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Broom Racing
Author: Minerva McGonagall
Date: 06-05-17 18:31
The good news was that the Broom Racing events hadn't started until midday, which theoretically allowed those who'd competed in last night's Astronomy Event or those who'd stayed up to watch an opportunity to catch some rest. Even with the reprieve, many of the Hogwarts students and staff were tired. Professor McGonagall had had a couple of cups of strong coffee, but what she really needed was a nap.
Fortunately, the final event of the weekend at Watling's was the Broom Racing, which involved four separate races: first, the Sprint, which was currently underway. Then, the Long Distance race, followed by the two obstacle courses. Professor McGonagall was a huge fan of Quidditch, and she enjoyed a good race too. She ought to be entertained enough to stay awake, at any rate.
Since the races hadn't started first thing in the morning, the Hogwarts contingent wouldn't be able to return home until very late. The plan was to depart Colorado at night and fly home while everyone, except the driver of the RV, slept. With the time difference, all returning students and staff were excused from their Monday classes, since the RV wasn't likely to arrive before the start of the school day anyway. As they would likely be wiped out from the weekend and the big time difference, it didn't seem kind to force everyone back to the grindstone immediately upon their return.
The Sprint Broom Racing event hadn't gone too well for Hogwarts. Out of the age groups to participate so far, only Harley Croft had placed at the very beginning. She'd ended up in third place behind Matheo Dubois from Beauxbatons and Igor Czerny from Durmstrang. Other students had come close to placing… Noah Stratford, Bertie Nutcombe, Rex Applewhite, and Kurt Blackwell, to name a few.
Group 6 was currently zipping through the air. Hogwarts students Amelia Acker and Callie Blackwell were among the competitors. While they raced, Group 7 waited to take to the skies. Among them were Madoc, along with Hunter Green. Professor McGonagall had her fingers crossed that her great nephew would do well. She also wanted his brother Malden to excel. Malden was to compete in Long Distance race.
The final seven contenders in Group 6 were now in it to win it. Professor McGonagall was pleased to see that both Callie and Amelia were among the seven vying for the top three positions. She hoped that both would make it!
Sprint And Long Distance (Devon & Vincent)
Author: Christopher Chant
Date: 06-05-17 19:37
Moving to the sidelines Devon heaves a great sigh. Her time here at Walting's Wizarding Academy has not been her finest. She finished 14th of 14 in last night's Astronomy Event. Today has only been slightly better, though not much.
Devon's Sprint finish is 13th of 14. She'd not even made it past the first round of heats. Her time was slow enough compared to others that she wasn't one of the seven to fly in the final heat.
Though she's never been on her house's Quidditch team Devon does play some. She's always enjoyed races such as those today. Her practice times have been much better than her performance today. Devon thinks it's because for a reason or reasons she's not been able to figure out, she was slow to start. In a sprint it's far harder to catch up from behind - though it can be done - than it is during something like the long distance race going on later.
She's not entirely finished with Scholastic Aptitude Tournament events. There's Best In Show: Magical Plants in June. She'll get to see Sydney's School Of Wizardry, so that's something. Of course, not long after that are the OWLs. Devon isn't sure she'll ever be completely ready for those.
After the last of the sprints come the long distance races. Devon's cousin Vincent is participating as a Hogwarts second year. When it's time for his group he joins the other thirteen, including friend and classmate Conrad Ellis, at the starting line.
Vincent is his still new to him broom, one of the best ever prizes from this year's Hogwarts Easter Egg Hunt. There are times he still can't believe a top of the line racing broom came out of an egg he'd almost not seen. His attention was only called to it when he'd tripped, trying hard not to spill his basket. On seeing the egg he'd first thought at least one had fallen out only to realize it was most likely the reason he'd tripped.
The signal is given sending the fourteen competitors flying low over their brooms, accelerating as rapidly as they are each able. Vincent tries to keep count of the laps in his head but quickly loses track as he concentrates on completing each circuit as fast as he's able without jostling or fouling another flyer, not an easy thing when there's bunching on the turns. Luckily, there is a large, easy to read counter keeping track of the laps.
To Vincent's surprise and joy at the end of those fifty laps he's the first across the finish line. First! Him! Vincent Oliver!
