Quidditch, hockey, ultimate: these disciplines that (also) drive sport in Toulouse
By Quentin Marais
Published on
That’s not a scoop : Toulouse is a sports city. Driven by a Stade Toulousain with a huge track record, a Toulouse FC which finds the elite, a Fénix and Spacers in the first division in handball and volleyball or even the basketball players of the TMB who also find the highest level of France, the fourth city of France a proud look. But in Toulouse, there are other subjects which further justifies this status of city eminently turned towards sport.
Quidditch
It’s a huge wink for fans of the Harry Potter saga. On the screens, this mixed sport is played on flying broomsticks. But from 2005, it was adapted by American students to become a perfect mix of rugby, handball and dodgeball. A Quidditch team is made up of 7 players, with a keeper, three chasers, two beaters and a seeker. They must pass the quaffle, which is a volleyball, to score in the opposing rings. Catch the snitch ends the game which lasts at least 18 minutes.
This idea of ’quidditch for muggles’ cross the Atlantic to give birth, on May 14, 2011, to the Toulouse Quidditch team. She was quick to perform since in 2019 and 2020, she won the bronze medal at the Coupe de France and was able to participate in European games. And at the end of 2019, Toulouse players had even been selected to participate in the world championships!
field hockey
In mid-May 2022, the Ice Hockey World Championships took place in Finland. But another version of the discipline also exists, and it is practiced on grass, with a ball, unlike the puck. Two teams of eleven players compete in a match which is divided into four periods of 15 minutes. Contact is prohibited. Here too, the Pink City defends its colors there!
It was in 2006 that the Toulouse University Hockey Club has been created. And the enthusiasm has continued to increase around the discipline. Several teams are involvedand at rather high levels since for the 2021-2022 season, the men’s section was in national promotion 3, and the women’s section in National 2. Many young teams are also in competition.
The Ultimate
Head now to the Ultimate, This sport which opposes two teams of 7, which can be played in 5 against 5 if it is practiced indoors. No ball in the hands, but a frisbee ! Like rugby, an en-mais zone is located on either side of the field. When the team attacking the disc in their opponent’s in-goal, they score a point. One of the features of the Ultimate is that it is played without a referee. It is the players who are responsible for the smooth running of the game.
It is in the ranks of the Toulouse University Club that the Ultimate has arrived in the Pink City. And the name of Toulouse in the discipline is BTR, for “Better Than Rex”. The two Open teams play in National 2 and in the Regional Division. The second has recently been illustrated since May 22, 2022, she won, hands downthe Occitanie regional championship at the Robert Barran stadium in Toulouse.
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