They run and pass the ball with a broomstick between their legs, but without branches. They don't fly, they tackle and there is a lot of intensity in the game, with a great collective effort to score each goal: throwing the ball with the hand inside one of the three rings, fixed at the end of the rival field. The game, now a sport, has been renamed quadball but has its origins in quidditch from the successful Harry Potter saga. On weekends you can see some of its practitioners playing next to the Besòs River or also in the Francolí riverbed, in Tarragona, with surprised glances.
Salou hosted a major European tournament this weekend with 56 clubs from sixteen countries and 1,000 players: the European Quadball Cup. British, where the work of the writer J.K Rowling was born, and Germans are the majority. But there are also French, Polish, Czech, Belgian, Italian or Spanish. Salou already hosted a national team tournament (Nations Cup).
It is a pleasure to see the good atmosphere among dozens and dozens of young people with a great competitive spirit, but with enormous respect for the rival, on the soccer fields of the Mediterranean Sport Village, adapted for the event. Socialization and values are an essential part of a mixed sport that also specifies the inclusion of non-binary people in its regulations.
Marta Ramón Galindo, member of the Buckbeak Riders (Valencia) coaching staff, highlights values focused on “empathy, tolerance and acceptance of any person regardless of their individual characteristics.” Ramón has been the first coach with a disability in all of Spain.
Along with the Valencians, who play in the Catalunya Cup, in Salou are the Barcelona Eagles. There are also Catalan players on other teams. This is the case of two young people from Santpedor (Bages) enrolled in a Malaga First Division team, the Malaka Vikings, the first Andalusian quidditch team, which brings together, in addition to two Catalans, Galicians or Basques. “It is very exciting to play with people from all over Europe, we have a lot in common. Yes, I like Harry Potter, but it has nothing to do with it,” says Cristina Pera. “It's a different sport, those of us who are here share tastes and hobbies like manga or Harry Potter,” says Daniel Morales.
It is a contact sport, very young, with seven players per team, created only fifteen years ago in the United States. It is currently played in forty countries around the world, members of the IQA (International Quadball Association). In Spain, the sport gained strength twelve years ago. Catalonia was a pioneer.
“The origin is in Harry Potter, but many changes have been introduced,” highlights Marc Alcalà, secretary of the Quadbol Association of Catalonia. Over time they have been disassociating themselves from the fictional saga in order to grow. “It has many barriers of prejudice,” warns Marta Ramón. Kathryn Murgolo, captain of the Barcelona Eagles, goes further and assures that one of the reasons why it was decided to change the name of Quidditch was to separate itself from J.K Rowling and her statements about transphobia. Also to avoid problems with copyright and opt for sponsors.
The magic broom is now a much smaller plastic stick, without branches. “It was dangerous,” Alcalà remembers. The field is not oval, like that of Harry Potter, but rectangular. It has elements of rugby, handball, the killing game or the handkerchief game. There is contact, tackling and charges. Many play with a mouthguard. There are three kill balls that allow the opponent's play to be interrupted.
The main barrier that quadball now faces in order to grow is ignorance and prejudice. The president of the Spanish Quadball Association, Carmen González, recognizes that the current state of the sport is not easy. “Before the pandemic there were 20 teams in Spain and eight in Catalonia. Currently, we have six Spanish teams competing, while in Catalonia there are only two.”
A European tournament like the one in Salou, well organized and highly successful, helps break down barriers. “We are trying to make it an official sport, although the path seems quite difficult,” admits Daniel Price, from the competition's organizing committee.
