When the day of tryouts actually came, Bel was a little surprised at herself for not being nervous. Instead of outright nerves it was complete eagerness on her part- eagerness to do her new role justice, and to do her absolute best to make sure it was fun for everyone and not too intimidating and generally just an all round bonza experience for anyone who came along.

She herself was there well before the advertised time. She'd set up a whole lot of obstacles, basing them on what she'd read about in different Quidditch books, her conversations with Alec Summers and his wife, and with various friends who represented different under seventeens squads, and also trying to make it as fun as possible.

She was waiting by a big sign that said 'start' and looking out over the obstacle course she had set up. There were barriers for everyone to fly through, a chance to swoop down and grab a quaffle and try and get it through the hoops before turning around and flying through a series of glowing coronas down the centre of the pitch, then a chance to try and block the opposite goal posts while Bel threw quaffles herself, and then a swooooop down to grab a beaters bat, and finally a mad dash to the finish line on the far side of the pitch through a stretch patrolled by charmed marshmallows which would burst either on contact with a bat, or with someone flying.

Probably everyone would end up a sticky mess by the end of it but wasn't that part of the fun?

For herself, at least this time around she was wearing proper Quidditch tryout stuff, and on her own brand new broom. Should she stretch a bit? Yes. Oh and look, the first people were starting to arrive!

"G'day you guys! Lets just stretch and warm up while we're waiting for everyone to get here. You can run up and down the side of the pitch if you want or start stretching, whatever suits you. And I'll explain about the obstacle course when everyone's here, bonza?"

ooc: Hi guys! To start you can post your charrie arriving, maybe reacting to the obstacle course they see (and here's a little visual for you all!) and warming up. Please don't have your character start on the obstacle course until Bel tells them to. I'll move on when we have a few people, and then you can expect a post from me at least once every 24 hours. You can post as much or as little as you like throughout the tryouts. Don't forget to take the survey. Please note, while Bel is seeker, if anyone has a charrie that IC wants to try out as seeker (and be a reserve) then they are more than welcome to do so. Feel free to VM or PM with any questions. And lets have fun!

Charlie may or may not have stayed up all night waiting for this announcement to be posted in their noticeboard. Forget falling asleep in lessons, or skipping homework--Quidditch Tryouts is here, and he was ready for it. While in Ilvermorny, he'd been recruited to join Thunderbird's Quodpot Team, albeit being a reserve, but he did enjoy the practice games. But being a reserve forever kind of sucked, so maybe he'll get a chance to play for the Quidditch Hufflepuff Team, and show them what he's made of.

With his old, but well-maintained Starsweeper XXI, Charlie sauntered towards the Quidditch Pitch with confidence.

And what was this? An obstacle course? Charlie could feel his excitement double at the sight of a challenge. "Yeaaah, now that's what I'm talking about!" Eager-beaver Charlie beamed at the Hufflepuff Captain and a sup nod. She's cool...and that accent's hawt by the way. "Let's get started then..." Selecting a random spot for himself, Charlie dropped his broom on the ground and began to do some stretching exercises specifically made for Quodpot players.

*crack...crack...streeeetch*

Why was she doing this? Why, oh why, oh why? Maddie took a deep breath as she walked toward the tryouts, halfway talking herself into and out of what she was about to do. In her heart, though, she knew being on a team would get her out and about more, and that's what she needed in her life. Plus, who knew? She might really like it and be good at it!

When the captain greeted the team, Maddie instinctively relaxed and grinned back at the older girl. "HEY, BEL!" she said, in her usual loud tone. "Whoa! The tryouts look super fun! Even if we don't make the team, you should set up these obstacles again sometime, so we can just come on out and have fun!" I mean, let's be honest here, they'd have fun anyway...but just look at the fun that was about to be had!

"HEY, CHARLIE!" she said, recognizing a familiar face from the common room. She walked up to him, eyed the stretches he was doing, and hit the ground and did the same. "ONE, TWO, THREE..."

Daisy wanted to make her departed father proud. She knew how much seeing his daughter's love for Quidditch meant to him. She made her way to the tryouts feeling a bit nervous. Daisy knew that she would have to not let her emotions get to her if she was going to make the team. Having been a part of the Quidditch team the last term did help her with her nerves in some way but she knew that she'd still have to give it her all in the tryouts.

"Hello everyone," Daisy said to Bel, Charlie and Maddie as she firmly gripped her Firebolt X-Treme. She then got into some stretching to help loosen her muscles.

