Wayland Patch 11/21/11: Wayland Represents at the 5th Annual Quidditch World Cup. “Brooms up!” I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that phrase, and this sentiment was proved true last weekend at the 5th Annual Quidditch World Cup when more than 200 quidditch matches were played at Randall’s Island in New York. Those of you frequent readers to my (two) Wayland Patch blog posts may have noticed the description “writer, traveler and quidditch enthusiast” next to my name. Many of you may recognize the word “quidditch” from the world-renowned Harry Potter book series, but what you may not realize is that in the past few years this magical sport has been translated to reality in our all-too-muggle world. And all thanks to the International Quidditch Association, a 501c3 nonprofit run solely by adults under the age of 25. The weekend of Nov. 12-13, 94 dues-paying member teams traveled from across the United States, Canada and even Finland to participate in the historic event. Our dear town of Wayland was well-represented, as well. My three siblings (Caroline Stack WHS ’08, Brendan Stack WHS ’10 and Ian Stack WHS ’11) participated as members of the Boston University quidditch team, and WHS ’10 Hannah Mead played for Franklin and Marshall College. More than 12 bands performed throughout the weekend, viewed by an estimated 20,000 attendees. The tournament culminated in a series of semifinal and championship games under the lights of Randall’s Island Icahn Stadium.