Red Deer keeper to stand guard for Canadian quidditch squad

“This year for the Pan Am Games, Canada decided to enter both east and west regional teams to develop more athletes, so that opened up an opportunity especially out here in the west where we have a few less players and teams, and I managed to get a spot.”

Gallaway says while the link to J.K Rowling’s fantasy world of wizards and witches does give the game more exposure, that’s not what drew him in.

“I came at it from a sports background. My wife is a Harry Potter fan, and she introduced me to it, but it’s unique because there’s so much happening on the field at once,” the former swimmer and water polo player explains.

“Not only do you have the quaffle, which is the ball we score with, and there are also three bludgers which are dodgeballs. The beaters use those to take people out of play. At the competitive level, it is full contact, which is similar to rugby, as far as tackling.”

Brian Gallaway with the Central Alberta Centaurs. (Lara Hiles)

Athletes take training seriously, he adds.

“At Red Deer, we have a pretty good entry point to it because we’re not playing at the full contact competitive level right off the bat. People can come out and try it in a safe environment,” he says of the Centaurs organization.

“You’ll find some people come to it because of Harry Potter, but that’s not why they stay. They stay because it’s actually a really fun and interesting sport on its own.”

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Red Deer keeper to stand guard for Canadian quidditch squad

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