Quidditch
Encyclopedia
Quidditch is a fictional sport developed by British author J. K. Rowling
for the Harry Potter
series of novels. It is described as an extremely rough, but very popular, semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls and six elevated ring-shaped goals three on each side of the Quidditch Pitch (field). In the Harry Potter universe
, Quidditch holds a fervent following similar to the position that association soccer holds as a globally popular sport.
The sport is featured in every Harry Potter book except for the seventh, when Harry Potter
is preoccupied in fighting Voldemort. Harry plays an important position for his house team at Hogwarts
as the seeker
and soon becomes the captain in the sixth book. Regional and international competitions are mentioned throughout the series. In Goblet of Fire, Quidditch at Hogwarts is cancelled for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but Harry and the Weasleys attend the Quidditch World Cup. In addition, Harry uses his Quidditch skills to capture a golden egg from a dragon called the Hungarian Horntail (in the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament), to capture a flying key in Sorcerer's Stone, and on two key occasions in Deathly Hallows—getting hold of Ravenclaw's Diadem, and during the final fight with Voldemort—the "unerring skill of the Seeker" is vitally useful to him in snatching an object out of the air. Harry Potter owns two broomsticks, the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt.
The sport has been adapted under the name of "Muggle Quidditch
" (or simply "Quidditch") to the real world. Since at least 2003, Harry Potter fans have played ball games resembling the Harry Potter sport. In the United States, teams from more than 200 colleges are affiliated with the International Quidditch Association and play tournaments. Quidditch tournaments are a mainstay of Harry Potter Conventions, such as Nimbus 2003, The Witching Hour, and, most recently, Infinitus 2010 and Corbin Fowler's Potterfest, hosted at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania during the autumn of 2011.
- 3 chasers to score with the quaffle.
- 2 beaters who are equipped with two battons to hit the bludgers away from their teammates
- 1 keeper to protect the hoops
- 1 seeker to catch the golden snitch
) or in a fully encircling platform, and the "top box" is considered the most prestigious place for a spectator to be seated. The British stadium that is shown for the 1994 Quidditch World Cup in the film version of Goblet of Fire
is of this latter style, which appears similar to modern football or athletics stadium, albeit that the seating continues to curve upwards beyond the vertical, almost enclosing the pitch. Both the Hogwarts and World Cup pitches have been shown turfed with grass. The surface is used primarily for launching off at the beginning of the game, and on occasion for falling onto when players are dismounted from their brooms. Seekers, who sometimes fly close to the pitch surface, can be tricked into crashing into the surface occasionally at great speed (when tricked into doing so by the opposing seeker, it is known as the Wronski feint).
), bright red in color, and approximately 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter, and about the weight of a soccer ball but hollow. It is explained in Quidditch Through the Ages
that the Quaffle is enchanted to fall very slowly through the air when dropped to prevent players having to continuously dive to retrieve it. The backstory of Quidditch explains that the red color was instituted to create a stronger contrast between the Quaffle and mud. The Quaffle is also enchanted to make it easy to grip with only one hand. There is only one quaffle, unlike the bludgers. If the chaser throws it through the hoop they score 10 points for their team.
, which makes them unable to change speed or direction swiftly. Their purpose in the game is to be an obstacle: they fly around attempting to knock players off their brooms indiscriminately ,it is the Beater's job to protect their teammates from the Bludgers and at the same time aim them towards the opposing players. While it is possible to enchant them to seek out specific targets, as Dobby the house elf had done in Harry's second year, it is illegal in the rules of the game. When Dobby tampered with the Bludger, it was put under a jinx to follow Harry and Harry only. This particular Bludger actually ended up breaking Harry's arm. The Bludgers do most of the damage in the game of Quidditch; they will occasionally injure players and break brooms. A correctly bewitched Bludger with no jinxes will not side with a team; they will instead alternate teams after they try and knock a player from one team off their broom.
describes an instance in which the team captains agreed to end the game without the capture of the Snitch, as the game had gone on for several months, and the captains were unhappy with their respective Seekers' performances.) Games have been known to last for months, so it is of key importance to catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible. It is also explained in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that the Snitch has a "flesh memory", able to recall the first person who has touched it, and will respond only to the first person who caught it. This helps when there is a dispute about who caught the snitch first. Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow was the first person to fashion a Golden Snitch, replacing the Golden Snidget bird, a magical creature resembling a hummingbird
, also mentioned in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
, which was previously used in the game, but was replaced due to animal cruelty issues. No other player aside from the Seeker is allowed to touch the Snitch, and referees and Snitch makers wear gloves when handling them. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore leaves to Harry in his will the first Snitch Harry had caught, inside of which he had hidden the Resurrection Stone.
