Quidditch

1. Quidditch By Matt Mason

2. The Game The game is a fictional sport created in the harry potter series. The game consists of 7 players ( 3 chasers, 2 beaters, 1 keeper and 1 seeker) It is played on an oval shaped pitched with three hoops on big posts’ on either side of the field, with players flying around over the field on broomsticks. There is 3 types of balls, 2 bludgers, 1 quaffle, and the golden snitch. The aim of the game is to get the most points by the end of the game, you get 10 points by throwing the quaffle through a hoop, the game is ended 150 points is awarded to the seekers team.

3. Quaffle The Golden Snitch Bludger There is 2 bludgers, they are enchanted to chase after players trying to knock them off there broom and injure them. The 2 beaters are given bats too hit them off. There is 1 quaffle, it floats through the air, and the chasers, must try and get the quaffle and throw it through the hoops for 10 points There is 1 snitch, this is the most important, the seekers must chase the snitch around the pitch and try to catch it. Catching this ends the game. It fly's incredibly fast and is very hard to see.

4. Chasers Seekers Keeper Beaters There are 3 chasers in a team, there job is simple, try to stay on their brooms, and get the quaffle’s through the hoops. They are the ones on the team that must work together the most There are 2 beaters in a team, they are given bats and fly around trying to hit the bludgers at the opposition team trying to knock them off their brooms There is 1 seeker on a team, they could be called the most important player, they must chase the snitch around the pitch trying to garb hold of it, once they do, the game is ended and they usually win. There is 1 keeper on a team, they must guard the hoops, to try and make sure the opposition team does not get the quaffle through them. The keeper as well as the rest of them team, can easily get badly hit by a quaffle or bludger hitting them.

5. Broomsticks Broomsticks are what separates quidditch from other sports, they are what the players ride, and they come in many different sorts, the two best well known and they two best in the wizarding world are the nimbus 2000 and the firebolt.

6. The pitch The pitch, is what quidditch is played over, it has the dimensions of 150m by 55m.

7. Evolution of the Flying Broomstick Records back up the fact that witches and wizards in Europe had been using the Flying Broomstick since as early as AD 962. The first flying broomsticks are described as, ‘A thick knotty handle of unvarnished ash, with hazel twigs bound crudely to one en, it is neither comfortable nor aerodynamic’.

8. Ancient Broom Games Sports with brooms, were involved as soon as brooms could turn corners, and vary their speed and height. There is the annual broom race of Sweden, The German game of Stichstock, The Ireland game of Aingingein, Shuntbumpsin Devon England, and Swivenhodge in Herefordshire are games which stand out in ancient broom sports.

9. Stichstock A twenty foot high pole that held a inflated dragon bladder. The bladder guardian is tied to the pole and can not go ten feet away. The rest of the team would fly at the bladder trying to puncture the bladder with specially sharpened ends of there brooms before the other team did, the guardians were allowed to use magic, to try and defend the bladder. When one bladder was destroyed the game was finished.

10. Aingingein One by one, the players would take the ball, and speed, through burning barrels that were held up by stilts, when at the end, the player must throw the ball through he final barrel, whoever did this in the fastest time was the winner.

11. Shuntbumps • The sole aim of this game is to knock as many of the other players off their brooms , the last person that was still on their broom after all other players had been knocked off their brooms was the winner.

12. Swivenhodge • This involved an inflated bladder (usually a pigs), players sat backwards on their brooms battling the bladder back and fourth across a hedge with the brush ends of there brooms. The first person to miss, a point was given to the opposition, first to reach 50 points was the winner.

13. Professional Quidditch There is a professional league of quidditch. There is many national teams, two are the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team and the Irish National Quidditch Team. There is a quidditch world cup held at the end of each season which the top 2 teams compete in.

14. Quidditch at Hogwarts • Hogwarts is known to have one of the best quidditch teams out of all schools, they have some of the best players, and there second last team, before the epic battle of good and bad, is known to be the best they have ever seen, it consisted of, Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Fred and George Weasly, Ginny Weasly, and last of all their famous seeker Harry Potter

15. Hogwarts Quidditch Cup Winners • 1991/1992- Ravenclaw • 1992/1993- Cancelled, said unsafe to play. • 1993/1994- Gryffindor • 1994/1995- Cancelled, due to Triwizard Tournament. • 1995/1996- Gryffindor • 1996/1997- Gryffindor • 1997/1998- Never played.

16. Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup • Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup was produced in 2003 by EA and EA Sports, it features the 4 Hogwarts teams that you can play as, than you can also play in the World Cup, this is what the game is based around