Quidditch
Quidditch is a fictional airborne
ballgame (played on
broomsticks), a sort of magical variant of
football or
polo, devised by
J. K. Rowling in the
Harry Potter series of children's books. Some say it was inspired by the
Eton Wall Game, probably because it originally appears as a sport played only at
Hogwarts, the wizarding school.
Quidditch is very popular in the fictional world of Harry Potter. Hogwarts has four Quidditch teams, one for each house in the school. There are several professional Quidditch sides. In
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry attends the Quidditch World Cup for international teams.
History
\nIt has been suggested that the name "quidditch" is derived from the names of the balls: Quaffle, Bludger and Snitch, though the book Quidditch Through the Ages suggests that the game is named after Queerditch Marsh, where the earliest version of the game was played in the eleventh century.
According to Quidditch Through the Ages, Quidditch began as a simple broom-based game, with players passing a leather ball, the quaffle, which they attempted to place in goals at either ends of the pitch. Soon after, the Bludgers (see 'Rules', below) were added as charmed rocks, possibly an influence from the Scottish game Creaothceann, in which players attempted to catch falling rocks in a cauldron attached to their heads.
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Rules
\nThe game of Quidditch is centred around four balls: the Quaffle, the two Bludgers and the Golden Snitch (often abbreviated to Snitch). The Quaffle is described as being 'about the size of a football (soccer ball)' in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, although Quidditch Through The Ages states that it is twelve inches (30 cm) in diameter, slightly larger than a football. The Quaffle is bright red and, when dropped, sinks slowly to the ground. It is charmed so as to be gripped easily.
The Bludgers are ten inches (25 cm) in diameter, made of iron, and enchanted to collide with and unseat the players from their broomsticks. The Snitch is only the size of a walnut, and flies around at immense speed with its two silvery wings. The ball itself is golden, as the name implies.\n \nQuidditch is played on a long oval pitch, a grassed field 500 feet (152 metres) long and 180 feet (55 metres) wide. At each end of the pitch is a 'scoring area', which contains three goal hoops mounted on posts, each fifty feet (15 metres) high. In the centre of the pitch is a small circle, two feet (60 cm) in diameter, from which the game is begun.
There are seven players on each side in the modern game. The three Chasers and the Keeper may handle the Quaffle. The Chasers represent the major attacking aspect of Quidditch, passing and intercepting the Quaffle to gain the chance to shoot at goal. The Keeper guards his or her (Quidditch is played by both sexes without segregation) team's goalposts from attack, and generally stays within his team's scoring area. A goal, which can be scored in any of the three hoops, gains the scorer's team ten points.
Since it is difficult to take the Quaffle directly from another's grip (although this move is allowed), the two Beaters on each team try to force the opponents to drop the Quaffle, allowing it to come into the possession of their own team's Chasers. They do this by hitting the Bludgers at their opponents with their bats (which are like those used in rounders, though magically reinforced). The Beaters' most important job, however, is defending their own team from Bludger attacks.
The seventh and final player is the Seeker. He or she is usually small and light, and this is the role Harry Potter plays for Gryffindor House in the books. The Seekers attempt to catch the Golden Snitch: this is no easy task, considering its great speed. The Snitch is worth 150 points and ends the game, often giving the catcher's team a win. This is felt by many fans to be a plot device to allow Harry to be as single-handedly responsible for his team's victory as possible, although it is likely that in many games (such as the 1994 World Cup Final) there is a gap of more than 150 points between the two teams after play has continued for a period of time, therefore placing the losing team's Seeker's skill in distracting his opponent from catching the Snitch.
There are over 700 fouls in Quidditch, although ninety percent of them are impossible due to the ban on using magic wands on other players. Quidditch is overseen by a referee, airborne like the players, who may award a free shot at goal (a 'penalty') to teams who are the victims of rule-breakages.
At least at school level, goal difference (points scored minus points conceded) appears to be important in where teams finish in the league table. Some fans say that it is the final decider for where teams finish; others argue that the number of games won is predominant, but goal difference comes into play when two teams are vying for a place. This happens quite regularly in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup: twice have Gryffindor won the League whilst losing a game.
House Teams
Note that these teams include several players who have left Hogwarts, and do not include present players who are not mentioned by name in the books.
Gryffindor
\n*Katie Bell\n*Angelina Johnson\n*Andrew Kirke\n*Harry Potter\n*James Potter\n*Jack Sloper\n*Alicia Spinnet\n*Oliver Wood\n*Charlie Weasley\n*Fred Weasley\n*George Weasley\n*Ginny Weasley\n*Ron Weasley
Slytherin
\n*Bletchley \n*Bole \n*Vincent Crabbe\n*Derrick\n*Marcus Flint\n*Gregory Goyle\n*Terence Higgs\n*Draco Malfoy\n*Montague\n*Adrian Pucey\n*Warrington
Ravenclaw
\n*Cho Chang\n*Roger Davies
Hufflepuff
\n*Cedric Diggory\n*Zacharias Smith\n*Summerby
Commentator
\n*Lee Jordan
League Teams
\n*Appleby Arrows\n*Ballycastle Bats\n*Caerphilly Catapults\n*Chudley Cannons\n*Falmouth Falcons\n*Holyhead Harpies\n*Kenmare Kestrels\n*Montrose Magpies\n*Pride of Portree\n*Puddlemere United\n*Tutshill Tornados\n*Wigtown Wanderers\n*Wimbourne Wasps
See also List of Quidditch Teams.
Reference
\n* Quidditch Through the Ages, Kennilworthy Whisp/J. K. Rowling, ISBN 0747554714
Category:Harry Potter\n
