The scene at Kanapaha Park had all the symptoms of a typical Sunday afternoon.
Children played in the fields as families munched on their picnic lunches and flew kites, taking in the warm, breezy day.
But on one large field, there was something different.
A crowd of people swarmed around a group of college students who ran around with pretend broomsticks between their legs, trying to throw a volleyball through a trio of makeshift hoops.
The first Quidditch Swamp Cup was held this weekend, featuring six Quidditch teams from the around the state.
Hosted by the UF Quidditch team, the event was the first regional cup in the history of the International Quidditch Association, which was based on the sport made famous by J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter novels.
Nick Murado, the president of the UF Quidditch club, said the team played very well over the weekend but was plagued by a couple unfortunate events that prevented it from advancing to the finals.
“Despite the fact that we didn’t make it to the finals,” Murado said, “I still think we’re the best team out here.”
UF won most of its preliminary round games, advancing to the playoffs to compete with teams from Ringling College of Art and Design, the University of Miami and the University of South Florida.
The Gators team went 1-2 in the first round of the playoffs, failing advance to the final series, which saw Miami beat Ringling for the Swamp Cup title.
Murado said the tournament was run very efficiently, especially considering it was its first year.
About 50 people watched the best-of-three final series on Sunday.
“There were quite a few snags, but we managed to recover very quickly,” Murado said. “On the whole, everyone seems to be pretty happy with how things turned out.”
Despite the UF team’s disappointing showing, Hannah Pohlmann, a co-director of the Swamp Cup and a Beater for the UF team, said the group was looking forward to the future.
“I’m happy with where we’re at, and we had a wonderful tournament,” Pohlmann said. “For the first regional cup ever, it all went really well. Next year we want to make things way bigger for the Swamp Cup.”