It was finally time for tryouts. She bolted down to the pitch and out on the field. How the others had beat her, she wasn’t sure, but she was there and ready to start. “Hi Captain Bel! Charlie, Maddie, Daisy!” She greeted her fellow Hufflepuffs. Then, she noticed the pitch. “That looks awesome!” The best obstacle course ever was set up for tryouts. Her eager eyes scanned field, trying to take in all of the stations. She couldn’t wait to get up in the air to take a better look.

But, first things first, she needed to stretch. Remembering how they started each morning at quidditch camp with a short run, she took off down the side of the pitch. Her slow jog turned into a fast sprint before she touched the ground at the end and sprinted to the half-way mark, then slowed to a jog again. By the time she reached where she started, her body was nice and warm and ready to stretch.

Her bum hit the ground and she started to slowly stretch her legs then arms while waiting for the next set of instructions.

Harriet was excited about Quidditch. It had been so much fun last term, and she knew it would be great this term too. She was more determined now to make sure they won, or at least did better than what they had done last term. It was her final year, and she needed to to go out with a bang. What better way than winning the quidditch cup. Of course she had to make the term first. But she was feeling confident. Flying last year, and over the summer with Noah Diggory had helped her to feel a bit better on the broom. She was ready, and she couldn't have been more excited.

The blonde smiled to herself as she walked down to the pitch, her broom held in one hand. She was excited to see what Bel did with the team. She was sure it would be great. [b]"Hey guys!"[/s] The prefect greeted as she got down to the grounds. Now the hard part started. Placing her broom down on the floor, she began to do a few warm up stretches.

One thing Derf had going for him was that he was enthusiastic. One thing he did not have going for him was efficiency. Because it would have made sense that he bring his quidditch bag and broom down with him when he had arrived earlier that morning to help Bel set up for tryouts today, but alas...he had not. And instead he had helped with set up, had a good chat with their new Captain, and then bolted back to the common room when he realized it was almost time for tryouts and he was still in his standard robes sans broom.

Well, perhaps one could look at this as a different kind of efficiency? This way he had gotten his blood pumping and limbs a little limber with a good hearted sprint to and from the castle. Though he had hardly worked up a sweat from it, but that was to come.

Arriving at the pitch, changed into his quidditch gear and broom in hand, he ruffled his hair while offering Bel a bit of a sheepish grin because, well, fancy meeting you here. Again? Ha. Right.

Since he had missed initial instructions, though one glance around informed him of the obvious, the fifth year rested his broom gingerly on the ground and began stretching his arms and shoulders. Which, shockingly, were considerably bulkier than last term.

"Talk about an ACE turnout!" Derf couldn't help the grin that crossed his features as he glanced to his right and found himself standing beside Daisy and her NEW broom - that he had helped her pick out over the summer. "Hey. Glad to see you out here," he greeted her, sincerity oozing in his tone and from his eyes.

Maddie had had enough of whatever stretches Charlie was doing. Running up and down the pitch like Emmalyn looked a lot more fun. Maddie was just about to sprint off, when a few others joined them. "Hey, Daisy!" she said, trying to smile at the girl. Maddie hadn't actually talked to Daisy about that owl at the feast, but she had heard somebody else say Daisy's dad had died. How sad!

"Hey, Emmalyn!" she said, deciding against the running, since her Badger friend was now doing some stretches on the ground. Maddie bent down and pressed her palms against the ground, trying not to bend her knees. It was hard, but her small frame was really flexible and allowed her to do most things like this. The third repeated the activity a few more times before standing up and greeting both of her prefects! "Heyyyy, head honchos!"

When had Derf become a hottie, by the way?

...and then she was off.

Being in one position had finally worn its welcome, and she was now jogging up the side of the pitch. Upppp....then down....uppp...then down. She really should have braided her hair.

The past five years had prepared him for this moment. Aaron, who had really wanted to try out since his first year and hadn't been able to muster the confidence, finally felt like he could contribute to the team. In a positive way. THANKS, mostly, to SOME VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE...like Hassan, Abra, Junia, and....WEST. Okay, so actually...mostly Hassan and West. Aaron had ran drills with his cousin and the former Slytherin Captain all summer, even skiving off from his violin lessons so that he might be able to actually make a difference. A team was only as good as it's smaller parts, and the smol Hufflepuff desperately wanted to be one of those smaller pieces that made the whole machine work better. West had even lent him one of his old brooms. As far as this Botros was concerned, luck was on his side! What could possibly go wrong!?

