A bit of Hogwarts magic is coming to UNA as the Student Government Association will host a Harry Potter-themed Quidditch Tournament Dec. 1.

The tournament will be at the football practice field and is free to students who present their Mane cards, said SGA Representative Molly Ratliff.

“The tournament will be held a week before Study Day as an outlet to destress before exams,” Ratliff said. “We just want everyone to come out and enjoy the weather before it gets too cold.”

SGA hopes to have at least eight Quidditch teams in the tournament and a maximum of 16 teams, Ratliff said.

There will be no fee for students to participate.

Teams can preregister for the tournament on SGA’s Orgsync beginning Oct. 18 and ending Nov. 14. Participants need to include a team name, team contact and the names of the players on each team. There can be a maximum of 10 players for each team.

To play Quidditch, seven people will play on the field with three alternates permitted for each team, and there is a seeker on each team who is assigned the job of catching the snitch.

However, due to a limited budget there will not be brooms at the event, Ratliff said.

In the realm of Harry Potter, the snitch is a flying ball. In the tournament, the snitch will be a person running around since SGA has not mastered any levitation spells yet.

Next, there is a keeper for each team who guards the goal posts and tries to prevent the other team from scoring. On the other hand, chasers are the three team members who try to score the quafle ball through the goal posts.

Lastly, there are two beaters assigned to every team. These are defensive players who try to eliminate the opposing team’s players.

The Quidditch tournament is an innovative event, said freshman Kacy Hudson.

“I think the tournament is a new, fresh and exciting idea that UNA should definitely pursue,” Hudson said.

Community members are welcome to participate in the festivities as well and sign up to be on a team, Ratliff said.

There is a fee of $3 for community members to participate at the Quidditch Tournament, she said.

To coordinate with the wizarding world of Harry Potter, participants will be divided into one of the four fictional houses — Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Slytherin — upon arrival at the tournament, Ratliff said.

“We will have a special surprise guest sorting the students,” Ratliff said. “The sorting will be random, and they cannot choose their own house.”

SGA will give scarves away on a first come, first serve basis that correlate with the house the participant is placed in, but students should arrive early if they want a scarf, she said.

Although junior Austin Hogue said he is not a fan of Harry Potter, attending a Quidditch game would be fun.

“It’s a game that’s really different so I bet learning would be fun,” Hogue said. “Personally, I’m not big on sports, but I bet it would still be a blast because it’s not your typical sport.”

Freshman Cayman Gardner said he cannot wait to play.

“I will be clearing things out of my schedule to participate in the tournament,” Gardner said.