The 2015 Quidditch season kicked off with a state wide boot camp at the University of Wollongong over the weekend.

What started out as eager Harry Potter fans re-enacting the magical sport played on flying broomsticks has evolved into a fully fledged sport. 

‘‘The UOW Quidditch club came from the Harry Potter Society, until a separate sporting club was made when people got more serious about it,’’ UOW club member Jarrod Sampson said.

‘‘It’s a sport for nerds who are slightly athletic,’’ Ms Davidson added.

Adapting the game for the non magical world means players must hold a broom between their legs as they attempt to put the ‘quaffle’’ (a volleyball) through three goal posts, while dodging flying balls and chasing after the illusive snitch. 

‘‘Its a cross between soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee and dodgeball with essentially three games going on - the game between the chasers trying to score with the ball, the beaters trying to hit players with the balls and seekers chasing the snitch,’’ explained Ms Davidson. 

The snitch in the original version is an enchanted gold ball which the seekers have to catch to end and win the game. 

The muggle version is less glamorous and consists of a ball in a yellow cloth usually stuffed down the back of a players pants who must elude capture. 

‘‘They can be quite sneaky, one extreme version was that the snitches put the ball in the back of a car and drove it around the outside of the field, just fast enough for no one to catch it,’’ Mr Simpson said. 

Over 100 participants attended from other universities including Macquarie University and the University of Western Sydney showing signs of growth in the sport.

‘‘Right now the university said they want to see us included in the University Games which recognises how far it’s come,’’said Mr Simpson.