For the rest of the day Vincent feels as though he's floating without the need of a broom.
Not Doing Well (The Triplets)
Author: Blossom
Date: 06-06-17 18:15
Gideon found that flying fifty laps with nine others is far different from flying fifty laps with just Adiran Balfour, the other Hogwarts competitor in the same year for the Long Distance Broom Racing. It shouldn't have affected him but it did, or he thinks it did. Gideon didn't fly as well as he'd expected of himself. He didn't necessarily think he'd win first, or even second or third. He also hadn't expected to take only eighth. Eighth place when there are only ten position isn't that great.
He flew hard and he thought fast. Gideon knew he was more to the back but thought he could break away in the final laps. Maybe that's where having nine others flying the same circuit instead of one threw him. Until those last few laps all ten of them were fairly bunched up. Even when others started pulling away he found he couldn't maneuver that well and when he could get clear other had enough of a lead he practically would have needed to fly super sonic to catch up to be in the top half of the pack.
Larkin is also kicking herself. Only one person, Florestine DeVillier of Beauxbatons, didn't make it out of the first round of the Rings. Florestine managed to touch not one but three rings. Larkin, disappointingly eliminated next, did make it to the third round but as she approached the last ring she overcompensated for the sharp turn required to be correctly lined up with the ring. She grazed it as she passed through, removing her from moving on.
The third of the Weasley triplets fared no better in the SAT Broom Racing. Actually, he fared worse, coming in last for the Full Obstacle Course. He had trouble with two of the first three obstacles, one a spinning ring and the other a tight under-over wall combination. As a result, Seth not only incurred time penalties for those two but when halfway through the course he incurred a third time penalty, he became overly cautious without meaning to be, going at a snail's pace through the rest of the course. His final time put him in last place and despite a couple of others who flew after him also having difficulties, their times were better than his. Seth finished in tenth, the last place spot for his group.
While watching the rest of the Full Obstacle Course Seth tells Gideon, "Maybe I'm not meant to follow in Weasley footsteps and be a Quidditch player."
Gideon shrugs. "Quidditch can be an obstacle course but not like this. Not the same thing."
"So I should go out for my house team in the fall?"
"Sure, why not? Just too bad we are in different houses. We could be like Dad and Uncle George when they played for Gryffindor."
"You've got Larkin."
Gideon grins. "Yeah, there is that."
Seth makes a face, wishing yet again he'd been Sorted into the same house as Larkin and Gideon. Or they with him.
He gives his attention back to the racing, cringing for one flyer who's rammed straight on into a wall.
Long Distance and Obstacle 1
Author: Finley
Date: 06-06-17 19:04
Even though Finley had finished in fourth place in her round of the Long Distance event––just one step away from earning points for Hogwarts and Gryffindor House––she felt extremely happy. She'd added another country––another continent, even––to the list of places she had now seen in the world.
It wasn't all that long ago that the only place Finley had ever known was Winchcombe. Everything changed when she got her Hogwarts letter, though. If not for that, she'd probably still be stuck at the orphanage.
Finley had wished for a replacement broomstick prior to the Broom Racing event, but she hadn't dared hint to her parents about it. Although things were going well, Finley wasn't sure how her parents would feel about buying her something as extravagant as a new broom. Would they think her greedy or spoiled, despite knowing she'd grown up with nothing because they'd given her up at birth?
Finley didn't yet know them well enough to know what they would think and would rather not jeopardize the progress they were making together as a new family. So, she used a school broom, which had suited her just fine in the end.
Eirene, on the other hand, had gotten a new broomstick as soon as she'd learned her name had been selected for the Obstacle 1 race. It had been owl ordered from Krum's Completely Quidditch and was a Nimbus 2010. She'd practiced hard on her new broom and felt like she had a pretty good handle on how it flew, but it would have been nice to have more time getting used to it.
When Eirene competed in the Obstacle 1, she ended up in eighth place, which was technically in the lower half of the rankings. She took the results very hard, because she never settled for being less than the best.