The Chasers progress up and down the pitch passing the Quaffle by hand amongst themselves while keeping it away from the other team, in an attempt to score goals by throwing it through one of their opponent's three goal hoops which scoring 10 points. In this respect, the game is similar, as Harry suggests in the first book
, to "basketball on broomsticks with six hoops".
The Keeper will protect the three goal hoops, in much the same way as a goalkeeper in football (soccer).
The Beaters are armed with wooden clubs that are similar to, but shorter than, baseball bat
s. They are tasked with protecting their team-mates and the seeker (mainly) from the Bludgers by knocking these balls off course or towards opponents.
Finally, the Seeker, usually the lightest member of the team and equipped with the fastest broom, is tasked for searching for and capturing The Golden Snitch. Seekers are the only players permitted to touch the Snitch. The seekers, like Harry Potter, are usually small, agile, and stealthy.
Each team includes a captain, who may play any of the four roles. The captain helps the team practise and chooses the team players after the tryouts.
as Seeker the following year. A Firebolt is an advanced professional-level flying broomstick and the most expensive and fastest racing broom in existence. It is said that they are the best in the world. They can even fly out of the atmosphere
if the weather conditions are fair. Harry gets one from his godfather, Sirius Black
, after his Nimbus 2000 was destroyed during a Quidditch match in his third year after falling in a storm. Comets and Cleansweeps are cheaper than the Nimbuses and are more common. (The latter, however, has been identified as still a decent broom.) A Shooting Star is another brand of broom, but it is considered to be slow and out of style. Another broomstick series called The Bluebottle was introduced in the advertisements at the Quidditch World Cup, it was described as a family broom, with safety devices such as an anti-theft alarm. There is also another brand called Silver Arrows, as mentioned in Quidditch Through the Ages
, along with the Tinderblast, Swiftstick, and Twigger 90, and the Oakshaft 79. The Oakshaft is the broom famed for its journey across the Atlantic
and the Moontrimmer was popular because it was still controllable at extremely high altitudes. During a Quidditch training session in the third book, Madam Hooch mentioned that she learned to fly on a Silver Arrow and that it was a fine broom.
Chasers score by sending the red, football-sized Quaffle through any of the three goal hoops. Each goal scored is worth ten points. After a goal is scored, the Keeper of the team scored upon throws the Quaffle back into play. Capturing the Snitch earns the Seeker's team 150 points, equivalent to 15 goals scored by Chasers. Since the game ends immediately after the Snitch is caught, the team capturing the Snitch is very likely to win the game. However, teams are ranked according to points scored, not games won. For example, at Hogwarts, the team with the most points at the end of the year wins the Quidditch Cup. There are only two occasions in the books when the team that catches the Snitch loses: once during the Quidditch World Cup, when Viktor Krum of Bulgaria catches the Snitch, and once when Ginny Weasley replaces Harry as Seeker after he has been banned from playing by Dolores Umbridge. It is never explained why a Seeker would catch the Snitch in a situation where doing so would give the victory to the other team, i.e., the leading team's score exceeds the losing team's by 160 points, instead of simply waiting for the score to change. If teams are ranked according to points scored, however, a team that knows it cannot hope to catch up to the winning team might favour quickly catching the Snitch (also ending the game) so as to end the game before any more points are scored and hence reduce the lead in point difference obtained by the winning team, so that it is easier to win them back in subsequent matches. It is suggested that Viktor Krum catches the Snitch during the World Cup to "end [the match] on his own terms".
All seven players must constantly avoid both being hit by the Bludgers (which attempt to attack them) and accidental contact with the Golden Snitch (which is a foul if anyone but a Seeker touches it).
The length of a Quidditch game is variable, as play can only end with the capture of the Golden Snitch by one of the Seekers or by mutual consent of the two team captains. The game length is therefore determined largely by the Seekers' abilities. The shortest game ever is described as lasting three and a half seconds, with the score obviously being 150–0 (Seeker Roderick Plumpton catches the Snitch at the mentioned time.) Some games can go on for days, and even months, if the Snitch is not caught. The longest game recorded supposedly lasted three months.
