Quidditch

Quidditch is an extremely rough but very popular semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls and six elevated ring-shaped goals three on each side of the Quidditch pitch.

This article has been edited but is originally from Quidditch.

Players and equipment

Pitches

Quidditch matches are played on an oval-shaped, 500 feet (150 m) and 180 feet (55 m) wide pitch, with a small central(core) {circle approximately feet (0.61 m) in diameter. At each end stand three hooped goal posts, each at a different height: one at 30 ft (9.1 m), one at 40 ft (12 m), and one at 50 ft (15 m), comprising the scoring area. There is also a line that shows mid-field, which is 180 ft (55 m). Quidditch fields have white shaded areas around the goalposts, to mark the scoring area and the bounds in which keepers must stay. Since Quidditch is an aerial sport, Quidditch pitches are shown to feature spectator seating at high vantage points, either in towers or in a fully encircling platform, and the "top box" is considered the most prestigious place for a spectator to be seated. The British stadium of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup is of this latter style. The surface is used primarily for launching off at the beginning of the game, and on occasion for falling onto when players are dismounted from their brooms. Seekers, who sometimes fly close to the pitch surface, can be tricked into crashing into the surface occasionally at great speed (when tricked into doing so by the opposing seeker, it is known as the Wronski feint).

Quidditch Balls

Quaffle

The Quaffle is spherical in shape (with four large dimples), bright red in color, and approximately 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter, and about the weight of a football but hollow. The Quaffle is enchanted to fall very slowly through the air when dropped to prevent players from having to continuously dive to retrieve it. The backstory of Quidditch explains that the red color was instituted to create a stronger contrast between the Quaffle and mud. The Quaffle is also enchanted to make it easy to grip with only one hand. There is only one quaffle, unlike the bludgers. If the chaser throws it through the hoop they score 10 points for their team.

Bludgers

The two Bludgers are round, jet black balls, made of iron. A Bludger is 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter. They are described as being bewitched to fly without any visible means of propulsion, although they do retain inertia, which makes them unable to change speed or direction swiftly. They act as airborne obstacles, flying around the pitch and trying indiscriminately to knock players off their brooms. The Beaters carry short wooden clubs, which they use to knock the Bludgers away from their teammates and/or toward the opposing team. The Bludgers do most of the damage in the game of Quidditch; they will occasionally injure players and break brooms. A correctly bewitched Bludger with no jinxes will not side with a team; they will instead alternate players after they try and knock a player from one team off their broom.

The Golden Snitch

The Golden Snitch

The Golden Snitch, often referred to as simply the Snitch, is a small golden ball the approximate size of a walnut (roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter), developed by Bowman Wright (1492–1560). The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover, dart, and fly around the pitch, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of the playing area. Each team has a designated Seeker (most seekers are the lightest, fastest, and smallest players on their team), whose only task is to capture the Snitch. The seeker who catches the Snitch scores 150 points, and strictly speaking, only the capture of the Snitch will end the game. (However, there was an instance in which the team captains agreed to end the game without the capture of the Snitch, as the game had gone on for several months, and the captains were unhappy with their respective Seekers' performances.) Games have been known to last for months, so it is of key importance to catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible. The Snitch has a "flesh memory", able to recall the first person who has touched it, and will respond only to the first person who caught it. This helps when there is a dispute about who caught the snitch first. Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow was the first person to fashion a Golden Snitch, replacing the Golden Snidget bird, which was previously used in the game, but was replaced due to animal cruelty issues. No other player aside from the Seeker is allowed to touch the Snitch, and referees and Snitch makers wear gloves when handling them.

Players

Each team is made up of seven players, consisting of three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker.

The Chasers progress up and down the pitch passing the Quaffle by hand amongst themselves while keeping it away from the other team, in an attempt to score goals by throwing it through one of their opponent's three goal hoops which scoring 10 points.

The Keeper will protect the three goal hoops.

The Beaters are armed with wooden clubs and they are tasked with protecting their team-mates and the seeker (mainly) from the Bludgers by knocking these balls off course or towards opponents.

Finally, the Seeker, usually the lightest member of the team and equipped with the fastest broom, is tasked for searching for and capturing The Golden Snitch. Seekers are the only players permitted to touch the Snitch. The seekers are usually small, agile, and stealthy.

Each team includes a captain, who may play any of the four roles. The captain helps the team practice and chooses the team players after the tryouts.

Broomsticks

Magical flying broomsticks are one of the forms of transportation for wizards and witches, as well as for playing Quidditch. Hogwarts Quidditch players are allowed to use whatever broomsticks they like or their sponsors can afford.

