Major League QUIDDITCH returns to play after COVID-19 Pandemic
Call it “the Harry Potter effect,” if you will!
Who knew Quidditch would take off and grow so popular?! Ali Markus, manager of The Intensity, Indianapolis Quidditch Team, explains how this fierce competition works, as it returns to play for the first time in nearly TWO YEARS this weekend in Indianapolis!
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The Indianapolis Intensity are hosting a three-game series against the Cleveland Riff to kick off the 2021 season at Riverwood Park on Saturday, June 26. The games, which will start at 1 p.m., are open to the public and pay what you think it’s worth. Tickets are available here.
No competitive quidditch games at any level have been contested in the U.S. since March 2020. MLQ teams last played in August 2019 at the league championship in Richmond, Va. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the entire 2020 season.
MLQ resumed in 2021 with a 35-page book of health and safety guidelines, including a Covid Code of Conduct, the implementation of video tryouts and the suspension of cross-border matches with Canadian franchises. No team can compete in 2021 unless all its participating athletes are fully vaccinated or daily case rates in the county or metropolitan area are below a certain threshold.
Quidditch is a mixed-gender, full-contact sport played by over 600 teams in 40 countries. The rules, originally adapted from the Harry Potter book series, incorporate a mix of elements from basketball, rugby and dodgeball.
Founded in 2015, MLQ is the highest level of quidditch in North America. The league is home to 15 franchises and one trial expansion team across the U.S. and Canada and runs from June to August. The teams recruit star players from local college and adult quidditch programs.
Indianapolis is one of the league’s most successful teams. The Intensity have won four out of five North Division titles and reached the finals of the MLQ Championship in 2017. After losing in the quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019, the team is looking to get back to its winning ways in 2021.
The teams are competing for a chance to take home the Benepe Cup — the league trophy named after real-life quidditch founder Alex Benepe — at the 2021 MLQ Championship in Howard County, Md. on Aug. 21-22. The top four teams in each of the three divisions qualify for the event.
About Major League Quidditch
Quidditch is a competitive, full-contact, co-ed sport played by athletes around the world. Major League Quidditch has set out to create a high-intensity environment for the best athletes in North America to hone their skills and compete for one of our sport’s highest honors: the Benepe Cup.
Want to know more about Major League Quidditch?
Visit mlquidditch.com or contact us at press@mlquidditch.com.