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RANTOUL, Ill. (WCIA) — Harry Potter-like magic made its way to Champaign County over the weekend. Quadball, which is adapted from the fictional game of Quidditch, is played by about 600 teams around the world.
Over the weekend, Rantoul hosted about 19 teams playing for a chance to compete in the US Quadball Cup. The mixed-gender, full-contact sport combines aspects of rugby, dodgeball and football.
“It started with the Harry Potter aspect of it like, ‘Hey, we can actually play this sport,’ but as the sport has grown and developed into so much more, we’ve kind of taken it and made it our own,” player and coordinator Scott Rein said. “I think just constantly sticking around, you fall in love with the community [and] the people.”
It was the first time that the national qualifier was held in the county. Experience CU expected it to generate more than $300,000 in economic impact.
The weekend’s winning teams will go on to play in the championship next month in Virginia.