Bouncing out to the pitch with said broom slung over his shoulder, he took a moment to have a look at who was already assembled.... And promptly started blushing when he caught sight of BEL. She was so pretty.... with the brightest eyes he'd ever seen! She'd really pulled it out for the Puffer team the previous term, as the seeker... It was why Aaron wouldn't be going out for that position today (even though he really, REALLY wanted to be one). Bel was already amazing and they didn't need to look anywhere else.

"Hey, Miss Bel!" He all but charged the older girl, remembering at the last moment about people having boundaries and needing personal space. Instead, he stood a few feet away and beamed. "It's a good day for quidditch, yeah?".... He'd completely missed the two Prefects standing nearby, having honed in on the captain. EEEEE, he was so excited. So much so that his body was practically vibrating with nervous energy... Oh...maybe he should warm up? Yeah, that was important. Hassan had mentioned it over and over again, before their pickup games and practice sessions.

A bit sheepish, but absolutely still full with energy, he put West's his broom aside and went to start on laps.

That was Charlie, the new guy in her year. Bel hadn't gotten a chance to get to know him yet, but she was always excited for new faces, and that was especially true right now with tryouts. She grinned cheerfully at him in welcome. That was really ripper that he was trying out and giving it a go.

"Hey Maddie, glad to see ya here!" Bel glanced over at the course when Maddie said the tryouts looked fun and then back at the younger girl. "Fun, yeah that's the idea!" She was hopeful that everyone was going to have a good time.

She left Maddie and Charlie to their warming up and greeted the next arrivals.


"Hi Daisy, I'm glad you're here!" Bel really was. Not just because they'd been teammates the previous year, but because Bel thought that the distraction that was tryouts and Quidditch could only be a benefit to Daisy considering all that stuff that was going on with her dormmate's dad passing away.


Oh gosh. Captain Bel. That was exciting but also Bel felt like it was a bit of a mouthful and an unnecessary one. As long as people respected he and knew she was captain then she didn't need them to call her it. Though she supposed they could if they wanted, she just didn't want anyone to feel like they had to or that it was something that she would be strict on. She didn't even mentally refer to herself that way, really.

"G'day Emmalyn! Glad you think so!" Bel said to the younger girl who had been a teammate the previous term. She really was glad that Emmalyn thought the obstacle course looked awesome, she'd worked hard on it, with a bit of willing help from Derfael of course. He was a good mate like that.

"Glad to see ya, Hats!" Was that OKAY? To call her HATS? Because... Bel was calling her that now. And she was so glad that Hattie had decided to tryout again this term after all. It'd be great stress relief from NEWTS, Bel reckoned.

"Too right!" Bel agreed with Derf cheerfully as he returned to the pitch. Ripper turnout for sure. There was so many eager faces already. And like she'd said to Derf, she really wanted people to have a good time trying out and not feel intimidated by it all. It wasn't supposed to be scary, just a good time.

And Bel did notice Maddie start running a bit which was great. She clearly had a ton of energy, as Bel herself did so obviously Bel approved of that. And her enthusiasm was welcome too.

And now she was MISS Bel. Captain Bel, Miss Bel. It was all so fancy. She grinned cheerfully at Aaron, not at all worried about his sudden appearance practically right in front of her face.

"Its a ripper of a day for Quidditch." She said by way of agreement, and watched for a moment as he went to run a bit. Awesome. Everyone was getting started right away. That was good.

Bel waited a little longer for the stragglers to arrive and went to pick up her clipboard, where she ticked off names on the sign up sheet as people arrived. Once she was satisfied that everyone who was going to come had got there, Bel stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. It hadn't occurred to her to bother getting a proper whistle, since she could manage just fine without one.

"Alright everyone, if you can come over here, we're about to get started! Welcome to Hufflepuff's Quidditch tryouts! I'm stoked to see you all here." The Aussie girl said happily. Probably she didn't even need to say so, it was pretty obvious by her expression that she was happy about every single face in front of her right now.

