Cates Avenue: one of the many bustling hubs of NC State, where one might see a crowd of people headed for Talley Student Union, a game of beach volleyball or … college students on broomsticks? 

This is exactly the sight Hannah Johnson, a freshman studying engineering, came across during her tour of the university.

“As my mom and I were driving by campus, we saw bunch of grown men tackling each other and throwing a ball around three hoops,” Johnson said.

This phenomenon Johnson witnessed was actually a practice held on Harris Field by the NC State Quidditch team.

Quidditch is the preferred sport of wizards from the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling. In the series, players fly on brooms while trying to throw balls called Quaffles through three hoops to score points. Meanwhile, they dodge hard balls called Bludgers meant to knock players off of their brooms. There is also a golden snitch, a tiny yellow ball that flies on its own. Whichever team’s seeker catches the snitch wins the game.

Founded in 2009, NC State’s Quidditch team started out small with a fluctuating number of members and has grown to almost 20 members this year. 

“It’s been sort of a roller coaster throughout the years,” said Michael Brown, a junior and Quidditch team captain.

Johnson, secretary and recruitment officer for the team, played a large role in getting more people to join. She said recruiting members was a main focus of the team’s at the beginning of the year. The group advertised around campus with signs, chalking the sidewalks and Facebook. 

“I just try to be a really friendly person, and I get the word out there,” Johnson said. “Most people try it one time, and they’re addicted because it’s so easy and so fun.”

According to Brown, the team is more cohesive now. It participates not only in casual matches on campus, but also in tournaments around the state. The group is scheduled to play UNC-Charlotte in a few weeks.

Some wonder how Quidditch works outside of the wizarding world without the flying brooms and magical landscape of Hogwarts in the background. The team uses slightly deflated volleyballs and dodge balls in place of Quaffles and Bludgers. Getting hit with one of these balls forces a player to stop what he or she is doing and run back to the hoops on their side of the field. 

The positions from “Harry Potter’s” Quidditch, including Chasers, Keepers, Beaters and Seekers, are also part of the “Muggle,” or non-wizard version. Chasers try to shoot the Quaffles in the hoops, Keepers are like the goalies, Beaters represent the defense, protecting players from Bludgers and Seekers attempt to catch the snitch. 

However, since there are no magical golden balls that fly around the field in the non-wizard version, the Snitch’s role is played by a teammate. The player dresses in yellow and has a “Snitch” hanging from his or her pants, which other players try to grab to win the game.

Of course, players are required to “ride” on broomsticks, which consists of players holding a lightweight broom straddled between their thighs as they run around the field. However, Brown predicts this may not be the case in the future.

“The sport will probably move away from brooms,” Brown said. “I think it’s going to be a step in the right direction, but I’m not sure how they’re going to implement it well because there’s no alternative yet.”

Even with tweaked rules and regulations, some may not realize that Quidditch can entail the same intensity as other sports.

“It is probably the most contact you’ll see in a collegiate sport outside of football or rugby,” Brown said. “The Quidditch community as a whole tends to be really athletic people or people looking for a new athletic challenge — and you’re huge Harry Potter nerds. It usually mixes a lot better than you would think.”

Despite the physical demand of the game, Johnson said the team welcomes all kinds of players.

“You would think it’s just a bunch of nerds getting together,” Johnson said. “We have people who don’t even know what Harry Potter is. If you’re a nerd or not, if you’re athletic or not, it doesn’t matter.”

Johnson said she has been a “Harry Potter” fan, fantasizing about Hogwarts and magic for as long as she can remember. She decided she wanted to play collegiate Quidditch during her junior year of high school, and she continues to pursue this goal at NC State.

“I actually tweeted the day that I joined,” Johnson said. “I had a picture of my broom in the hoops, and I said, ‘dreams do come true.’”