Parental Support Important to Players
While it is sometimes difficult for parents to understand quidditch, their support can mean a lot because the sport features a major role in many players' lives. The following stories are just a few examples of how quidditch parents are showing support.
UCLA chaser, Vanessa Goh, and her mother. Photo courtesy of the Goh family.
For some parents, simply attending games can be a huge struggle, which makes their show of support even more special. University of Maryland Quidditch (College Park, MD) player James Hicks' parents were introduced to the sport at World Cup V. In the months that followed, his mother experienced knee problems and his father was hospitalized because of an infection. “My next tournament was the Stony Brook classic, only a month or two after my dad was released from the hospital. It's a legendary tournament on the East Coast because of the conditions. We were all miserable. It was so cold, and rain and ice were falling all day. It was awful,” recalled Hicks. However, the weather did not stop Hicks' father from watching him play. “My father drove out to Stony Brook, in that weather, with his cane, to watch me play quidditch. It's a moment I will always remember and cherish.” Both of his parents watched him play at another tournament later that semester, and after he made Team USA, they helped raise money so that he could compete. “Coming off of knee surgery, my mother purchased a plane ticket to London to see me play in the IQA summer games. They have been so unbelievably supportive even though they have been through a lot and could've easily gotten some much needed rest, and I'm so thankful to them,” said Hicks.
Ideally, parents would understand and share players' enthusiasm right from the beginning, but sometimes it takes a bit of encouragement to get them to view quidditch as a sport. When Chris Champitto, a snitch and player for UNC Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC) and QC Carolinas (Winston-Salem, NC), tried to explain the sport to his parents, Champitto described their initial reaction as being along the lines of, "You are not wasting our gas to go play some dumb sport.” However, after watching a few games, their attitude swiftly changed.?”They are in love with the sport now. They love going to games to see the joy on everyone's faces.” In addition to helping with team travel arrangements, they also pay for gas now too.
Loyola Quidditch (New Orleans, LA) beater Tad Walters was met with similar opposition when he first told his parents that he played quidditch. “My dad didn't like it because first, he didn't think it was a real sport, and second, because he wanted me to focus on school more,” said Walters. ?”My mom has become extremely supportive and has come to multiple tournaments to watch me, and has also helped house some players on a trip we had. My dad also has become supportive of it, and after coming to a tournament [he] has seen how competitive and physical it is and [now sees] it as a sport,” explained Walters. Walters frequently encourages players to invite doubtful parents to tournaments. “Most parents don't think of the concept as a sport, and quidditch can sometimes not translate very well to video. Have them go to one of your tournaments to see how much of a sport it really is.”
Other parents may have the opposite reaction, viewing the sport as too rough. “My parents see quidditch as "too intense" of a sport, while others may see it as not even a sport at all. Though I'm doctor-approved for contact sports, I'm at an increased risk for paralysis, which my parents are only too painfully aware [of], so being in quidditch is a very difficult, intense decision for me to make, and for them to see me make and approve of,” explained Celia Garthwait, who plays for the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls (Boca Raton, FL). Garthwait had major surgery the year before she started college and was still in a wheelchair three months before the semester started. Despite some frustrating health-related setbacks, Garthwait said she has found a great support system in her quidditch teammates. “Overall, I think they've seen how passionate I am about it, and how it's served as a sort of physical and emotional therapy, helping me to heal,” said Garthwait. Her most important piece of advice to players who may be having difficulty explaining the sport to their parents is to “Just keep loving quidditch, and let your happiness and passion shine through and do the talking.”
