Don’t be surprised if Hume Field resembles Hogwarts this weekend.
Eight collegiate teams will be in Gainesville to play Quidditch in the second annual Swamp Cup. Players from schools like Rollins College, the University of Miami and Florida State University will compete from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Florida Quidditch, which won second place at the 2011 World Cup, is hosting the tournament. The games are free and open to the public.
Non-magical Quidditch is the real-life version of the sport created by J.K. Rowling in the “Harry Potter” series. Seven athletes on each team are on the field at a time, and everyone but the Snitch runner must hold a broomstick between his or her legs.
This year’s Swamp Cup will be on campus, span two days instead of three and feature more teams.
“Last year’s Swamp Cup was really when competitive Quidditch started in Florida, so this is the one-year anniversary,” said Hannah Pohlmann, Florida Quidditch’s vice president of tournaments. “It’ll be nice to come back to where it all started for all of us.”
Each team will play three games of about 40 minutes each in the pool stage before proceeding to bracket play. The tournament results won’t count for official rankings, because Quidditch is in the off-season, said team President Bridget Siegel, a 20-year-old religion sophomore.
Spectators can also watch “Kidditch” at about 12 p.m. Sunday. Players will demonstrate, teach and play a game with children in attendance. The Kidditch program, which was started by the International Quidditch Association, promotes athleticism and literacy.
Plus it’s just fun to watch, said Pohlmann, a 19-year-old mathematics sophomore.
“They love the Snitch. They always want to be the Snitch,” Siegel said. “It’s the cutest thing.”