Marlow, Eden, & Heather At Watling's
Author: Aaron Miller
Date: 06-07-17 19:24
Of the fourteen competing in her group for the Rings Marlow is fourth to tackle the obstacle course for the fourth round. Each round the rings are smaller, increasing the difficulty of flying the course without touching a single ring. She's upset, thinking she's out because she grazed a ring. This round is all about flying the course with the fastest time possible and as cleanly as possible.
Her touch was only a small graze but a touch is a touch. Time penalties aren't based on how big or small the foul is. If anyone flies through cleanly or anyone incurs a penalty or penalties but still posts a faster time will knock Marlow out of her current first place ranking.
The order of who flies when was determined by random draw. Marlow and eight others are in the fourth round. One of those eight other is Eden. She's seventh of those nine to fly the ring course. She's fast on the course but to her chagrin incurs enough time penalties to keep her from, or even second or third for that matter.
When the last of the nine making it to the fourth round has completed the Rings, Eden is only fifth. Ahead of her are Hank Grunberg from Sydney's in fourth, La Escuela de Hechiceria's Cesar Prieto in third, the other Sydney's entrant in Nicholas Elphinstone taking second, and Marlow ecstatic with the first place finish, earning five points for Hogwarts.
Heather is entered in the Full Obstacle Course portion of the Broom Racing. To her disappointment, though she flies well overall, she doesn't make it through the course without a few fouls and her time without the penalties is good but not as fast as some of the others. With the penalties added in, Heather's in sixth. At least she fared better in last night's Astronomy Event, taking second place, which in turn gave Hogwarts three points in the SAT tally.
Kaycee - Obstacle 2
Author: Lee Sickleby
Date: 06-08-17 18:24
Kaycee zipped through a smallish ring and thanked her lucky stars that she was still a bit little for her age. She was lightweight and small enough to move swiftly and smoothly through most obstacles, but she knew she wasn't the best flier out there. Kaycee nevertheless tried her hardest to be quick and error-free, just like she'd practiced back at Hogwarts.
She crossed the finish line behind a number of the other Obstacle 2 competitors in her group but also ahead of a bunch. She'd missed two obstacles along the way, which she knew would set her back, but then it was possible some of the others also screwed up during the race.
In the end, Kaycee finished in seventh place, which wasn't great but also wasn't bad. She was smack-dab in the middle, if on the top end of the rankings. She was very glad to see that her teammate and fellow competitor, Grace Valentine, had finished in second place.
Hogwarts had done well in some of the other races, and not so well in the rest. There was great relief and joy anytime anybody placed in the top three. Kaycee wished she could have been among the winners, but she was simply happy that Grace had made it.
She touched down and turned in the school broom she'd used for the race. If Kaycee had been truly serious, she would have gotten her own, but the school broom had done her a decent job. She wasn't sure she would ever buy her own since she didn't think she'd ever join the Quidditch team, but then again, she might change her mind down the line.
She grabbed something to drink and then sat down to watch the next group race. Her archenemy Gerry was among the competitors. She had mixed feelings about how she wanted him to do. On the one hand, she wanted him to place so that Hogwarts had a chance of winning the overall competition. On the other hand, she wanted him to fail spectacularly, or at least do poorer than she did.
It was wrong of her to want him to fail, but she simply couldn't help herself.
Races, Races, and More Races
Author: Saffron
Date: 06-08-17 19:17
Rex's time with the Scholastic Aptitude Tournament has come to an end. He's glad it's at another school of magic rather than back at Hogwarts. He's not sure why other than it seems like having his part in the SAT end at Hogwarts would be dull or something.
Rex participated in Group 3 of the Broom Racing: Sprint competition. Sprint can be a blink and you miss it type event but though each heat was over quickly he was elated to have been selected for it. He had put his name in for all four of the races, something he thinks many others did as well, and though he would have loved to do the full obstacle course he was excited to have been chosen for any of the Broom Racing contests.
The fourteen contestants in his group were split into two heats of seven. The top seven times from the two heats combined moved on to a third, and final, heat. Rex was in the first heat, doing well in it, and after the second was over he was beyond happy making the cut to race in the final. Unfortunately, he couldn't accelerate rapidly enough to finish near the top, taking 6th place. A top three spot would have been excellent but Rex has had a fantastic time in Colorado so that's at least something.
