(ISSUE FIFTY-THREE: QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP)

[KENDALL CALDWELL]

NOVEMBER 25, 2006

7 KNUTS

QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP
JAPAN VS BRITAIN

By James Porter
This year’s Quidditch World cup started out with a bang. Literally. In the match between England and Japan, there were no fewer than three broomsticks malfunctioned, only adding to a match that was already interesting as it was. Britain’s national chaser, Katie Bell was the star of the game, scoring ten goals for the hosting team. It would have been more, had her broom’s braking mechanism not failed. Luckily, she was not hurt since she had been going slow after a time-out by the Japanese captain and beater, Ayaka Cho. It was her best decision after all, seeing as she needed to reevaluate her tactics.

With Katie out for the rest of the game, the pressure was on for the other British chasers and Merrick Zhou, seeker for the team. Catch the snitch early and keep the massive lead they had built up. However, Japanese chaser Kenji Sato had other ideas. Scoring five consecutive goals on the British keeper with the help of fellow Japanese chaser Natsuko Jurou’s additional three goals, the Japanese seemed to be determined to close the gap and hopefully take the lead.

Three hours into the game, the score was all tied up at 150. Katie’s initial flurry of goals really bolstered Britain’s offense, though the other two chasers could not quite match her talents. Japan’s offensive formations seemed to be no match for the British keeper. But in the end, a well placed bludger from British beater Icarus Toto was the game winning maneuver from Britain. Once the bludger connected with Japanese seeker Naomi Itzuki, the match was over. Zhou successfully captured the snitch for Britain, lifting them to a glorious victory 300-150.

After the game, we were able to pull Cho aside and ask what she thought of the match. "Next year we will just have to do better," was all she said, taking the loss as gracefully as she could. The British team was too busy celebrating to comment, though we will hear more from them after their next game, win or lose.

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