The magic of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series continues to live on not only in the hearts of fans, but also in another unlikely place — the field.

Home of the Grand Valley Grindylows quidditch team, Grand Valley State University will be the first university in the Midwest to host the Midwest Regionals for collegiate quidditch.

“Having GVSU be the first university to host the Midwest Regionals gives me a lot of pride to be part of the club,” said assistant coach Amber Eaton. “It’s a really big deal to be the first university to host them.”

While actually flying on a broom may be impossible for the time being, those limitations don’t stop people from playing quidditch. Recapturing the excitement and intensity of the game from the world of Harry Potter starts with adapting the team roles so that muggles are able to play.

Seven players make up each team. One keeper protects the team’s hoops, three chasers handle the quaffle (the ball used for scoring), two beaters use dodgeballs to strike other players and the last position is the seeker, who’s in charge of catching the golden snitch.

Each team tries to get the quaffle through one of the opposing team’s three hoops to score 10 points. Beaters use bludgers (dodgeballs) to hit other players to try and wrestle the quaffle from the opposing team. The seeker is then responsible for catching the golden snitch to end the game and net their team 30 points.

Like many other sports, quidditch has rules and regulations, including giving out colored cards for offenses of varying degrees. Brooms are to be between a player’s legs at all times, unless the player is hit with a bludger, in which case they must run back to their team’s hoops and tag back into the game. Other rules range from broom length to scoring technicalities to when the snitch appears in the game.

Despite originating from Harry Potter, quidditch doesn’t have to be played only by fans of the series. GVSU’s quidditch cub has several new players this year that play the game because they love it. Club President Aleia Wright said the club hosts pickup games near the beginning of the school year in order to expose others to the club and try out the sport for themselves.

“The hardest part is getting them to actually play,” Wright said. “At first, people think it’s kind of stupid, but once they actually play it they realize it can be a lot of fun.”

Quidditch is no joke of a sport either as GVSU’s quidditch club practices several times a week for two hours at a time. Half of that time is spent conditioning to build up the endurance necessary to be on the move the whole game.

Head coach John Alexander said the GV Grindylows have been working hard to qualify for nationals again this year.

“We’ve been buckling down a lot in practice,” Alexander said. “Ultimately we’ll play our own style regardless of who we face.”

GVSU will be hosting 32 teams for the Midwest Regionals which will take place on Nov. 8 and Nov 9.