Harry Potter: All About Quidditch

Quidditch is a semi-contact game played while flying on broomsticks. Two teams of seven players compete, and unlike many muggle-world sports, both males and females compete together on the Quidditch pitch. Game-play involves four balls and six hoop-shaped goals. This game is played by witches and wizards on the world stage at the Quidditch World Cup every four years.

While not an overly difficult game to play, Quidditch involves many different elements.

First, THE BALLS:

The Quaffle:

The bright-red ball known as the Quaffle is about 12 inches or roughly 30 centimeters in diameter. It has been enchanted so that it will fall to the ground very slowly, which helps prevent players from having to constantly retrieve it from the ground. It has also been charmed to be easily carried with one hand. A Quidditch game has one Quaffle.

The Bludgers:

Every Quidditch game involves two round balls made of iron called the Bludgers. Slightly smaller than the Quaffle, the Bludgers are slightly bigger than a basketball. In a game of Quidditch, the Bludgers serve as an obstacle with the aim of hitting players off of their broomsticks.

The Golden Snitch:

The most important ball in Quidditch is the Golden Snitch. This tiny ball, about the size of a golf ball, has wings that propel it very quickly through the air. Its golden color makes it very difficult to see, and the ball’s goal is to evade capture by darting around the air. The capture of the Golden Snitch automatically finishes a game of Quidditch, and the team to catch it is awarded 150 points to their score.

Now, THE PLAYERS:

The Chasers:

Each team has three chasers, and these players spend their time passing the Quaffle back and forth to each other. They attempt to score points by throwing the Quaffle through one of the opposing team’s three hoops. Each goal is worth 10 points.

The Keeper:

The Keeper is essentially a goalkeeper of his or her team’s hoops. Their aim is to prevent the Chasers from scoring.

The Beaters:

These two players are charged with protecting the rest of their team from the Bludgers. They are equipped with bats, which are similar to those in baseball only shorter. They swat the bludgers away from their teammates, often towards the players on the opposing team.

The Seeker:

This player must be an extremely adept flyer, likely with the fastest broom and the smallest member of the team. Their job is to locate, chase and eventually capture the Golden Snitch, and they are in fact the only players allowed to touch the Snitch. This is the position filled by Harry Potter on Hogwarts’ Gryffindor House Team.

GAMEPLAY:

A Quidditch game begins when the referee releases all of the balls and the Golden Snitch from their case in the center of the pitch. The game has no set time, and finishes with the capture of the Snitch. Games have been known to last for months, and one game actually finished after three and-a-half seconds.

There are over 700 ways to commit a foul in Quidditch. One such foul is Blagging. Players are not allowed to grab the brooms of opposing players with the intent to slow them down. Another foul is Blatching; when one player flies at a member of the opposing team to purposely crash into him or her. Cobbing prevents players from using their elbows as weapons against the opposing team.

Despite the competitive nature of the sport, Quidditch is a game that brings together witches and wizards young and old from all corners of the globe.