William flew on a broomstick

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in form this time on and forevermore."



William flew on a broomstick


Based on the Quidditch tournaments at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, the non-magical version of the game has certainly 


come a long way since it was devised by a 19-year-old English literature student named Xander Manshel, who decided that he could adapt the rules to avoid the need for, 


say, levitation. Or a walnut-sized ball that also qualifies as a sentient lifeform (the “snitch”).
“At first, I thought he was crazy," admits Alex Benepe, Manshel’s former classmate and founder of the International Quidditch Association (IQA). “But I have to say he did a 


really good job of translating it, given that, y’know, we can’t fly.”
Manshel doesn’t like giving interviews, and has turned his back on a life of wizardry in exchange for a teaching fellowship at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. 


The movement he created appears unstoppable, however, with some 40 teams signing up to get the official rulebook (now on its fourth edition) last month alone. The IQA has 


launched its own magazine (The Monthly Seer), a slick website and a charitable programme, and is busy putting together a referees’ guide to make the game safer.