Get Ready for TEDxUniPittsburgh Tomorrow!!!!!

Posted by tedxunipittsburgh - 11/13/2010 at 11:12 AM

TEDxUniPittsburgh is finally here! Get ready for some exciting shenanigans and “Something Completely Different.” The program will start at noon and go til 6pm. We’ll start the program off with speakers centered around the theme of “stories”. Make sure to think of some as well because we will be asking the audience to contribute! Then be prepared to “play” some games led by Friday Night Improve and Obscure Games. Finally, the last portion of the program will be “projects.” You’ll hear of unique and successful projects such as the Waffle Shop. Come, meet, and be entertained!

Harry Potter fans (and to those Dursely’s out there) — we’ll be learning the game of quidditch! (yes there’s a playable muggle version on brooms) Speaking during the “plays” section will be Quidditch Club Pittsburgh who incidentally are ranked fourth in the world.

Here’s a quick bio:

Currently the 4th best team…in the world. Last fall, they headed to “quidditch country,” where they competed against more than 20 teams in the 2009 IQA World Cup at Middlebury. Caped entertainers juggled flaming batons and chanted spells while 500 spectators watched Pitt land in the Final Four, the only first-year team to do so.

The captain of Pitt’s team, John Battaglia, started playing quidditch in high school after he and some friends discovered online videos of game play and the IQA’s official rule book. Battaglia, a junior majoring in business as well as politics and philosophy, was hooked by both the athleticism and ridiculousness of the sport, a hybrid of handball, dodge ball, and literature come to life. In the spring of 2009, he discovered other quidditch enthusiasts—this time at Pitt. They built a team by recruiting friends, Potter fans, athletes, and curious onlookers. Now, they spend Sunday afternoons on the lawn, running drills, practicing aim, inventing strategies, and mystifying passersby. The team is currently defending their honor at the 2010 IQA World Cup in NYC. Go Pitt!

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