"First things, if you haven't brought your own broom, or grabbed a school broom already, there's a couple there behind me." She waved vaguely at the end of the pitch to her back. "No sweat about other equipment - if you are trying out for beater and don't have a bat for instance, we've got ya covered. There's a bunch of you here from the team last year and that's bonza but just remember that nobody's position is guaranteed," She paused a bit and then said somewhat apologetically, "Well, that is except for mine. For those that don't already know, I'm the seeker for our team, but I'll be making sure that everyone on the team gets to muck about with a snitch some time during the term too, especially our reserves, just for a bit of back up." Because you never knew, after all. And besides, if people didn't get a chance to try things out at some point, how would they know if they had a special talent for it or not?

"So tryouts are gonna be in two bits. First of all we're gonna be tackling this obstacle course that's behind you lot, which I'm sure you've all scoped out already." Yeah she'd seen them giving it the eye. "And then after that, we're going to do a couple drills with different positions based on what all your position preferences are. So yep. That's whats happening. So just before we get started, while you're all stretching and whatnot, how about everyone introduce themselves and say what positions they're going out for, and then tell us one of your favourite things apart from Quidditch of course. I'll start." Bel pointed at herself. "I'm Bel Macindoe, I'm a seeker, and one of my favourite things is motocross." Yep. Who was next?

ooc: Okay, so before we start the actual obstacle course (they are currently gathered near the start line which is behind everyone gathered together right now), please have your charrie say who they are, the position/s they are trying out for, and just something that they consider a favourite (could be a movie, food, song, activity, sport, book, whatever that isn't Quidditch). Please have your charrie continue (or start) stretching at this time. And if you haven't posted yet, its okay to jump in any time! If you haven't submitted the survey yet, please do so here.

captain post index:
welcome to tryouts
greetings and introductions (this post)

Daisy smiled at Derf. "Thank you very much for those words and thank you for helping me during the opening feast."

Daisy then cast her large brown eyes around the Hufflepuffs before her and spoke. "Hello, fellow Hufflepuffs. My name is Daisy Swann and I'm a fourth year. I am hoping to become either a Keeper or a Beater. One of my favourite things not related to Quidditch is jazz music."

Once she finished her intro, she continued to do some stretches.

Note to self. Maybe. Get bell an official whistle. Maybe. Not having one sorta cut out a step and fingers were always attached to you and couldn't fall off while you performed some aerial moves. Well...actually...

No. Stopping thoughts there.

Focusing on Bel as she brought tryouts to an official start, Derf couldn't help but feel a sort of brotherly affection as she spoke. It was sorta the kind of feeling he had when he had seen Celyn take her first steps, only that KINDA sounded belittling and like Bel was some fragile thing...which wasn't the case at ALL. But the sentiment of pride was similar, you know? From motocross gear and never properly playing before to Captain in a year's time. It was special, you know?

"Anytime, Daisy," he nodded to his friend. And he truly meant it.

Leaning his broom against his shoulder, cheek to bristles, Derf nodded along and drummed his hands on the handle eagerly. His own bat was tucked into his back pocket at the moment, so no need to borrow one of those and he couldn't help but glance around the crowd to wonder who else were beater hopefuls this term. He was really keen to already start feeling out dynamics in the air and see who played well off of each other. The just HAD to have a better performance than last term. HAD TO!

And then part of his curiosity was quenched when Daisy mentioned she was trying out for beater this term. Well, and keeper, but logistics. From chaster to beater, kinda like him. That was neat.

Smiling as the fourth year spoke, Derf waiting a moment before offering up his own brief introduction. Aaaaaall the while shifting his weight back and forth between his feet. He was antsy, all right?

"Derfael Ashburry-Hawthorne, but Derfael is a mouthful...'specially on the pitch, so just call me Derf," he nodded. "I'm a beater and played for our house last term. Um...I like chocolate frogs...but only for the cards inside because I collect them. Usually just let the chocolate frog hop around and admire the charmwork involved there." There was a THING about eating that kind of chocolate, even if it wasn't REAL frog. Still had eyes and it was still looking at him. "Getting real close to having a complete collection now."

His bright blues drifted over to the coarse and, well, he was right eager to get air born and give it a whirl.

She continued stretching while Captain Bel made her announcement and introduced herself. Her left leg was extra stiff, for some unknown reason, so she focused her stretching efforts on it. The last thing she wanted was to get a cramp while trying out.

Was she supposed to clap or cheer after each introduction? Deciding it couldn't hurt, she gave a little clap after Bel, Derf, and Daisy finished.

"I guess I'm up." She gave a wave to her housemates. "I'm Emmalyn Walsh. Second year. I played chaser last year for Hufflepuff and I'd like to continue with that position. It seems to fit me best, but I'm also happy to play where ever the team needs me." She started to look towards the next player then remembered the final part. "Oh, one of my favorite things is baking. I love to eat, so being able to bake is amazing."

