Reasons to Embrace a Long Overdue Name Change
Authors: Fiona Wisehart and Naresh Edala
Editors: Keegan Remy-Miller and Christian Barnes
About the Authors
Fiona Wisehart was captain of her undefeated Harry Potter trivia team in high school. Her longest-running Halloween costume was as Hermione, five years in a row. Her proudest Harry Potter-related achievement is reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows within 24 hours of its release. She first played quidditch on the RPI Quidditch team and was Captain for two years.
Naresh Edala used to wake up at 4 AM on weekends, just to read Harry Potter. He first played quidditch for Rutgers Quidditch. He has extensive experience in college quidditch leadership as he filled every leadership position during Rutgers’ infamous stint as “Reluctantly Unaffiliated Quidditch” and afterwards, when they became Rutgers Quidditch again. They became unaffiliated with the university after the entire team drove from New Jersey to Florida (without permission) after their flights to US Cup 10 were canceled.
Biggest Takeaways
Quidditch is, and always has been, more than just its origins in Harry Potter
Choosing a different name for our sport does not negate our history and there are better ways of teaching our history
We are extremely vulnerable to legal action from Warner Brothers. They have sued many other organizations with copyrighted names in the past
It is not appropriate for either league (especially as we play an inclusive, all-gender sport) to pay homage to a person who is aggressively transphobic and contributes to very real discrimination and violence towards trans people
Use of the name “quidditch” undermines our ability to form partnerships. Both MLQ and USQ have been forced to not partner with certain organizations due to pressure from Warner Brothers
Harry Potter is no longer the draw it was— for both new players and fans
While it does draw some people in, it is not enough to retain people who are solely here because they love Harry Potter— they have to love the sport too, and that venn diagram is not a circle
Why does it need to change?
Imagine every college with a quidditch program; one whose future is not in jeopardy at the end of every season. Quidditch being played at every age and every level. National and international championships broadcasted on the biggest television channels in the world. Fans filling the stands of every game. Thanksgivings where you do not have to explain to your relatives what exactly that sport is that you play with your friends every weekend. Imagine not lying to random strangers (that you will never see again) and telling them that you play “soccer” or “rugby.”
How much of this is possible without a name change? The association with Harry Potter (at the height of Harry Potter’s popularity and before Rowling was publicly transphobic) shaped a generation of college players, especially those that created the sport at Middlebury. However, it has now grown to over 40 countries and hundreds of teams throughout the world. There is a real World Cup and people are actively spending money to be able to attend tournaments as players, referees, and spectators. While this sport was built upon a love of Harry Potter, Harry Potter has decreasing relevance to new players and increasing negative associations. Additionally, there has always been the risk of a copyright lawsuit from Warner Brothers. For quidditch to not just survive, but to grow as a sport and to honor the work of the many passionate players and volunteers, the name of the sport must be changed. “Quidditch” does not represent our sport. We are bigger than Harry Potter. We have grown beyond it.
Honoring our History
Our history has always been more than just Harry Potter; it has been about the intersection of sport and the community. Changing the name will reflect our present community and values, while paving the way for the next phase of our sport’s existence. Some players have expressed concern that changing the name of sport means we are turning our back on our history. However, there are many more informational and engaging ways to teach new players our history. Projects such as our timeline (we love public submissions for significant quidditch events!) or Quidditch Turns 10 are far more appropriate ways to preserve our legacy. Other sports have halls of fame, which serve to highlight the accomplishments of historic contributors. These avenues would be far more effective and educational than keeping the name of the sport as a copyrighted term belonging to a transphobe.
It is not appropriate for a sport and community that prides itself on providing a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to continue to pay homage to Rowling. While her past works are deeply meaningful to some, her present views are deeply damaging and contribute to very real discrimination and safety issues for trans people. Quidditch was built on love of Harry Potter and a fervent commitment to inclusivity, but now our connection to Harry Potter is actively inhibiting our commitment to inclusivity. While some of us may choose to continue to value Harry Potter for its significance to us before Rowling showed her true colors, or use it to recruit for our teams, that is not an appropriate stance for a league to take, particularly if we are attempting to welcome new trans athletes into our sport.
Copyright
Both internationally and domestically, the incredibly powerful and wealthy companies that own the rights to HP have demonstrated that they are unafraid to sue organizations, even those owned by fans, that use their copyrighted terms. In 2000, they famously threatened legal against the family of a 15-year-old fan because she owned the domain “harrypotterguide.co.uk.” In 2009, the Underground Restaurant was also threatened with legal action for a Harry Potter-themed Halloween party. More recently, in 2020, Warner Brothers sued Random Tuesday for their charitable group, the Potterhead Running Club. There have been so many legal disputes over the HP IP that they have their own wikipedia page.
