Upper Saddle River July 25, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 11 This month, the United States Quidditch team earned the gold medal at the Quidditch Summer Games played in Oxford, England. Upper Saddle River resident Matthew Ziff was part of Team U.S.A., which includes male and female athletes who attend various colleges and universities. Ziff is a student at the University of Miami and plays the position of “beater” for his Quidditch team. The athlete, who played basketball in high school, has been a model with the famed Wilhelmina Modeling agency and is an upand-coming actor. He recently worked on a film called “Treachery” that stars Michael Biehn and has been on the Conan O’Brien and David Letterman shows. Ziff is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and is learning Kendo Athlete wins gold as part of US Quidditch team and Hapkido. He is studying industrial engineering at the University of Miami. Quidditch may have begun as a fictional game invented by “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, but, since the game was transferred from the pages of Rowling’s best-selling books to a playing field at Vermont’s Middlebury College in 2005, the game has taken off with athletes around the world. The Intercollegiate Quidditch Association was founded in 2007, and includes colleges from all over the country, including Princeton University. The IQA website indicates that over 300 universities and high schools in the U.S. and 12 other countries are now playing this adapted sport. Those who grew up reading Rowling’s books tapped into the magic of Quidditch, which the author describes The Friends of the Upper Saddle River Library and the Upper Saddle River Recreation Department will host an outdoor summer concert featuring the Crossover Band, a popular rock and roll band, on July 25. Playing music from the ‘70s to today, the group features lead Outdoor concert announced Matthew Ziff as being played by young wizards and witches who fly on broomsticks. The players include chasers, keepers, seekers, and beaters – and use several orbs, including one with wings: the snitch. Several high schools and colleges have adapted Rowling’s game to fit the laws of physics. The IQA even provides Qudditch rule books to those interested in fielding teams. In 2010, Julia Bauer, then an eighth grader at Mahwah’s Ramapo Ridge Middle School, brought Quidditch to her hometown. She was able to secure a rule book that helped her found a Quidditch Club at her school. While Bauer was working on creating the club, she was also looking for a project idea to earn her Silver Award for Girl Scouts. She decided to plan an event that would encourage her peers to take an interest in both reading and athletics by interesting them in Quidditch. singer and Upper Saddle River resident Kevin Cole. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the library located at 245 Lake Street. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. The concert will be held rain or shine.