She shrugged her shoulders and turned her focus back to stretching. Public speaking wasn't her favorite thing to do and they all knew who she was. At least most of them did.

Hearing Bel's original greeting to her, Maddie paused in her warm-ups and gave the captain a wave from where she'd last been running. Warming up was FUN, but just so she'd be with the team and not always running down the field and away from them, she decided to jog back to where the group was for her next round of stretches. She straightened her arms out in a left and right direction for as far as they'd go, and then she leaned down toward the ground on the right side without bending her knees. Then she switched things like up and leaned down toward the ground on the left side, as well.

At the sound of Bel's whistle, Maddie stood nice and tall and jogged toward the captain. Maddie had brought her own broom. It had been one of the things she'd asked for upon turning thirteen. She was pretty proud of it. She'd given it a good service, too. Wait a minute---most everybody here was from last year's team?! *gulp* That meant Maddie, as nervous as she had been before, was one of the only few newbies.

YIKES.

She tried to forget about that, though, and turn her focus toward the obstacle course, which was what Bel was telling them about now. It would be part one, and then there'd be the part where they actually got to play their desired position. Maddie had done a bit of research and finally decided on Chaser. It seemed to be the perfect fit for her hyperactivity. For now, though, things seemed pretty easy---just introduce herself.

"I'M MADDIE KEMP!" she said, when it was her turn. "I think the best fit for me is Chaser, and outside of Quidditch, I enjoy eating cupcakes."

Well. It was true.

...and on that note, she lowered herself to the ground, stretched her legs in front of her, and began trying to touch her toes.

He was in the middle of a very awkward stretch position when his housemates came down the pitch to join the tryouts. Not bothering to straighten up to say a proper hello, he instead beamed his usual smile toward them. "Hey, guys!" He'd been hanging around in the common room to know everyone by now, and it was also very convenient for a transfer like him to ease into things...such as Quidditch, and yeah okay, Hogwarts too.

While the stragglers caught up with them, Charlie did his laps around the pitch with his broom on his shoulders-- some Quodpot habits are just so hard to break you know? The Hufflepuff wheeled around when the Captain beckoned them to gather and jogged back to his starting point, giving the rest of the newcomers a sup nod.

Wait hold on, did Bel just say 'stoke'? Bless the surfer gods, he wasn't hearing things wrong, right? Because yes, the accents and foreign slangs threw him off a bit, but stoked? That felt a bit like home! And motocross? That's like...super cool!

And they were doing intros now? That was a bit odd...usually tryouts are fast and the getting-to-know-you part happened after the tryouts. It was like a privilege for those who actually made it to the team. Hmm...definitely not how Ilvermorny would do it. And so yes, introduction happened and Charlie took mental notes of things. Daisy likes jazz music, eh? She must be an old soul, like his dad! "So who's your favourite artist, Dais?" And Derf collects chocolate frog cards, and not...eat the chocolate? Now...that's a bit odd. "Are you missing the super rare ones, Derf? Maybe I can help?" Like...eating the chocolate for free? "If you need a taste tester Emm, I'm your guy!" He'd eat anything from traditional to exotic. This Kane ain't picky. And Maddie's trying out for Chaser too? Cool! Maybe if they both end up in the team they can practice together...and maybe teach her a thing or two about Quodpot!

"I guess I'm next?" Charlie bent backwards, streeetching all the way. "Hi, I'm Charlie and as you know I'm the new kid in town-- from Ilvermorny. Technically not super new in Hogwarts 'cause I was here during the school tourney during my first year. I play Quodpot back in the US, and I was a reserve for the Thunderbird Team," Charlie yapped, still in his awkward position. "Today, I'm gonna do the tryouts and see if I can be one of the Chasers." BEAM. Straightening back up, he held his foot behind him with his opposite hand, "Aside from Quodpot, I also surf and skate...and the occasional muggle basketball if I feel like it." Does...playing video games count? Because yeah, he's always down for a session.

Daisy looked at Charlie as he asked her his question. "I like a couple of Muggle musicians. Cab Calloway and Ella Fitzgerald. I am also a fan of Celestina Warbeck." At Charlie's introduction, Daisy raised an eyebrow in interest. She was quite impressed.