International renowned player Patrick Mckenzie of Scotland is the only known player to commit more than half of these in one match, with multiple offenses.
.
At first, the bludgers had no human opponents on the pitch, but Beaters were introduced not long afterwards. As the heavy bats had the unfortunate tendency to shatter the boulders into flying gravel, the first metal Bludgers replaced them almost immediately. They were originally made of lead, but in the 15th century, magically reinforced beaters bats were introduced. They are currently made of iron. The final modification to the original "Kwidditch" was to set up three half-barrels
at either end of the pitch as scoring targets (previously trees had been used for this purpose). The one missing element from this ancient game was the Golden Snitch.
) came as the direct result of a game played in 1269 in Kent
. By this time, the game had attracted a cult following, and large crowds regularly attended matches.
Barberus Bragge, the Chief of the Wizards’ Council, attended the 1269 game. As a nod to the sport of Snidget-hunting, which was also popular at the time, Bragge brought a Snidget to the game and released it from its cage. He told the players that 150 Galleons – then an enormous sum of money – would be awarded to the player who caught the bird. As the promise of such a large reward would suggest, the players thence totally ignored the game, and simply went off in pursuit of the Snidget, which was kept within the arena by the crowd using Repelling Charms.
A witch named Modesty Rabnott took pity on the Snidget and rescued it with a Summoning Charm, but the connection with Quidditch had been made, and soon a Snidget was being released at every game. Each team added an extra player – originally called the Hunter, later re-named the Seeker – whose sole job was to catch and kill the Snidget, for which 150 points were awarded in memory of the 150 Galleons offered by Bragge in the original game. The popularity of Quidditch led to quickly declining Snidget numbers, and in the middle of the 14th century it was made a protected species by the Wizard's Council. This meant that the bird could no longer be used for Quidditch purposes. The game, however, could not continue without a substitute.
Whilst most people looked for a suitable alternative bird to chase, a metal-charmer called Bowman Wright from Godric's Hollow invented a fake Snidget which he called the Golden Snitch: a golden ball with silver wings, the same size and weight as a real Snidget, enchanted to accurately follow its flight patterns. An additional benefit was that the ball was also charmed to stay within the playing area. The Snitch was also given a "flesh memory", allowing it to remember who touched it first in order to leave no dispute as to who caught it. The Snitch quickly became the approved replacement for the Snidget, and the game of Quidditch has remained largely unchanged ever since.
By 1620, scoring areas had been added at each end of the pitch, and an additional rule in the game dictated that only one Chaser was allowed in these areas at any given time. In addition, the size of the baskets themselves had reduced considerably, although there was still a certain amount of variation between pitches. Regulations were finally introduced in 1883, which replaced the baskets with hoops of a fixed size.
This team was often referred to, in the books, as the best team Hogwarts had ever seen.
No Quidditch Cup tournament was held in Year 4 (Goblet of Fire) because of the Triwizard Tournament being hosted by Hogwarts.
Harry and the Weasley twins were banned from playing Quidditch for life by Dolores Umbridge for being involved in a fight with Draco Malfoy after the Gryffindor-Slytherin game. Subsequently the seeker spot was taken over by Ginny Weasley, while Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper became the new beaters. Following Umbridge's removal from the school, Harry's ban was lifted, so he could play again in the next year.
Ron Weasley and Katie Bell both became unintended victims of Draco Malfoy's attempts to kill Dumbledore
, and while they were unable to play, their spots in the team were taken over by Cormac McLaggen and Dean Thomas. After they were healed, they both returned to the team. Snape
banned Harry from the season’s last game for cursing Malfoy. Therefore, for that game, Ginny Weasley played as a seeker, and her position as chaser was taken over by Dean Thomas.
.
Despite this, Ireland does not feature in the QWC video game.
The current Bulgarian National Team recently lost their key utility player/beater, Patrick McKenzie after he assaulted the Irish Seeker, Aidan Lynch, with his bat during the international friendly match in 2008. Patrick McKenzie now plays for the Fitchburg Finches.
In Half-Blood Prince
(2009), Quidditch players are seen to use a flying wedge formation to advance the quaffles toward the goal.
Quidditch was absent entirely from Order of the Phoenix
(2007) and The Deathly Hallows, Part I (2010). In Goblet of Fire
, only before and after the Quidditch World Cup are seen. In The Deathly Hallows, Part II (2011) the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch is seen only in a single shot, on fire.