While we have not been sued, Warners Brothers has threatened us in the past if we pursued sponsorships. The only reason we have not been sued is because we are not making any money. As soon as we attempt to make money, we will be threatened with legal action and forced to change our name. We face a voluntary name change now, when the entire community can get involved and weigh in, or a rushed, forced name change.
Whimsy
Our association with HP and the HP brand undermines our ability to form partnerships with other organizations and have sponsorship deals with private companies. Sponsorships have been dismissed by some as “just a cash grab,” but they are essential ways to bring quidditch to those who otherwise do not have access. USQ’s BIPOC Team Grants and MLQ’s Athlete Advancement Program are both worthy endeavors that seek to decrease the financial burden on players, but they are both almost entirely funded by other members of the community . USQ does not have any major sources of income apart from US Quidditch Cup and could not cover all BIPOC Team Grants without soliciting additional donations from the community. MLQAAP is based on soliciting donations from the community for specific players. The opportunity to receive outside funding for these endeavors will not be possible if our funders are concerned about getting sued by Warner Brothers.
The leagues need to be able to form partnerships to grow the sport. What sports network would be willing to broadcast a quidditch tournament if they are given the mistaken impression that we wear capes, use wands, and do not care whether we win or lose? What sports company is going to want to sponsor us if they don’t think that we are an appropriate fit for their brand?
Using Harry Potter to bring more spectators and new players into the sport is definitely a strategy that has worked in the past. However, that is precisely the problem— it worked in the past. We have heard about the historic crowds of people that showed up to watch World Cup 4 and 5, but those crowds aren’t around any more. We have not adapted to the clear, changing interests of the general public. Harry Potter is no longer as popular as it was and it is not drawing in the same number of people as it once did. We have had a net loss of USQ teams every season since the 2015-2016 season. We lost over 40 teams during the pandemic. How many teams are we willing to lose until we acknowledge that we need change?
Recruitment & Retention
In recent discussions, some people have stated that the connection to Harry Potter is essential for recruitment. Others have stated that the usage of Harry Potter in recruiting is inhibitory. They are opposite sides of the same coin. The Harry Potter connection does bring eyes towards the sport. However, many of the people that join primarily due to Harry Potter do not end up staying in the sport. What initially appears to be two sides staunchly for or against the Harry Potter connection is actually an argument about what the focus needs to be for the future of recruitment and retention in quidditch. These two concepts are not the same, they are talked about as if they are. Recruitment is the influx of new talent into an environment, while retention is managing to hold on to that talent. Quidditch needs both.
There are many misconceptions about effective recruitment— and this is in no way an indictment of the many hard-working college athletes that are responsible for keeping our sport alive. Many of them lack the training and support structures they need to create a thriving program.
One of the most important concepts to understand about recruiting is that not every pitch works for every potential new athlete. Working on different pitches for different personalities is more effective than relying on Harry Potter as a one-size-fits-all solution. For college leaders reading this, if you walk away from this article only having learned one thing, make it this: Recruiting is an effort based venture, the more energy and time you put into flyers, tabling, and walking around asking everyone you see to check out the sport, the higher your likelihood of success is towards building your team. Every single action you take has the potential to get new recruits. Harry Potter should not be the primary focus of how you recruit. The popularity that Harry Potter has in mainstream culture has helped quidditch gain notoriety in the past, but this does not accurately reflect the current iteration of the sport. Too many times, the people that have shown up because of the Harry Potter connection are quickly startled by how competitive the sport is and what it means to be a quidditch player. These are players that don't return.
Retention is based on team culture and environment. Think about what makes you keep coming back for more. What keeps you going season after season? Reflect on what inspires someone to become a Captain or President for a team. Think about the road trips, traveling to different states to play your favorite sport on weekends, the bonds that form, and the family that lasts a lifetime (just ask one of the many quidditch couples). The reason why we do this— why quidditch has become an inseparable piece of so many of us— is because this sport has given us so much. When recruiting, convey that passion to future recruits. Focus on the family they will be joining as a member of a real team, not a fleeting association with a fantasy novel. Invite them to be part of something you hold dear and they will stick around. To recruit the players who are going to stay, you need to actually advertise quidditch, the real life sport, not the fantasy.
Conclusion
We have always been more than just our connection to Harry Potter. We created an entirely unique sport. We are one of the only all-gender sports in the world. We have the most incredible origin story: some Middlebury students decided to make a sport based on a book series they read. We have come such a long way since then. We have had countless rule changes, new leagues popping up around the world, and finally making “World Cup” an actual World Cup with actual international competition. None of this progress has ever negated our incredible, against-all-odds origins. Now, to grow even further, and to strengthen our commitment to our values, we need to make another change. We need to choose a new name for the sport we all love.