Loughborough has a wide variety of societies for students to get stuck into, but do any of us really know what each of them are like? This new series for Label Online aims to shine a light on the different ones you can get involved with and what they’re all about, starting with the Harry Potter and Quidditch Society, which has an exciting new social coming up that’s open to everyone!
Hi, thanks for joining us! Tell us a bit about the Harry Potter and Quidditch Society…
Well, it’s formed of between 30-50 guys and girls in total, and above all we’re just like a big group of friends. Sure, we all have a common interest in Harry Potter and sports, but it goes beyond that – most of our socials turn into lengthy conversations about all sorts of stuff. It’s a very laid-back society I think, there’s not a lot of pressure and everyone just comes together and has a good time, whether that’s on big nights out or casual movie nights in, there’s something to keep everyone entertained.
Why did you decide to join?
I think largely I wanted to meet likeminded people and I was intrigued as to how Quidditch as a sport would be practical in real life. I think that I owed it to my childhood self to give it a go – what did I have to lose?
Was it what you expected?
With the Harry Potter side I didn’t really have any expectations, there are definitely some Harry Potter themed events with costume competitions, and once you join you get sorted into a house and battle with other groups for house points, and as they saying goes – points mean prizes!
In terms of Quidditch, I found it to be far more competitive than I expected. It’s quite a serious game with a lot of training and fitness sessions, but it is also really fun to play and you get to meet people from other universities and countries at tournaments across the country. To compete professionally, you now have to qualify for the British Quidditch Cup and if we do well enough, this year we could go to compete in Italy, which everyone’s really excited about. Last year we came 4th, but we’re always aiming high, so this year we want to be in the top 3 positions.
Throughout the year, there are also a lot of friendly games played with beginners and freshers for pleasure so others can get to grips with the game without the added pressure of competing. It’s also good to know that if you’re a complete beginner, every weekend we hold training sessions from 12:15 – 2:30 at the Paddock Pitch that go over the basics, so that would be a good time for anyone new to show up and get involved.
I honestly wasn’t expecting to go past the first few give it a go sessions, yet here I am a year later and a part of this year’s committee, so I guess I’d say you don’t really know if this is going to be for you unless you try it out.
What kinds of events do you put on?
There are loads of socials put on that range from common room gatherings to nights out. This year we’ve also done pumpkin carving for Halloween, had our own Bake Off that was judged on the best Harry Potter theme, best tasting and best effort by society officials – Cade Morris and Callum Lawrie – which was mainly a really good excuse to sit around eating cake. Most events count towards house points as well, and there’s a leader board on our blog that you can keep up with to see who’s the frontrunner. But right now, we’re preparing for our annual Yule Ball event next week.
What is the Yule Ball?
The Yule Ball is an event we host in Fusion every year, this year it’s going to be on the 5th December, and it’s basically a formal Christmas party. There’s drinks, a DJ, buffet, raffle, a magician, loads of wintery decorations and even a photobooth! People can buy tickets from our website even if they aren’t in the society, although the prices are discounted for members – £10 a ticket for members, £12 for non-members. It’s definitely not to be missed, and it’s a great opportunity to see what the society culture is like if you’re curious about joining! If you’re interested in attending, take a look at our Facebook event.
Also, all the money gained is used to support the Harry Potter Alliance, a charity that since 2005 has been promoting equality, human rights, and literacy for all.
Wow that’s a lot of exciting stuff, anything else we should know about?
We’re signed up for all of the inter-society sporting tournaments – I think we’re going to compete in football and dodgeball this year for a laugh. We also love to get together and collaborate with other societies for socials and events. Last year we did a potions class with the Cocktail Society, which was delicious, and this year we’re planning on collaborating with the Disney Society for a Stuesday, dressing up as our favourite characters and so on. We’re really open and keen to meet with other societies too, so hopefully more of those types of events will be happening this year.
How can people get involved?
For starters, you can become either part of the Harry Potter or Quidditch society together or individually, so there’s no requirement for you to do sport-related things if that’s not your forte. However, in socials both sections join together, so you still get to meet everybody involved. They’re all really friendly and chatty, so don’t feel like if you come along that you’ll be left out.
It’s really affordable to join up too, £5 for each part of the society, and even though its now half way through the year we always welcome new members!
Feel free to come along to any of our socials or Quidditch practices and see what we’re all about, or look at our Harry Potter Twitter Page, Quidditch Twitter Page, Quidditch Facebook Page, or Tumblr.
To contact the Harry Potter society:
lsuharrypotter@gmail.com
To contact the Quidditch society:
loughboroughlongshots@gmail.com
Quidditch Training times:
Saturday and Sunday – 12:15-2:30pm
Tuesday – 7-8.30pm (fitness session)