• The Nimbus model line has a reputation as one of the best in the Wizarding world.
• Firebolts are an advanced professional-level flying broomstick and the most expensive and fastest racing broom in existence. It is said that they are the best in the world. They can even fly out of the atmosphere if the weather conditions are fair.
• Comets and Cleansweeps are cheaper than the Nimbuses and are more common; however, Cleansweeps are considered still decent brooms.
• Other brands include Silver Arrow, Tinderblast, Swiftstick, and Twigger 90, and the Oakshaft 79. The Oakshaft is the broom famed for its journey across the Atlantic and the Moontrimmer was popular because it was still controllable at extremely high altitudes.

Game progression

The game starts with the referee releasing all four balls from the central circle. The Bludgers and the Snitch, having been bewitched, fly off on their own accord; the Snitch to hide itself quickly, and the Bludgers to attack the nearest players. The Quaffle is thrown into the air by the referee to signal the start of play.

Chasers score by sending the red, football-sized Quaffle through any of the three goal hoops. Each goal scored is worth ten points. After a goal is scored, the Keeper of the team scored upon throws the Quaffle back into play. Capturing the Snitch earns the Seeker's team 150 points, equivalent to 15 goals scored by Chasers. Since the game ends immediately after the Snitch is caught, the team capturing the Snitch is very likely to win the game. However, teams are ranked according to points scored, not games won. For example, at Hogwarts, the team with the most points at the end of the year wins the Quidditch Cup.

All seven players must constantly avoid both being hit by the Bludgers (which attempt to attack them) and accidental contact with the Golden Snitch (which is a foul if anyone but a Seeker touches it).

The length of a Quidditch game is variable, as play can only end with the capture of the Golden Snitch by one of the Seekers or by mutual consent of the two team captains. The game length is therefore determined largely by the Seekers' abilities. The shortest game ever is described as lasting three and a half seconds, with the score obviously being 150–0 (Seeker Roderick Plumpton catches the Snitch at the mentioned time.) Some games can go on for days, and even months, if the Snitch is not caught. The longest game recorded lasted three months.

Rules

The official rules of Quidditch are said to have been laid down in 1750 by the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Some of the more common rules are as follows:

• Players must not stray over the boundary lines of the pitch, although they may fly as high as desired. The Quaffle must be surrendered to the opposition if any player leaves the boundary.
• A time out may be called at any time by a team Captain. It may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch afterward disqualifies the offending team.
• The referee can impose penalties if a foul occurs. A single Chaser from the fouled team takes a penalty shot by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. The opposing team's Keeper may attempt to block this shot, but no other player may interfere.
• Contact is allowed, but a player may not grasp another's broomstick or any part of his or her body.
• No substitution of a player is allowed, even if one is too badly hurt to continue (rare exceptions may be made when the game continues for a great length of time, and players become too fatigued to continue).
• Players may take their wands onto the pitch, but they must not be used on or against any players, any player's broomstick, the referee, any of the four balls, or the spectators. (The right to carry wands at all times was granted during the height of wizard and witch persecution by Muggles).
• Players are not allowed to attack one another by wand, hand or broom.

Fouls

There are 700 Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, but most of these fouls are not open to the public, owing to the Department's supposed fear the wizards/witches who read the list of fouls "might get ideas". It is claimed that all 700 occurred during the very first Quidditch World Cup. Apparently, most are now impossible to commit as there is a ban on using wands against an opponent (imposed in 1538). The most common of those fouls are enumerated below.

• Blagging: No player may seize any part of an opponent's broom to slow or hinder the player.
• Blatching: No player may fly with the intent to collide.
• Blurting: No player may lock broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course.
• Bumphing: Beaters must not hit Bludgers towards spectators, or the Keeper, unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area.
• Cobbing: Players must not make excessive use of their elbows against opponents.
• Flacking: Keepers must not defend the posts from behind by punching Quaffles out of the hoops—goals must be defended from the front.
• Haversacking: Chasers must not still be in contact with the Quaffle as it passes through a hoop.
• Quaffle-pocking: Chasers must not tamper with the Quaffle in any way.
• Snitchnip: No player other than the Seeker may touch or catch the Golden Snitch.
• Stooging: No more than one Chaser is allowed in the scoring area at any one time.

International renowned player Patrick Mckenzie of Scotland is the only known player to commit more than half of these in one match, with multiple offenses.

