The witches of Wickwire

The One Moment Society's Avia Malcolm, Jillian Soh and Geoff Seto. (Josh Boyter Photo)

Jillian Soh is in her element. The biology student and One Moment president is wearing a pink bed sheet as a cape, giving out cookies, and explaining the regulations of One Moment’s latest charitable event to volunteers (including yours truly.)

“You have to be on your brooms at all times,” she begins. “If you’re not on your broom, then you’ve fallen off it, and then you can’t play.” Jillian’s co-organizers—Fahad Kabir, Geoff Seto, and Avia Malcolm—listen intently. One Moment (a ratified Dalhousie charity raising money for AIDS research) is in the midst of organizing this Sunday’s second annual Quidditch tournament. Organizers, volunteers, and team members agree; everything has to be magic.

Quidditch (for those Muggles not in the know) is the witch-and-wizard sport made famous by J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. The game involves trying to score points with a ball (“Quaffle”). If you’re having trouble picturing Quidditch, here’s a recipe: one part rugby and one part dodge ball, with a liberal dose of theatrical silliness thrown in.

The most vital Quidditch strategy is for players to watch out for the “Golden Snitch”—the team with eyes sharp enough to retrieve the tiny golden sphere takes home a cool 50 points and ends the game. In order to make the task tougher, the Snitch will be attached to the back of a seasoned track-and-field runner. “It’s going to be attached to Velcro, and the Velcro will be attached to Velcro, and that Velcro will be attached to your back,” Jillian cheerfully explains to a nearby Snitch runner, showing off the Velcroed Snitch.

“Where did you get that Snitch?” A team members asks, impressed by the Velcro pulley system. “That’s legit.”

“E-bay,” Jillian beams, opening another box of cookies.

Another key feature of Quidditch is avoiding “Bludgers” (deflated dodge balls thrown by “Beaters”.) “Bludgers will mess you up,” warns a sober Mitch Handley, captain of “P.D.T. United.” “I’ve taken a few Bludgers in my day.” Come Sunday, Mitch will have one eye on the Bludgers and one hand on his broom as he leads P. D. T. United into battle. Other teams competing include the Chudley Cannons, Team Music, the Golden Thimbles, and the Appleby Arrows. I’m the captain of the Appleby Arrows. I’m still not quite sure how that happened.

“You need a team chant,” Jill tells me. “Something for the crowd to cheer.”

I blink and rack by brain. “Um… ‘ARRRRR, me hearties?’” (Don’t give me that look. I just write, OK? I don’t play Quidditch.)

Actually, the Quidditch tournament has tempted out a surprisingly large number of volunteers, many of whom—like me—would otherwise never dream of venturing onto Wickwire field. Some are veteran Quidditch players back from last year’s tournament (which was bravely held in Nova Scotia snow.) “The (volunteers) are just really nice people,” demurs Geoff Seto, a microbiology honours student here at Dal, and One Moment’s treasurer and events coordinator. But there’s more to it than that. The Quidditch teams and the other tournament volunteers will be showing up on Sunday to support a cause they believe in. And to have some fun, for one moment, anyhow.

Having fun is a specific part of One Moment’s mission statement. “People don’t do anything exciting any more,” says Fahad Kabir, the enthusiastic arts major who serves as One Moment’s vice-president and official spokesperson. “People don’t do anything whimsical.”

That sentiment gave rise to the idea for One Moment, which Jillian, Fahad and Geoff founded last year. “I was ranting to Geoff (that) people don’t enjoy life as much,” explains Fahad, who has a problem with the guilt-trip tactics some charities utilize to earn funds. “That’s something I don’t like. It doesn’t come from the heart.”

So that’s what is One Moment is really about – helping a good cause and having a good time? “Sure. Take a break,” says Fahad. “Enjoy yourself. Um, play a game of Quidditch, apparently.”

Despite this playful attitude, Fahad and his associates take what they do seriously. “There’s been a lot of thought put into this – not how we can host it again, but how can we make it better,” says Fahad. He hopes that the Quidditch tournament could raise as much as $1,000 for the charity.

Jillian has just finished explaining the rules. She looks out over the gathered players to ask if there are any questions.

“Yeah,” says Mitch. “What’s the policy on performance-enhancing charms?”

Jillian considers this. “Well, that Ministry (of Magic) official will be there,” she says thoughtfully. “So I wouldn’t try it.”

Jillian, Geoff and Fahad have lots of One Moment events planned throughout the year, from a Valentine’s Day rose sale to a midwinter masquerade ball. In the meantime, the Quidditch tourney will kick off on Sunday, Oct.19 at Wickwire Field. One Moment wants everyone to come out and watch local undercover witches and wizards struggle for the Quidditch Cup. “We have a trophy full of candy! CANDY!” enthuses Jill.

Really, what’s not to like?