Like him or not, one has to give credit to sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard for starting his own religion (Scientology), based on wacky space "thetans," that persists to this day. Perhaps she hasn't achieved quite such a milestone, but it appears that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has invented an enduring sport known as "Quidditch." Though indubitably British in origin, a real live version of the fictional sport has blossomed in the Americas, notably in New England and Canada, and especially at the juncture of the two, where founding school and reigning champion Middlebury College clings proudly to the 2008 Quidditch World Cup.
With no shortage of colleges in the Pioneer Valley (full of 18- to 22-year-olds who grew up on Potter), Quidditch has also become popular in Amherst, where the UMass and Amherst College teams are set to face off this Saturday. Chasers will chase, beaters will beat and keepers will keep, while all defer to the all-important seeker, whose sole duty is to capture the elusive golden snitch (played by a person in the muggle version of the game). There's plenty of room to cheer on your favorite team, and perhaps there will even be some treats such as Bertie Bott's jelly beans, which boast wildly popular flavors such as "earwax," "earthworm" and "vomit."
Dec. 6, free, 3 p.m., athletic fields, UMass-Amherst, umassquidditch@yahoo.com.
