Quidditch, a sport created by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series, involves two teams of seven players on flying broomsticks trying to score points by getting a ball through one of three goals. The game also includes enchanted bludgers and a golden snitch that must be caught by the seeker for 150 points. Muggle Quidditch, played by non-magical people, is played on the ground with modifications to reduce injuries. Both versions are co-ed and involve a mix of various sports.
Quidditch is the fantastic sport created by JK Rowling in her Harry Potter book series. Rowling further explored the origins of the sport in a short book specifically devoted to Quidditch, From Quidditch Through The Ages. The great popularity of the Harry Potter books led muggles, or non-magical people, to develop Muggle Quidditch.
As defined by Rowling, Quidditch is played on flying brooms. Each team has seven members. On each side of the pitch are three goal circles that stand vertically. Part of the goal of Quidditch is to score points by getting the quaffle, a soccer ball-like ball, through one of the team’s three goals.
The team’s three chasers are the only ones allowed to shoot the quaffle into the basket. As they attempt to score goals, each worth 10 points, the opposing team’s goalkeeper attempts to block the goals. In addition to the quaffle, there are two bludgers, enchanted balloons that fly around the stadium. The bludgers can be partly controlled by the team’s two batsmen, who carry cricket bats. When a bludger gets close to the team, the beaters hit it with their bat, hoping to hit it at members of the opposing team.
The fourth ball in Quidditch is the enchanted golden snitch. It is about the size of a golf ball and is very fast. It can also appear or disappear and is generally not present at the start of the game.
The seeker must catch the golden snitch, and catching it earns the seeker’s team 150 points. Catching the golden snitch usually ends the game and results in a win for the team that caught the snitch. However, in a famous game from the fourth Harry Potter book at the Quidditch World Cup, the Belgian Seeker catches the spy, but the Belgian team still loses to Ireland.
Quidditch can be a brutal sport, often resulting in injuries when people fall off broomsticks or get knocked over by bludgers. Luckily, the wizarding world can usually deal with injuries almost immediately. For Muggle Quidditch, some modifications had to be made to the game to reduce possible injuries, since we are not so good at instant healing of broken bones.
Of course, Muggle Quidditch can’t be played on broomsticks, although many fans of the Harry Potter world wish it could. Neither the bludgers nor the snitch can be enchanted. Therefore, Muggle Quidditch is to be played on the ground and adds to the seven-member team two players called bludgers, who toss the bludger around to mimic the magical movement of magical bludgers.
To keep things safe, bludgers tend to be made of soft foam, so anyone who comes in contact with a bludger will not be injured. Beaters still try to fend off the bludger, but if someone gets hit by a bludger, he’s temporarily “out” of the game. The tagged player usually has to sit on the sidelines for an agreed amount of time before rejoining the game.
The quaffle is still run by the three chasers and is usually a size three or four football. In some variations, players use a basketball, which must be dribbled and passed to reach the goal posts. The goalkeeper is still the only one who can try to block shots on goal. Chasers can kick or throw the ball into baskets. Each goal still earns 10 points.
At some point in the game, the two referees or other designated people, such as the parents, release the snitch. Two more players can be added, spies to shoot the snitch across the field at varying intervals. This position is excellent for adults or children with disabilities who may not be able to run well around the field or hold some of the other team positions. The muggle snitch is a small, high bouncing ball. Depending on the variants, the snitch may be released more than once, with the 150 points going to the seeker who catches the snitch most often, or it may only be released once as in Wizard Quidditch.
Both Muggle and Wizarding Quidditch are co-ed sports. For non-magical people, the adaptations have created a fun and rather confusing game that is a chaotic mix of basketball, football, dodging, cricket and simple grappling. Most muggles will agree, however, that they would rather play Rowling’s original sport, as we secretly long for a flying broomstick.
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