In the set of heats following those of Rex's group, Kurt competed. He was in the second heat of his group and, like Rex, had a top seven time to qualify for the final heat. Kurt's final ranking is slightly better in his group's than Rex's in his. Kurt placed 5th overall. Unfortunately, the other Hogwarts participant in Group 4, Alice Acker, placed 14th. She'd have liked to have done better but seems fine, laughing and talking with students from some of the schools.
Kurt's sister was also selected to participate in the Sprint portion of the SAT's Broom Racing. As a sixth year Callie was in Group 6. As a sixth year she's also happy that unlike others she's not doing SAT related activities while also prepping for the OWLs and the NEWTs. Callie too made it to the final heat of her group only to finish at the back of that particular pack, giving her a 7th place finish overall.
Adiran would have loved to have had house teams for Quidditch at Hogwarts his first year there but maybe it's better his first year than his last. If he were on the Hufflepuff team he'd hate to finish his last year without the house team competing for the Quidditch Cup.
Competing in the Long Distance, Adiran was energized at the start and became more so with each lap. Going into that 50th lap he was behind three others. With an additional surge of adrenaline and able to eek out more speed from his broom, he was able to pass two of them. Crossing the finish line he couldn't help but give out a whoop of joy, both from simply having participated and from taking 2nd place. His ranking gave 3 points to Hogwarts.
Neither Ingrid nor Estella fared as well in their long distance races. As part of Group 3, Ingrid matched her fastest practice time but that wasn't nearly enough to even finish in the top seven but rather a 9th place finish instead. Estella, on the other hand, did finish in the top seven of Group 4 but only just, taking 6th.
Savannah outdid them all. She'd hope to at least not embarrass herself. To her surprise she not only didn't embarrass herself but she distinguished herself by adding 5 points to the Hogwarts tally with a 1st place finish for Group 5.
Jubilant for her friend's 1st place in the Long Distance, Marion was hoping to equal Savannah's showing. Finishing in the top three was a near thing with Marion neck and neck with Hogwarts's own Horace Quisenberry. Disappointingly for her, but not for Horace, Marion wasn't able to pull ahead. She finished 4th to his 3rd. Though happy for him and Hogwarts Marion really, really wanted one of those top three slots.
Later in the day, Bran earned 2 more points for Hogwarts. Competing in the Broom Racing: Rings, he was only bested by Marigold Oxley of Sydney's. Both made it through the round 4 course cleanly but Marigold was all of a quarter second faster. Doesn't seem like much but in a race that can be massive.
Katheryn also did well in the Rings. Better than well in her opinion. She took first for Group 6, thus earning 5 points for Hogwarts. In practices she'd always earned a time penalty that got added onto her time when doing a round like today's round 4. Today, she flew not only swiftly but cleanly, incurring no fouls, which meant no time penalties. Her smile for the rest of the day is so big that by the time she goes to bed her mouth hurts and she thinks it's frozen in place!
Is It Over Yet?
Author: Gerry
Date: 06-09-17 12:34
Gerry was more than ready to depart Watling's Wizarding Academy and return to Hogwarts. He had finished dead last in Group 3's Obstacle 2 Broom Racing event. Gerry was stunned more than anything, because he thought for sure he'd flown well. He'd barely gotten any penalties, and he'd been pretty fast, or so he thought. Apparently everybody else had been that much better than him.
Gerry was really embarrassed about it. He was very glad that Will wasn't around to see his massive failure, though Will and everybody else left behind at Hogwarts would surely hear about it tomorrow. Maybe Gerry could pretend to be sick for the next week or so until everything blowed over.
He sat through some of the next races, feeling bad for himself. Gerry made the mistake of looking at Kaycee at some point, who seemed to sense she was being watched and glanced over at him. A smug expression crossed her face, which made Gerry angry and determined to leave the stadium.
He did just that, heading straight for the magical RV. There weren't many others in it yet, since the Broom Racing events were pretty entertaining. It wasn't like last night's Astronomy Event, which was a real bore and literal snoozer. Gerry had fallen asleep during the middle and had only woken up when a teacher told him it was time to go to bed.
He just couldn't believe that he'd ended up in last place or that the little second year had done better.