History

Ancient games

Quidditch is derived from an amalgamation of several ancient games:

• Stichstock: Originating in Germany and consisting of a single wizard acting as a guardian or goalkeeper, trying to protect an inflated dragon bladder. A number of other players mounted on broomsticks would attempt to pierce the bladder, with the first who successfully did so being declared the winner; the goalkeeper could attempt to hex the other players; if nobody was able to pierce the bladder, the goalkeeper won.
• Aingingein: An Irish game which required broomstick-mounted players to fly through a number of burning barrels set in the air, whilst all the time clutching a ball with one hand. At the end of this fiery course was a goal into which the ball had to be hurled. The wizard who completed the course and scored a goal in the shortest time, without catching fire along the way, was the winner.
• Creaothceann: An exceptionally violent and often fatal game originating in Scotland. A large number of boulders were charmed to hover in the air and each player had a cauldron strapped to the back of his/her head. A horn was sounded, the rocks were released, and the players would fly around on their broomsticks trying to catch as many rocks in their cauldron as possible. The winner was the player who caught the most rocks.
• Shuntbumps: A very simple form of broomstick-jousting where one flyer attempted to knock the other off his broom.
• Swivenhodge: This involved hitting an inflated pig's bladder back and forth across a hedge while on a broom.

Evolution of Quidditch

The name "Quidditch" is supposedly derived from Queerditch Marsher, the location of the first recorded game. The first ball to be introduced was the Quaffle, then a leather ball quite similar to the modern Quaffle, and hence the only playing positions were Chaser and Keeper. Soon afterwards were included in the game flying boulders that had been enchanted to attack players—the first Bludgers.

At first, the bludgers had no human opponents on the pitch, but Beaters were introduced not long afterwards. As the heavy bats had the unfortunate tendency to shatter the boulders into flying gravel, the first metal Bludgers replaced them almost immediately. They were originally made of lead, but in the 15th century, magically reinforced beaters bats were introduced. They are currently made of iron. The final modification to the original "Kwidditch" was to set up three half-barrels at either end of the pitch as scoring targets (previously trees had been used for this purpose). The one missing element from this ancient game was the Golden Snitch.

History of the Snitch

The back-story of the Snitch is the most elaborate of all the Quidditch balls, and its introduction came as the direct result of a game played in 1269 in Kent. By this time, the game had attracted a cult following, and large crowds regularly attended matches.

Barberus Bragge, the Chief of the Wizards’ Council, attended the 1269 game. As a nod to the sport of Snidget-hunting, which was also popular at the time, Bragge brought a Snidget to the game and released it from its cage. He told the players that 150 Galleons—then an enormous sum of money—would be awarded to the player who caught the bird. As the promise of such a large reward would suggest, the players thence totally ignored the game, and simply went off in pursuit of the Snidget, which was kept within the arena by the crowd using Repelling Charms.

A witch named Modesty Rabnott took pity on the Snidget and rescued it with a Summoning Charm, by the time she was caught she had released the Snidget and was fined 10 Galleons, meaning she lost her house. But the connection with Quidditch had been made, and soon a Snidget was being released at every game. Each team added an extra player—originally called the Hunter, later renamed the Seeker—whose sole job was to catch and kill the Snidget, for which 150 points were awarded in memory of the 150 Galleons offered by Bragge in the original game. The popularity of Quidditch led to quickly declining Snidget numbers, and in the middle of the 14th century it was made a protected species by the Wizard's Council. This meant that the bird could no longer be used for Quidditch purposes. The game, however, could not continue without a substitute.

Whilst most people looked for a suitable alternative bird to chase, a metal-charmer called Bowman Wright from Godric's Hollow invented a fake Snidget which he called the Golden Snitch: a golden ball with silver wings, the same size and weight as a real Snidget, enchanted to accurately follow its flight patterns. An additional benefit was that the ball was also charmed to stay within the playing area. The Snitch was also given a "flesh memory", allowing it to remember who touched it first in order to leave no dispute as to who caught it. The Snitch quickly became the approved replacement for the Snidget, and the game of Quidditch has remained largely unchanged ever since.

Quidditch pitch

At the time of the introduction of the Golden Snitch, a standard Quidditch pitch consisted of an elongated oval playing area 500 feet (150 m) long and 180 feet (55 m) wide. It had a small circle at the centre, approximately 2 feet (61 cm) in diameter, from which all the balls were released at the start of the game. The early barrel-goals had been replaced by baskets on stilts, but whilst these were practical, they did carry an inherent problem: there was no size restriction on the baskets, which differed dramatically from pitch to pitch.

By the late 1800s, scoring areas had been added at each end of the pitch, and an additional rule in the game dictated that only one Chaser was allowed in these areas at any given time. This rule is called "Stooging". Stooging, being introduced at this time, made it a more recent rule then most other simple rules in Quidditch history which meant that many did not agree with this rule. Before stooging, all three chasers would fly towards the scoring area, two of them would hold the keeper back and the third would get an easy shot at the goal.