Hattie was feeling pretty eager to get going. She'd done some flying over the summer, enough to keep her in her prime, but not that much. So she was eager to get up and get going. Introductions were good though. It was good to know the team, and they'd had new people start this term, so everyone might not know everyone else. So it was pretty important. And as a prefect Harriet felt it was important that she knew everyone, and their likes, dislikes, hobbies and stuff like that. So the blonde listened carefully. Hopefully this might help to strike up some conversation later on. That was always good.

And ooh. It was her turn now. "Hey guys" She mused, giving everyone a little wave. "I'm Harriet. But you can call me Hattie, or Hats" Or whatever really. She'd probably reply to it anyway. She was just so good like that. "I'm a chaser, played that position in the house team last year. And my favourite thing apart from quidditch.... is art. And I'm pretty good at it to be honest. I had an art showing at a gallery in London over Christmas last year....so yeah" Cue little smile. She was proud about that. But of course, wasn't bragging, she just was really good at art.

So there the small Hufflepuff boy was, doing laps and trying to keep up with all the others who clearly had longer legs than him. He supposed it didn't matter when he finished... Obviously, how fast you could run didn't mean squat whilst on a broom. But speaking of being fast, hopefully he'd be seeing a growth spurt soon. It wasn't any fun being one of the smaller Third Years.

*HWEEEEEEE*

Startled by the loud noise, Aaron nearly took a stumble; effectively pulled from his own thoughts. She'd made that noise with her OWN MOUTH?!......... Also, he'd only just realized that he may have forgotten to cross a few things off his list since arriving at the training grounds. Oh no. Leaving the items unchecked left a strange, anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach and before he could join the others (where Bel had rounded them up), he pulled the small notepad from his pocket, flipping to the right page to sort it out. 'Arrive promptly to tryouts' and 'SMILE' were both quickly marked through. With a deep sigh of relief, he replaced it in his pocket, and bounded over to join in.

"Hihi! I'm Aaron Botros!" MmmmHMMMM. Yes, he WAS related to Abey, aka the ABSOLUTE COOLEST person in the school. "I've been around quidditch my entire life, and have been training really hard for the past few summers to ultimately gain the confidence to try out!" And, actually, it was finally the right time. His dreams had told him so. "Oh.... and I'm going to be trying for the Beater position since I have strong arm muscles from playing violin for eight years. It would be an honor to help protect everyone from the bludgers!" Absolutely... "Oh, and I really like creating music and playing with tarot cards." Not weird at all, nope!

Oooops. Okay, yes, he was done. Wheeeeew.

Hopefully introductions were making everyone feel a bit more settled, but mostly it was so that Bel could double check off her list what everyone was trying out for. Though, when Charlie said he was into surfing and skating, Bel perked up and made a mental note to catch him about that later, but not now.

"Alright alright," She said with a little laugh when Charlie asked Daisy a question and she answered it. "Intros, not convos." It would be too easy for them all to just start chattering about things now. For instance, Emm with her baking and Maddie with her cupcake eating obviously had something fun in common right there!

She waited as a few more people did their little intros until she'd gone around the whole group and then it was time to get down to business.

"Okay, I want everyone to go through the obstacle course twice, so let me talk you all through it. First you've got a quick sprint to the barriers there, and you need to slalom through the barriers, staying low, I don't want to see anyone being cheeky and flying over the tops of them!

Then zoom over to that pile of quaffles over on the other side, pick one up, and take a shot at the goals down there. Then come back this way, right down the middle of the pitch, but if you look uuup a bit," Bel pointed upwards and the shining rings that appeared to be drawn in the air at different heights.

"There are some coronas there -that's a fancy name for circles- and you guys need to fly through as many of them as you can without touching them. Then its another fast sprint towards the goals, but THIS time, you've gotta try and block them and I'm gonna be flying over there," Bel pointed a short distance away, "And I'm gonna try and score on ya!" Yep!

"Don't stress if you miss, and don't hang around either, because next you're zipping down to grab one of the school bats, and zooming on to the final stretch! Fly as fast as you can to the finish line, and avoid the enchanted marshmallows! They will burst on impact if they hit you, but if you get them with a bat you can send them spinning off at each other!"

Yep, they were deeeefinitely going to get messy.

"Now, it IS a race, but we're doing it against the clock. So you guys can take turns. So the first person can go, then the next person needs to wait thirty seconds, and then they can go and so on. Once you get to the finish line, fly back around the outside edge of the pitch past the far goals and the barriers and come back to the start. Everyone got that? Bonza! Lets get started!" Bel attached her clipboard to the front of her broom, her enchanted stopwatch at the ready in her hand and she flew up to get ready.

