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Quidditch is an integral part of theHarry Potterseries. It’s the main wizarding sport, and because it becomes one of Harry’s main interests, it factors into a large part of the plot. Quidditch has become a sensation in fan circles as well, with many real-life Quidditch leagues forming for fans of the books who happen to be on the sportier side as well.
However, because it wasa sport made up for theHarry Potterseries, it can be tough to remember all the rules, especially since a lot of them are strange compared to typical sports rules. This is a handy little guide to the basics of Quidditch, including the positions, how to score points, what counts as a foul, and some interesting strategies that players use to bring their team to victory.
What Are The Quidditch Positions?
There are seven players on every Quidditch team: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The Chasers handle the main ball, the Quaffle, and attempt to score on the other team’s goal. The Keeper is in charge of goalkeeping and stopping the other team’s Chasers from scoring. The game also involves two balls called Bludgers, which fly through the air and attempt to knock the players off of their brooms.The Beaters are responsible for hitting the Bludgerswith their bats to defend their teammates and keep the Bludgers away from them. The Seeker spends the match looking for the Golden Snitch, a small ball that flies very quickly, and will attempt to get it before the opposing team’s Seeker.
What Are The Rules of Quidditch?
Much like other sports games, the goal is to throw a ball through a goal to earn points for your team. The Chasers hold onto the Quaffle and attempt to score in the other team’s goal while the Keepers defend against them. Each goal scored with the Quaffle is worth 10 points. At the beginning of the game, all the balls are released onto the pitch, with the Bludgers and Snitch flying off on their own while the Quaffle is tossed in the air by a referee.
The thing that distinguishes Quidditch from most real-life sports is that there’s technically no limit on how long the games can be. The game can only endonce the Golden Snitch is caught(or if both Captains come to an agreement, as these games could go on for days if the Snitch had not yet been caught by the Seekers). The Snitch moves quickly and is hard to see, which is why the Seeker’s job is difficult and important. Catching the Snitch ends the game and earns 150 points for the team of the Seeker that caught it. The winner of the game is the team with the most points, regardless of who caught the Snitch. It was possible to catch it and still lose, if the other team had more points to begin with.
Quidditch Fouls
According to theHarry Potterseries, there were over 700 Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records. However, ten fouls were more common and tended to occur the most:
Quidditch Strategies
Various Quidditch strategieshave been attempted and proven to be successful over the years, including these moves:
Famous Quidditch Players In Harry Potter
Many of the characters inHarry Potter, specifically the students at Hogwarts, are on their house’s Quidditch team, including Harry himself, Ron Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Oliver Wood, Draco Malfoy,Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Angelina Johnson, Cormac McLaggen, and James Potter. There were also a couple of characters who were professional Quidditch players at some point. Viktor Krum was the Seeker for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team, which is a plot point inHarry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. After the end of the series, it is revealed in ancillary material that Ginny Weasley went on to play Quidditch professionally as a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, an all-female Quidditch team.
Harry Potter
When Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard, he enters a world beyond belief. Aside from continuing his studies at Hogwarts with best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must also face Voldemort and his dark wizarding forces. The Harry Potter franchise is a worldwide phenomenon, spanning seven books, eight movies, three spinoff movies, a stage play, and numerous video games.
