Camp / en Quidditch brings a magic touch to Camp Թϱ /news/quidditch-brings-magic-touch-camp-u-t <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Quidditch brings a magic touch to Camp Թϱ </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-07-22-quidditch-camp.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=19WeQpLS 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-07-22-quidditch-camp.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mJxxAijB 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-07-22-quidditch-camp.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rQP_M6sL 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-07-22-quidditch-camp.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=19WeQpLS" alt="photo of Quidditch player on broomstick, aloft"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-07-22T15:12:20-04:00" title="Friday, July 22, 2016 - 15:12" class="datetime">Fri, 07/22/2016 - 15:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Though human Quidditch is played on the field, it didn’t stop camper Noah Friedman from attempting to fly (all photos by Romi Levine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Romi Levine</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/summer-camp" hreflang="en">Summer Camp</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/camp" hreflang="en">Camp</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>It seems fitting that a school often likened to Hogwarts for its appearance&nbsp;would be the venue for a lesson in witchcraft and wizardry.&nbsp;</p> <p>On a sunny July day, around 30 eager kids made their way to the fields of Back Campus at the University of Toronto to learn how to play Quidditch.&nbsp;</p> <p>In J.K. Rowling's&nbsp;<em>Harry Potter</em> series, the sport is played while soaring through the air&nbsp;on flying broomsticks. But it’s been adapted for mere Muggles (non-magical people) and there’s even <a href="https://uoftquidditch.wordpress.com/">a Թϱ Quidditch team called the Centaurs</a>.</p> <p>Two of those&nbsp;team members were tasked with training the kids – all participants in University of Toronto’s&nbsp;summer camp – Camp Թϱ.</p> <h2><a href="http://www.physical.utoronto.ca/ChildrenAndYouth/Camp_UofT.aspx">Read more about Camp Թϱ</a></h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>“I am a huge <em>Harry Potter</em> fan so I’ve been looking forward to it since I found out we were going to do it this week,” says camper Jessica Filipovich, 13.&nbsp;</p> <p>If this kind of activity appears unconventional for a summer camp, you’d be right. It’s part of a program within Camp Թϱ called <a href="http://physical.utoronto.ca/ChildrenAndYouth/Camp_UofT/Camp_UofT_Summer/not-sports-camp">NOT Sports Camp</a>.</p> <p>Offered for the first time this year,&nbsp;NOT Sports Camp includes&nbsp;games such as&nbsp;capture the flag, inner tube water polo and dodgeball .</p> <p>“NOT Sports Camp is an opportunity for a non-traditional camp experience in a sense that we wanted to create a program that did not focus on the traditional sports,” says <strong>Mandy D’Arcy</strong>. The manager of children and youth at Թϱ's Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education, she also oversees Camp Թϱ and Junior Blues programming throughout the year.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We really wanted to reach those children who were not necessarily interested in traditional athletics or being sporty… but really just wanted to play games and have fun,” she says.“I think we’re really successful in a sense that it’s sold out, it’s been really popular and the kids really seem to enjoy it.”</p> <p><img alt="photo of players on field" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1536 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-07-22-camp-quidditch-embed.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 522px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>This spirit of inclusivity is the foundation of Camp Թϱ, which prides itself on celebrating and accepting people’s differences.&nbsp;</p> <p>“That can open some eyes,” says D’Arcy.&nbsp;</p> <p>Kids from all over Toronto, Canada and the world are attracted to Camp Թϱ’s positive environment and the university’s global reputation, she says – with campers coming from as far as China to spend a week on campus.&nbsp;</p> <p>Next week, seven Syrian refugees will be attending Camp Թϱ – with three more subsidized spots available to newcomers.</p> <p>D’Arcy says that after going through terrible trauma, the campers’ biggest challenge will be learning how to be kids again.&nbsp;“So for them, the camp is a great experience, a great opportunity.”&nbsp;</p> <p>But for all kids, the chance to go to camp can be life-changing, she adds.</p> <p>“Their experience having been in a week of camp really can make a difference for them. Making a lot of friends, having fun, obviously and being exposed to something they’ve never been exposed to.”&nbsp;</p> <h2><a href="/news/photo-gallery/summer-16-camp-u-t">See a photo gallery</a></h2> <p>Many campers enjoy their time at Camp Թϱ so much, they go on to become counsellors and sometimes faculty, she says.&nbsp;</p> <p>For camp counsellor and fourth-year neuroscience student Lauren Sudac, Camp Թϱ has been a rewarding experience.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I love the interaction with the kids and the smiles we can put on their faces, even with simple games or as complex games as Quidditch,” she says. It’s her first summer working at the camp.<br> Watching the campers play Quidditch, it was clear they were having a blast as they whizzed across the field on their makeshift broomsticks.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It was really, really fun,” Filipovich says. “If I ever go to Թϱ maybe I’ll try out for the team.”&nbsp;</p> <p>For 13-year-old Noah Friedman, it was an exciting way to see the magical game come to life in the real world.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It was really interesting ‘cause I read the books and understand the rules in the books and so it was really cool to see how people have turned it into something you can actually do,” he says.</p> <p><img alt="photo of Quidditch player aloft" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1537 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-07-22-camp-quidditch-embed2.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 485px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image">&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:12:20 +0000 lanthierj 14724 at