What is Quidditch? The Rules of Quidditch Explained.

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What is Quidditch? The Rules of Quidditch Explained. 


"The object of the game is to score more points than the opposing team".



Quidditch:

Quidditch is a new sport loosely based from the Harry Potter books, that has become popular worldwide. The field of play is roughly 60 yards long and 36 yards wide, with 3 hoops situated at each end of the field. Teams must have a minimum of 7 players, with 6 players taking to field at the start of the game. They consists of 3 chasers (wearing white headbands), 2 beaters (wearing black headbands) and 1 keeper wearing a green headband. They also have a seeker wearing a yellow headband who isn’t active until the 18th minute.



The Rules of Quidditch:

When a player is actively playing on the field, they MUST run with a broom between their legs. The chasers on each team will try and get the Quaffle, which is similar to a volleyball. To score points, you must throw the Quaffle through one the opposing team’s hoops. You are allowed to run with ball, pass it to a teammate, or kick it in any direction. Chasers can throw Quaffle through any hoop, and in any direction. If you successfully throw the ball through the hoop, this scores 10 points. There is only one Quaffle on the field, and it’s predominantly the job of chasers to try & score points. The keeper can also score points just like a chaser, but their main job is to defend their own hoops.

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The keeper is the only player who is immune from being tackled so long as they are standing in their own goal area. Opposing chasers and keepers can try and stop Quaffle carrier by tackling. Just like in Rugby, a player can grab below the shoulders and pull them to the ground. You can also bump, block and distract the Quaffle carrier from the front. The job of the Beaters is to knock out opposing players by throwing a Bludger at them. 

A bludger is a solid coloured dodgeball and there are three of them in play at all times. If they hit an opposing player with a bludger, that player MUST drop any ball they are carrying, dismount their brooms, and run back and touch their hoops in order to be eligible to play again. This is known as ‘dismounting’ or ‘knocking out’ a player. Beaters are not allowed to touch or interfere with the Quaffle in anyway shape or form. And chasers and keepers cannot play with bludgers. At the 17th minute, a snitch runner (dressed in yellow) is introduced into the game. The snitch runner is neutral person, independent from either team. They will be tagged with a snitch – which is a ball in a yellow sock. Their job is to avoid capture for as long as humanly possible. Because at the 18th minute the seekers of each team are eligible to play. 



The seekers job is to catch the snitch, and when one of them has possession of the snitch, this awards their team 30 points and the game ends there. Highest score when the snitch is caught wins. If the game ends in a tie, (depending on your governing body), extra periods may be played to determine the winner. That’s a lot to take in, but there’s a few other things you’ll need to know before playing or watching Quidditch.



For example.

Substitution:

There are unlimited substitutions in Quidditch and a team may have up to 14 substitutes on the bench. To do this, an active player (who hasn’t been knocked out) must leave the field on play before a substitute can come on. Players can also switch roles during play by exchanging headbands, but they must both be active to do so. 



Gender:

A Team must have a maximum of 4 players that identify as the same gender. This number increases to 5 once the seekers enter the game. This makes Quidditch one of the few sports that is both co-ed and allows the participation of players who do not identify with the binary gender system.

Foul: 

Fouls occur when players do things that are against the rules of the game. Players who commit fouls face different consequences depending on the severity. A back to hoops foul indicates that a player must stop and return to their hoops, as though they have been knocked out. A yellow card indicates that a player must spend one minute in the penalty box, with their team playing short-handed. And a red card indicates that a player is ejected from the game. Two yellow cards equals one red card. Some organisations use a blue card, which is similar to a yellow card but two blue cards do not equal a red. 



Advantage:

If the referee thinks that stopping play due to a foul would provide an unfair advantage to the offending team, the referee may call advantage by raising one hand straight into the air. This lets the play resume as normal with no foul being called. 

Speaking Captain:

A team must designate one person to be the captain, or speaking captain of the team. They are the only player from a team that is allowed to speak to the referee. If decisions need to be made pertaining to disputed fouls, substitutions and which player serves time in the penalty box for multiple infractions, the speaking captain makes the decision.

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