In 1650, the size of the baskets themselves had reduced considerably, although there was still a certain amount of variation between pitches. Regulations were finally introduced in 1883, which replaced the baskets with hoops of a fixed size.

Professional Quidditch teams

Team	Situated	Notes
Current Teams of Great Britain and Ireland
Appleby Arrows	Appleby	Colors are pale blue with a silver arrow. Founded in 1612. Has a rivalry with the Wasps (see below)
Chudley Cannons	Chudley	Bright orange and a double C with a speeding cannonball. The team's motto was originally "We shall conquer"; it was later changed to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."
Falmouth Falcons	Falmouth	Dark grey & white robes with a Falcon on the chest. Motto: "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads."
Puddlemere United	Puddlemere	Navy blue robes with two crossed Bulrushes. Founded in 1163.
Tutshill Tornados	Tutshill	Sky blue robes with a double T in dark blue on the front and back; league success in 1995; accused of cheating. Cho Chang supported this team since she was six.
Wimbourne Wasps	Wimborne	Horizontally striped robes of yellow and black and a Wasp on the chest.
Ballycastle Bats	Ballycastle	Black robes with a scarlet bat.
Kenmare Kestrels	Kenmare	Emerald green robes with two yellow K's back to back. Founded in 1291
Montrose Magpies	Montrose	Black and white robes with a magpie on the front and back
Pride of Portree	Portree	Deep Purple Robes with a gold star on the chest. Founded in 1292
Wigtown Wanderers	Wigtown	Blood red robes with a Meat Cleaver on the chest. Founded in 1422
Caerphilly Catapults	Caerphilly	Vertically striped robes of light green and scarlet. Founded in 1402. Beat the Karasjok Kites to win the 1956 European Cup Final.
Holyhead Harpies	Holyhead	Dark green robes with a golden talon on the chest. Founded in 1203.

Team	Situated	Notes
Other teams
Thundelarra Thunderers	Thundelarra	Australian Team.
Wollongong Warriors	Wollongong	Australian Team. Has a rivalry with the Thunderers
Vratsa Vultures	Vratsa	Bulgarian Team. Seven times champions of Europe
Haileybury Hammers	Haileybury	Canadian Team.
Moose Jaw Meteorites	Moose Jaw	Canadian Team
Stonewall Stormers	Stonewall	Canadian Team
Gimbi Giant-Slayers	Gimbi	Ethiopian Team
Quiberon Quafflepunchers	Quiberon	French Team. Known for its shocking pink robes
Heidelberg Harriers	Heidelberg	German Team.
Toyohashi Tengu	Toyohashi	Japanese Team. Burns their brooms after a defeat.
Gorodok Gargoyles	Gorodok, Lithuania	Lithuanian Team. Won against the Toyohashi Tengu in 1994.
Bigonville Bombers	Bigonville	Luxembourgian Team.
Moutohora Macaws	Moutohora	New Zealander Team.
Karasjok Kites	Karasjok	Norwegian Team. Lost to the Caerphilly Catapults in the 1956 European Cup final.
Tarapoto Tree-Skimmers	Tarapoto	Peruvian Team.
Grodzisk Goblins	Grodzisk	Polish Team. Home team of Josef Wronski
Braga Broomfleet	Braga,Portugal	This Portuguese team invented an innovative Beater-marking system that made it one of the best in Quidditch competitions.
Sumbawanga Sunrays	Sumbawanga	Tanzanian Team.
Tchamba Charmers	Tchamba	Togolese Team.
Patonga Proudsticks	Patonga	Ugandan Team.
Fitchburg Finches	Fitchburg	American Team. Captain and seeker Maximus Brankovitch III also captained the USA team at the Quidditch World Cup several times.
Sweetwater All-Stars	Sweetwater	American Team. Won a five-day match against the Quiberon Quafflepunchers in 1993

Quodpot

Quodpot is a variant of Quidditch popular in the United States, the Western Hemisphere and, as a minority, Europe. There are eleven players on a side, who throw the Quod, a Quaffle modified to explode after a certain amount of time, from player to player, attempting to get it into the "pot" at the end of the pitch before it explodes. Any player in possession of the Quod when it explodes is disqualified. Once the Quod is in the "pot" (a cauldron containing a solution which prevents it from exploding), the scoring team is awarded a point and a new Quod is brought onto the pitch.

This article has been edited but the information above is originally from Quidditch.

Quidditch at Absit Omen

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