Charlotte Aviators Quidditch team hosts first home series of the year

The Harry Potter world of Quidditch has made it to the Queen City.

The Charlotte Aviators Quidditch team made its home debut on Saturday, hosting its first home series of the year against the New York Titans at the CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex.

Quidditch comes from author J.K. Rowling’s fantasy book series Harry Potter. It’s played on brooms with several kinds of balls, mixing elements of basketball, rugby, and dodgeball.

The sport is full-contact and played by around 600 teams in almost 40 countries.

The Charlotte Aviators is a Major League Quidditch expansion team. The league is home to 15 franchises and recruits star players from local college and club programs.

The Aviators are hoping to earn an offer to become an official franchise.

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The team first joined the league in 2021 but did not host any home matches. It exceeded expectations by qualifying for the MLQ Championship and making the quarterfinals in its first year.

The Aviators have both men and women on the team and the age groups vary as well.

“So, a good number of our players are still in college, or recently graduated. Several are well into adulthood, one of them I believe is in his 30s. So a wide range,” Aviators Manager Hanna Reese said.

The Aviators fell just slightly short against the Titans on Saturday, with a final score of 90 to 205.

The 2022 MLQ Championship is being held in Maryland from Aug. 20-22. After the regular season, the top four teams in each of the three divisions will qualify for a spot.

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