In a UNC athlete’s equipment bag, one might expect to find a pair of cleats, a change of clothes and some deodorant.
But a broom, quaffles and bludgers?
For sophomore Max Miceli, a player on UNC’s Quidditch team, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.
While Quidditch — the real world, grounded adaptation of the featured sport in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series — does appeal to “Harry Potter geeks,” Miceli said, it’s actually a full contact sport.
“There are people who love Harry Potter and people who love sports in general,” said Miceli, who is also a sports writer for The Daily Tar Heel.
“I’m one of those people who just loves sports.”
Miceli, who started playing the sport his freshman year, will be competing in the Quidditch World Cup in April 2013 with Quidditch Club Carolinas, a team composed of students from other North Carolina schools.
His team played together for the first time during the first weekend of November when they met to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.
In an unexpected feat, the team qualified along with seven other teams from the region for the Quidditch World Cup, which will be held in Kissimmee, Fla.