Once everyone had lined up at the start line she counted down.

"Three, two, one.... Go!" She said, signifying that the first person could start, and then after that, every thirty seconds the next person could go. And she was ready to start biffing quaffles at them when they got back down this way too! Lets DO this!


ooc: Its time to start the obstacle course! You can do this in as many or as few posts as you want - just have fun with it! Its up to you if you want to wait for me to say Bel is throwing a quaffle at your character when they reach the second goal posts (I will be posting at least once a day for anyone who is keen on the interaction), otherwise you can just say the quaffle has been thrown for your character- but don't RP for Bel please! The map linked above should help you visualize how the pitch has been laid out though its obviously not to scale (there's more than four barriers for instance, and a whooole lot of marshmallows, which are about the size of baseballs, and are limited to the one section). You can interact with each other and post off each other as much or as little as you like.

Obstacle Course
1. Fly a sprint from the start line to the barriers
2. dodge through the barriers, staying low
3. pick up a quaffle and try and shoot it through one of the goal hoops - one attempt!
4. fly a sprint to the middle of the pitch
5. fly through the glowing coronas, try not to touch them (they are not solid, think of glowing rings)
6. fly a sprint to the hoops and block a quaffle -one attempt! (thrown by Bel)
7. Fly down to pick up a bat
8. Make your way through the enchanted marshmallow section (baseball sized)
9. Fly a sprint to the finish.
10. Return to the start line (clockwise) and take a second turn!

It is not too late to 'catch up'. If you're just joining us it would be great if you include a response to the greetings and introductions part, but if you choose not to thats okay - just title your post with the position your charrie is going for .

And if you haven't posted yet, its okay to jump in any time! Just pretend your character was here all along. If you haven't submitted the survey yet, please do so here. You have until the 18th of May.

captain post index:
welcome to tryouts
greetings and introductions
Starting the Obstacle Course (this post)

Maddie's eyes flickered from person to person as each said their own introductions. It was funny how, even though they were in the same house together, they were still learning new things about each other. Ohh, and somebody liked baking! Maybe even...cupcake baking! NEW FRIEND ALERT!!!

So it was obstacle course time! AWESOME! For some reason, Maddie was secretly hoping there would be something like whipped cream poured all over them as they navigated the course. This was going to be so much fun! They even got to go through it TWICE. Ohh, happy day!!! Maddie wondered what slalom meant, but she pretty much got the gist of it. At least Bel hlad clarified the whole coronas/circles thing.

ENCHANTED MARSHMALLOWS!!!

Maddie KNEW there would be something awesome awaiting her! She even squirmed a bit in anticipation. She wanted to yell out her enthusiasm but decided interrupting the captain wasn't exactly a good idea. Instead, her eyes flashed from obstacle to obstacle as Bel told them just what to do. She thought she had it all down, and if not, she'd figure it all out. At the sound of Bel's countdown, Maddie's energy got the best of her, and seeing as she was in just the right place to get things started, she decided to go first.

The third year mounted her broom, kicked off, and began flying a sprint away from the starting point. She kept her eyes on the barriers ahead, trying to stay focused on her surroundings. The barriers were quickly approaching, and Maddie had to slalom through them...whatever that meant. As she mentioned to herself earlier, though, she got the gist of it. Her sprint was quickly coming to a close as she neared the barriers. It was then that her nerves were starting to show, and she was starting to regret dashing into being the first to get things started. Oh, well. No turning back now.

HELLO, BARRIERS!

Stay low...no flying on top of them...got it. Maddie eyed the first barrier, trying to get a good judgment on where she needed to go to get past it without running into it. She was almost sure a bug had met it's untimely demise right smack in her face, but she couldn't think too much about that now. Sorry, little guy!!! Maddie made it past the first barrier, although she almost clipped the side of it. She made the mistake of looking behind her, but then she thought better of it and turned back around. "Ahhh!" she yelled, as she nearly ran into the second barrier. Made shifted her broom to the side, though, and edged past it. She'd have to do better on the last few. She kept her focus and determination, and soon she was past the next barrier without any mess-ups at all. The last barrier was even easier than the one before it, as Maddie had figured things out by now and was navigating the barriers with ease.

