Muggle journalist from Brandon paper flies overseas for quidditch World Cup

Some of the muggle world's best quidditch players are heading to Germany to show off their skills this weekend, and Brandon Sun journalist Andrew Nguyen will be there giving the play-by-play.

The fictional game, made famous in the Harry Potter series, will attract huge crowds at the International Quidditch Association's World Cup 2016.

Being a diehard Harry Potter fan, Nguyen plays the game and was appointed as one of two Canadian commentators for the tournament.

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In the Harry Potter universe, seven players on each team take flight on brooms, with three of those players designated as chasers who have a deflated volleyball known as a quaffle, Nguyen said.

Chasers fly the quaffle up and down the field and try to score on one of three hoops on the opposing side.

It gets a little harder to follow from there.

"Defending those hoops you have a keeper, so kind of like soccer or hockey where you have one net. The keeper, unfortunately has to block three nets from the front and from the back. Then, you have beaters ... they take dodge balls, which are called bludgers, and they get to hit players from the opposing team. If you get hit, you have to dismount your broom, run back to your side of the field and touch your hoops to re-enter the game," Nguyen said.

"Then you have the snitch runner ... the snitch is actually a ball in a sock that hangs off a person's shorts. The seeker's job is to rip that ball of the snitch runner's shorts for 30 points, and that ends the game."

Simple enough...

Flightless broom

Despite having the noticeable handicap of not being able to fly like the wizards in Harry Potter, quidditch players still have to keep a broom between their legs throughout the game, "which makes it just a little bit more difficult."

"You have to run with the broom between your legs and you've got to catch a ball with one hand, usually. That can be a little challenging," he said.

Nguyen says that balancing act makes the sport "very similar to rugby."

"It's kind of a one-handed tackle and a bunch of stiff arms, so there's definitely contact and that's what attracts a lot of athletes to the sport," he said, adding he suffered a concussion on the field a few years ago.

"I've seen brooms to the head, I had an ankle injury myself. It can be pretty rough and tumble out there." 

As a commentator, Nguyen won't have to worry about getting bruised up at this year's world championships.

Dozens applied for commentator jobs, with 16 selected worldwide. The other Canadian commentator, Suraj Singh, plays on the same team as Nguyen in Toronto.

"It's nice to have a familiar face with me when we get to commentate over there," he said.

The games will be held in Frankfurt July 23 and 24.

Nguyen says he expects the tournament will bring out a diverse crowd of Potter fans, young and old.

"This world cup in Frankfurt will bring out a huge spectrum of people. Some people who are younger kids who love the books and will definitely dress up, and there will be people who love it because of the athleticism of the sport."

The U.S., Great Britain, Australia, France and Canada are the teams to watch, Nguyen added.