As they enter the dog days of summer, many sports fans seem to count down to the upcoming fall season. While college football is on many fans’ minds, others still are looking forward to NCAA soccer, volleyball and cross country.

Thanks to Haley Dillon, president of the ISU Quidditch Club, many Harry Potter fanatics now have another sport to look forward to.

Quidditch, described in each book of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, is the favored sport of characters in her books.

Since October 2010, Iowa State has had a Quidditch club inspired by the book series.

“I started this club after seeing a video about [Quidditch] online and thinking it looked like pretty good entertainment,” Dillon said.

The form of the game ISU students play is based on the rules set by the International Quidditch Association.

“The game is on the ground, people run around to take place of the snitch [runner].” Dillon said. “There are some changes in points and bludger numbers to make the game more suited to real life and be fun to everyone.”

The object of the game is to earn points. These points can be scored in two different ways.

Each team consists of three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, a seeker and a snitch runner. Chasers try to throw a ball, known as a quaffle, through one of three opponents’ hoops to score 10 points. Beaters try to disrupt play by throwing around two other balls called bludgers. Keepers try to prevent chasers from scoring.

A unique part of the game is players’ second means of scoring. A snitch runner is available for both teams to catch. Each team has a seeker that tries to catch the snitch attached to the snitch runner’s shorts. Once a seeker catches the snitch runner, the seeker’s team is awarded 30 points and the game is over.

Dillon reassures those wary of trying Quidditch that it’s easy to pick up.

“I think the game is easiest to learn through playing, and it is certainly easy to get into,” Dillon said. “No physical fitness, or knowledge of Quidditch or Harry Potter is required.”

ISU Quidditch Club Vice President Monica Cox is a friend of Dillon’s and wanted to support her club, so she joined originally as a referee and snitch coordinator.

“I thought it sounded really fun,” Cox said. “Practices are my favorite when there is a good crowd. And to hang out with friends that have similar interests.”

The club has had success since its formation, but more members are needed for its team to qualify at a tournament level.

“The club is in serious need of more members that can consistently show up to practices,” Dillon said. “General interest is there, but getting a team that can compete on the tournament level is difficult without consistent players.”

“For practices we would need to have two teams, which means we would need at least double the players of a full team,” Cox said.

The club will resume practicing every other weekend in fall 2011. People interested in joining the club can either show up to a practice, email Dillion or visit the club’s Facebook page.