposing team’s attempts to score; and seekers are tasked with catching the snitch.

Quidditch is a mixed sport where all genders play together, making it extremely inclusive and LGBTQ+ friendly. The Icelandic quidditch team held its first practice on September 24, 2016, and since then it has had great success at Nordic and European tournaments. We met up with Sigurður Skúli Sigurgeirsson, coach of the Icelandic national team, at the Midgard convention in Kópavogur to learn more about quidditch in Iceland.

You coach both the Icelandic national team and Reykjavik’s local team, Ragnarök. What is the most challenging part of working with both teams?

The biggest difference between the two teams is that one is the national team and the other is a club team. However, they actually hold joint practices, and both teams consist of pretty much the same people. The biggest challenge in coaching the teams is probably keeping it from becoming too serious because the focus of quidditch in Iceland, and quidditch in general, is first and foremost on having fun. I want to make sure that every practice is managed in such a way that everyone enjoys it, whether it’s their first practice or they’re veterans of the sport. I also want to make sure that everyone has fun while also improving their skills. If a player makes a mistake during practice, I want to guide them to playing better with kindness and a sense of humor instead of being condescending or mean. I don’t want to tell people “you did this wrong, that’s how you do it.” I’d rather just point them in the right direction. If they want to play to improve, they can do that during practice, whereas if they just want to have fun, that’s totally fine as well.

How important is it to have an athletic background in a sport like quidditch?

It’s not important at all! You can play quidditch without having played any sport before. Most of our players didn’t have a sports background when they started, but now they love playing and have become… sports people, I guess? I’m not going to lie; it helps to have played sports before. If you’ve played anything like handball, basketball, rugby, dodgeball – anything that involves throwing a ball – it will give you an advantage since you already have a certain coordination that other people have to develop. Anyway, a bunch of people just start to play quidditch because of their love for Harry Potter.

And how important is to have a “Potterhead” background instead?

You don’t need to be a “Potterhead” to play quidditch. A lot of people are introduced to the sport without ever having watched Harry Potter! For example, maybe they’ve played rugby or basketball their whole life, and they want to try something a little bit more relaxed that doesn’t require practicing six times a week. *Laughs* Quidditch is a fun alternative because it’s more relaxed, with only one or two practices a week. Of course, there’s an element of competition, but it’s not the most important thing. We work hard to perform well at tournaments, but no matter how it goes, we know that we will have fun!

Quidditch isn’t just an athletic activity; it’s an inclusive space where everyone is more than welcome to participate. Do you feel like this sport, in particular, is better for de-stressing than others?

I think quidditch is a lot less stressful than many sports because there’s not as much toxicity; people are not shouting at you if you do something wrong. There’s also the whole inclusivity aspect; whatever your background or gender, you’re welcome to join, and everyone plays together. You can be yourself and people will accept you. The community we have is probably the most awesome community I’ve ever been a part of because everyone is always willing to help each other. For instance, if you’re going to countries you’ve never been to before, and you need help getting settled and stuff, you can let the community know. There will be at least five people ready to help you get acquainted with the city or country.

Quidditch allows you to be who you are and can help you de-stress, not only because it is a physical activity, but also because it’s a space where you can truly be yourself and where people love you for who you are.

I heard Iceland earned a spot in the Quidditch World Cup, which will be held next year in Richmond, Virginia in the US. How are you going to prepare the national team?

As I’ve said, every tournament we go to is meant to be fun. We want to meet new people, learn new strategies, and improve as a team and as people. The goal for this World Cup will probably be to place in the top 20 since we came in 29th last time. I think we could have played a lot better if we’d had a full roster. If we have a full team, we could definitely be in the top 20 worldwide! In any case, if we don’t get that result, we’re not going to be mad. We’re just going to enjoy playing this sport at the highest level. In quidditch, you can have a roster of up to 21 people at a time. Since Iceland is a tiny country compared to most others, we have more trouble filling our roster. In addition, this sport is still young in Iceland and hasn’t had much exposure yet. There’s a trend here that when people go to university, they just drop out of sports entirely because they don’t have the time to practice any more. I think quidditch is a way for those people to keep playing a sport without having to sacrifice their social life or their studies. The team is made up of people at different levels of schooling. We have people in high school, people studying at the university, and even people working full-time or doing a PhD!

So, just to summarize: why should everyone here in Reykjavik come give quidditch a try?

Well, it’s the most fun sport I’ve ever played and I’ve played basketball for 17 years. I’ve tried football, handball, rugby… I’ve done a lot of sports, but quidditch is the one I really fell in love with and that’s why I wanted to manage this club.

There’s no divide between the genders; there’s no men’s team that gets all the glory and women’s team that gets the leftovers. There’s only one team and everyone is equal. If you just watched some of the non-male teammates playing quidditch, you would be so inspired seeing them go up against other players who are two meters tall. They’re not afraid; they tackle them and run right through them!

We focus a lot on having fun. We’re more than a team that just plays together. It’s a community that also really cares about the social aspect.

Not to mention, playing quidditch in Iceland is completely free! We don’t have a membership fee or a fee for individual practices since we’re running on a grant. The only thing players have to cover is expenses related to tournaments, but we always try to do team fundraisers.

Thank you very much Skúli, and good luck to both your teams in their future tournaments and especially during the World Cup! Do you have anything to add?

I would just like to tell everyone to come and try quidditch! We have practice at Kaplakriki (Kaplahraun, 220 Hafnarfjörður) every Sunday from 6 to 7 pm. There’s no obligation; you can just come and try it out! If you don’t like it, it will be a funny story to tell your friends. If you enjoy it, that’s even better!

You can find Reykjavik Ragnarök on their Facebook page and on Instagram at @ragnarokquidditch. Follow the team for up-to-date information on their events and practices.