Potter heads: Team USA Quidditch jerseys now on sale

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Getting into the Olympic spirit just got easier for fans of quidditch -- the game introduced to millions through the ‘Harry Potter’ books and movies -- with the rollout of team jerseys representing the U.S., UK, France and Australia.

The 92% polyester/8% Spandex athletic tops boast anti-microbal, quick-drying and moisture-wicking properties (though apparently no magical properties, which would probably be considered cheating anyway), sell for $49.99 (and up), which isn’t bad considering the shirts are all made here in the U.S.

The jerseys are from Quiyk, a 7-month-old athletic apparel start-up launched by Emerson College students Matt Lowe and Eric Wahl last November and can be purchased by either clicking through the online store at quiyk.com or going directly to the International Quidditch Assn.’s website.

If you’re about to dismiss the jerseys as some merely frivolous fashion for fiction fans -- as I was about to -- it might be worth checking out the IQA’s website. Apparently the broom-based sport of wizards has been adapted for muggle play, complete with an annual tournament (host cities for the 2012 competition have been narrowed to either Kissimmee, Fla., or Riverside, Calif.).

And, with the Olympics getting ready to unspool in London, the IQA has scheduled its 2012 Summer Games for Oxford, England, on July 8 and 9 -- which, organizers point out, is just when the Olympic torch is scheduled to be passing through on its way to London.

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-- Adam Tschorn