Daisy was as ready as she could be. "Let's do this for father!" she thought determinedly to herself as she mounted her broomstick and focused her mind on the first part of the obstacle course which was the barriers.

Maddie had started first so that gave Daisy thirty seconds to really prepare herself. Once that thirty seconds had elapsed, Daisy started her "run". The broomstick flew steadily and quickly thanks to its owner's control and precision and very soon Daisy was approaching the barriers.

Daisy narrowed her eyes and dipped her broomstick low as she weaved it between each barrier, making sure that she didn't hit any of the barriers but she also made sure that she wasn't too low so that she made contact with the pitch.

Obstacle course time. She was more than ready to conquer the course. Her eyes followed Maddie as she started the first portion. It appeared as if the third year had been practicing. “Nice job, Maddie!” she yelled just before jumping to her feet. Then Daisy was off. She watched as her friend navigated the barriers, staying nice a low and avoiding contact. "Awesome work, Daisy!"

Once it was her turn, she commanded her broom to her outreached hand, mounted, and began her sprint forward. Her new broom had so much more power than the school brooms, so she made quick time closing the distance to the barriers. Left, then right, her body leaned ever so slightly to maneuver between the barriers. The extra training over the summer at quidditch camp was paying off. Her body hardly moving to send her broom zigging and zagging where it needed to be. It was hard for her to imagine that not more than a year ago she had never been on, or even heard of, a flying broom.

It appeared she was through the last barrier and headed towards the pile of quaffles. She reached her hand out to grab one as she flew by, but the speed of her new broom was too fast and her fingers only glanced off a quaffle. Emmalyn quickly made a u turn, grabbed a quaffle, spun around, and bolted off towards the goals. To make up for her miss quaffle blunder, she decided to try out the ‘Emmalyn spin’ to score. With her right hand firmly on the broom, she pulled up while simultaneously twirling her body to the left and sending the quaffle through the far left goal. “Score!” She cheered before setting her sights on the next part of the course.

Daisy had (in her mind) successfully cleared the barriers and was ready to attempt throwing a Quaffle through one of the goal hoops. She quickly flew over to the pile of Quaffles and picked one up, ensuring she had a grip that was neither too tight nor too loose. She used her free hand to control her broomstick as she headed towards the goals, biting her lower lip in anticipation.

With an intake of breath. Daisy threw her Quaffle with as much force as she could muster. When the Quaffle flew through the middle hoop, Daisy fist-pumped the air.

Eyyyy, oops? "Gotcha, Captain!" Charlie gave Bel a salute and turned to Daisy to give her a sheepish smile. They should talk later, yeah? After completing his arm exercise, Charlie then turned his attention back to Bel as she explained the obstacle course before them. It did look imposing for a first-time flyer, but the whole thing yelled F U N. Who cares about getting messy? That was part of Quidditch and Quodpot so sticky marshmallows shouldn't be a problem. In fact, he might deliberately bump into one of the enchanted marshmallows so he'd be able to get free chow while in the air. Kanes were known to do two things at the same time so that two shouldn't be a problem. But of course, he will still try to whack it away with a bat.

Just right before did the countdown, Charlie pulled his mask up, and pulled his goggles over his bright blue eyes. The chaser hopeful stuck his hand out above his broom and summoned it with gusto. "UP!" Practised fingers quickly wrapped itself around the Starweeper XXI, and in a second, he was already mounted on his broom, hovering a few meters above ground. "Let's go, Hufflepuff!!!" tryouts or not, the team spirit was there.

The familiar rush was felt as Charlie zoomed past the others, hurtling his way towards the barriers. "I am one with my broom...I am one with my broom!" His former Quodpot captain's voice echoed in his head, and that was exactly what Charlie did. He pressed his torso down towards the handle, mimicking the shape of a sharp arrow and continuously tuned out the rest of the obstacle course, focusing solely on the barriers ahead. Charlie weaved through the obstacle, keeping himself and his broom low, tuning himself further with his broom as he slightly shifted his position to turn left, right, left, and right, until he reached the end of the barriers, where a pile of quaffles waited for him.

Trained to handle a quod most of his life, it wasn't much of a challenge to Charlie. As he closed in on the pile, he slightly pulled his broom up and rolled on his broom to snatch a quaffle from the pile that he flew by. With the quaffle safely tucked underneath his arm, he pulled himself up further towards the goal posts, did a quick fly-by behind it and did a hook shot at the middle post.

Team USA, reprezzzent.