Knights and fencers both did combat, but it was Harry Potter and his game of quidditch that won the recruitment drive at the University of Newcastle's orientation week.
Callaghan campus students have started their own quidditch society to play the game made famous in the Harry Potter series.
It was one of the many groups signing up members during the annual Clubs and Societies Expo, an event that has become a staple of orientation week for new students.
Thousands of university students will return to study next week when classes begin for this year.
While quidditch is played mid-air in the Harry Potter movies, Eli Phillips from the society said participants played on a flat field while running with brooms between their legs. Players catch the famous "snitch" by ripping a ribbon off a player dressed in gold. The new society already has more than 150 members and is open to non-students and muggles.
The Society for Creative Anachronism, or Mediaeval Society, also continued to be popular with dozens signing up for its list of combat, craft and cooking activities.
Religious groups were also recruiting as was the Society for Atheists, Agnostics and Anti-theists.
Alison Branley
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