If you’ve read the “Harry Potter” books or seen the movies, you know that Quidditch is a sport played by witches and wizards that involves flying on broomsticks.
In 2005, students at Middlebury College in Vermont invented the real-life or “Muggle” version, which resembles a combination of basketball and rugby with elements of hockey and dodgeball mixed in.
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sport is gaining momentum; hundreds of colleges and dozens of high schools have teams. There’s even a 16-team professional league, major league quidditch (chicago doesn’t have a team yet), as well as international competitions.
To make sense of the organized chaos you’ll see if you ever watch a match, Redeye collected the brains of Matt Coyle and Chloe Streif, co-captains of the Columbia University Quidditch team.
the court
Quidditch is played on a grass field with a soft boundary area 60 yards long and 36 yards wide; this is where most of the action takes place, although the enclosed area is 84 yards long by 48 yards wide. there are three hoops of different heights at each end of the field. the corners are similar to a hockey rink in that they are curved. there are areas designated as goalkeeper zones and penalty areas.
the team
There are five balls in play during Quidditch matches: the Quaffle, which is a volleyball; three bludgers or dodgeballs; and the snitch, a tennis ball. the quaffle is used to score points, while the bludgers are used to temporarily “knock out” other players. the snitch is the ball that must be caught to end the game.
each player must have a broom between their legs at all times. Padding that makes a “bump sound” when a referee hits it with an object is not allowed. so no football helmets, shoulder pads or anything like that. cups are allowed, as are padded helmets. brooms cannot be used to contact other players.
the players
1 goalkeeper (green headband): watch the three rings
“There are several ways to play goalie,” said Coyle, who plays the position for Columbia. “For example, I have a goalie on my team who’s almost 6 feet tall and has the lankiest legs I’ve ever seen, so he runs and is almost like a fourth chaser. In the meantime, my strategy is to stay back and be a quarterback calling plays, calling what I see on the field, telling people to pick up other chasers, stuff like that.”
3 Chasers (White Belts): Try to score points with the Quaffle
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“They need to have good energy and stamina to be able to run really fast and get to the other side of the field,” streif said. “They also need to be able to catch the ball very well, fool other chasers, and have good aim to score.”
2 scouts (black belts): throw bludgers to “knock out” opponents
“They’re going to be a little better at aiming, especially aiming at smaller, moving targets like feet,” said streif, a scout from columbia. “They dodge and dodge a lot and they also need aggressiveness and awareness. They also need to be able to catch the bludger to avoid getting knocked out.”
1 seeker (golden headband): try to catch the golden snitch
“Seeker is probably the hardest position to play,” Coyle said. “You need to have the stamina of a chaser and not get discouraged when they beat you because one strategy that a lot of teams do is employ a defensive seeker to try and get points back. When they do that, it’s seeker on seeker with a potential striker to try to prevent the opposing seeker annotate”.
also: the snitch
every match has a snitch, a person dressed in yellow who wears a sock with a tennis ball tied to the back of the waist. To “catch the snitch,” a seeker has to catch the ball as he would another player’s flag in flag football.
the snitch is a volunteer and often a player from one of the teams in the match. that person is expected to be unbiased to prevent seekers from catching the ball. in tournaments, the snitch is usually a person who is not on any team competing at the time. Certified snitches are also available throughout the US. uu. quidditch association, which is often the preferred situation if teams can accommodate one for matches.
Note: Only Guardians and Hunters can wield the Quaffle. only beaters can handle bludgers. only seekers can catch the snitch.
the maximum gender rule
quidditch, including governing bodies such as the u.s. quidditch, prides itself on being inclusive. To do this, it uses what is known as the rule of maximum gender. according to the usa quidditch website, no more than four players per team who identify as the same gender may be on the field at one time; that number increases to five when seekers are in play.
furthermore, “usq embraces those who do not identify within the binary gender system and recognizes that not all of our players identify as male or female.”
how to play
The team that scores the most points wins. Teams score points in two ways: when the Chasers throw the Quaffle through one of the hoops from either side of the hoop (10 points), and when a team’s Seeker catches the Snitch (30 points). the snitch enters the game at 18 minutes into each match. the match ends when the snitch is caught.
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The game begins with the quaffle and bludgers in midfield, and at the referee’s signal, each team runs to gain possession.
once a goal is scored, the goalkeeper of the team that just scored takes possession and play resumes from there.
beaters throw bludgers at opposing players to get “knockouts” or “punches”. when that happens, a player who has been “won” must run to his end of the field, touch one of his hoops, and “remount” his broom.
Any player holding a ball when it is “won” must drop it immediately.
what to expect
either at a college tournament, like the one held at columbia university in november. 12, or any other organized event, there are common threads in Quidditch matches.
The game is extremely physical. Players can tackle each other, reach out and do almost anything to take a Quaffle or Bludger from an opponent or to prevent the other team from scoring. however, you do not have to relinquish possession of a ball unless you are “won”.
As for contact, players can’t tackle an opponent who can’t see them. You also cannot lift an opposing player off the ground or tackle a player who is in the air.
Players who commit fouls are sent to a penalty box, sometimes (resulting in power plays). if the offense is serious enough, players can be sent off.
“Last year at a tournament, we had three or four concussions in three or four games,” Coyle said. “…it’s a nice environment, but it’s very intense.”
You won’t see any robes. At least, the players don’t wear them. although the sport is based on a fictional magical pastime, shorts and t-shirts are required. As for the viewers, anything goes with clothes.
communication is key. “if [teams] can simulate and rotate around bludgers and other chasers very well and if you see them score fairly easily, [you know they’re a good team] streif said.”[good teams have] great communication, pass [the quaffle] back and forth and around other chasers, and get to the hoop without anyone getting beaten.”
Scores can go up there. Coyle said he’s seen varsity teams can score in the 150-200 point range, while major league quidditch matches can see a team score around 300 points.
No knowledge of “Harry Potter” is required. “We have players who have never seen or read ‘Harry Potter,’ some of whom are captains,” Coyle said.
@redeyesportschi | chsosa@redeyechicago.com
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