The world of Harry Potter came alive this past weekend at Middlebury College when teams from along the East Coast battled for the Quidditch World Cup with capes tied tightly and brooms secured between their legs.

The sport of Quidditch, played on flying broomsticks in the Harry Potter series, has inspired a modified version of "Muggle Quidditch," which, including Penn State, has recently become popular on college campuses nationwide.

Alex Benepe, the "Quidditch commissioner", was a freshman at Middlebury College when he and his friend Xander Manshel invented the non-flying adaptation of the sport. Benepe, now a senior, organized the two-day Intercollegiate Quidditch tournament and said the game -- which started with the basis of having fun -- is now an "intense competition," especially among Middlebury students.

A testament to this is the first day of the tournament, Saturday, which was a double elimination round dedicated to the Middlebury teams. The plan was for each team to fight for the position of Middlebury representatives for Sunday's competition.

Benepe said the sport is appealing to many Middlebury students because it is an easy pick-up game and anyone can form their own team. With team names like "Snitches and Hoes," the game has turned into a fun and interesting sport Benepe said.

"Even though the game gets serious, when you step back you see it as a theatrical thing," Benepe said.

The theatrics certainly weren't just on the fields this weekend. Benepe had numerous forms of entertainment ready for the 1,500-person audience, including fire jugglers and chemists blowing up potions on the sidelines.

The tournament even had its own game day coverage with an imitation of Sports Center, Benepe said.

"They are hilarious, talented announcers in suits," Benepe said. There was a large screen on the field for a live feed from the announcer's booth and even a "SnitchCam," which followed the seekers off the field as they try to catch the snitch: a golden ball, that , if caught, concludes the game immediately.

Benepe said that they had been heavily promoting the event around Vermont and is looking forward to hosting other universities -- Princeton, Vassar, Boston University and Emerson College, to name a few -- who also have Quidditch teams.

Penn State's Quidditch team isn't as developed as Middlebury's teams so it did not participate in the tournament even though it is on the Intercollegiate Quidditch roster.

Erika Maris (sophomore-Japanese and photography) is the president of the Three Broomsticks club, Penn State's Harry Potter student organization. She said Three Broomsticks has recently been discussing ways to revamp the way they play the game by incorporating new elements.

Maris said the 30-page rulebook for the intercollegiate roster is a bit over the top and the club has had offers from other teams who suggested playing by Penn State rules if they came.

Jennifer Tackett (junior-animal bioscience) said as of now there is not going to be a "Muggle Quidditch" club and any games played are open to anyone interested.

Tackett said that they couldn't just play between the four assigned Harry Potter inspired houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin) because "there are dramatically different sized houses, the numbers can vary from 90 to 30 people."

Benepe said the rules they have now are not fixed.

"As it grows we have to adjust and make sure everything is standardized," Benepe said.