In the 2003 video game Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
, the rule of only having a single Chaser in the scoring area is not enforced. Additionally, the game allows players to make special moves whereby several goals are scored in succession as multiple Chasers pass the Quaffle back and forwards through the hoops, whereas the rules dictate that after a goal is scored, possession passes to the Keeper.
In the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
attraction in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure
theme park, quidditch is featured near the end where riders are flown through the quidditch pitch. A storefront near Ollivanders Wand Shop is themed as a quidditch supply with a golden snitch on the sign and a case containing animated quaffle and bludgers surrounded by beaters bats.
and, as a minority, Europe – a clear reference to American football
and its relative, Canadian football
. Quodpot has never been mentioned in the novels, but it is described in Quidditch Through the Ages. There are eleven players on a side, who throw the Quod, a Quaffle modified to explode after a certain amount of time, from player to player, attempting to get it into the "pot" at the end of the pitch before it explodes. Any player in possession of the Quod when it explodes is disqualified. Once the Quod is in the "pot" (a cauldron containing a solution which prevents it from exploding), the scoring team is awarded a point and a new Quod is brought onto the pitch.
A street in Lower Cambourne, Cambridgeshire
, England is named Quidditch Lane, supposedly after a type of nearby dry ditch called a Quidditch. Fans have been known to visit the area.
Also, some American Muggle
schools, such as Polytechnic School
, in California, have added Quidditch to their list of team sports.
Quidditch as grown in the USA dramatically however, there is even and IQA (International Quidditich Association). They host World Cups every year where teams from different countries travel to play each other, the 2011 World Cup had close to 100 teams and was held on Randall Island in New York.
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
for the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series of novels. It is described as an extremely rough, but very popular, semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls and six elevated ring-shaped goals three on each side of the Quidditch Pitch (field). In the Harry Potter universe
Wizarding world
The fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
, Quidditch holds a fervent following similar to the position that association soccer holds as a globally popular sport.
The sport is featured in every Harry Potter book except for the seventh, when Harry Potter
Harry Potter (character)
Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard...
is preoccupied in fighting Voldemort. Harry plays an important position for his house team at Hogwarts
Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
as the seeker
Seeker
Seeker may refer to:Religion* Seeker, a member of the 17th century religious group the Seekers, a forerunner of the Quakers*Seeker, a person perceived by Quakers as likely to become an adherent and thus come to be a "convinced Friend"Fictional characters...
and soon becomes the captain in the sixth book. Regional and international competitions are mentioned throughout the series. In Goblet of Fire, Quidditch at Hogwarts is cancelled for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but Harry and the Weasleys attend the Quidditch World Cup. In addition, Harry uses his Quidditch skills to capture a golden egg from a dragon called the Hungarian Horntail (in the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament), to capture a flying key in Sorcerer's Stone, and on two key occasions in Deathly Hallows—getting hold of Ravenclaw's Diadem, and during the final fight with Voldemort—the "unerring skill of the Seeker" is vitally useful to him in snatching an object out of the air. Harry Potter owns two broomsticks, the Nimbus 2000 and the Firebolt.
The sport has been adapted under the name of "Muggle Quidditch
Muggle Quidditch
Muggle Quidditch is a sport based on Quidditch, the fictional sport developed by British author J. K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series of novels. It is popular with fans of the novels, aficionados of fictional sports, and children. The sport was created in Advance, North Carolina.In Muggle...
" (or simply "Quidditch") to the real world. Since at least 2003, Harry Potter fans have played ball games resembling the Harry Potter sport. In the United States, teams from more than 200 colleges are affiliated with the International Quidditch Association and play tournaments. Quidditch tournaments are a mainstay of Harry Potter Conventions, such as Nimbus 2003, The Witching Hour, and, most recently, Infinitus 2010 and Corbin Fowler's Potterfest, hosted at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania during the autumn of 2011.
Players and equipment
On a quidditch team there are 7 players- 3 chasers to score with the quaffle.
- 2 beaters who are equipped with two battons to hit the bludgers away from their teammates
- 1 keeper to protect the hoops
- 1 seeker to catch the golden snitch
Pitches
Quidditch matches are played on (or rather over) an oval-shaped, 500 feet (152.4 m) long and 180 feet (54.9 m) wide pitch, with a small central circle approximately 2 foot (0.6096 m) in diameter. At each end stand three hooped goal posts, each at a different height: one at 30 ft (9.1 m), one at 40 ft (12.2 m), and one at 50 ft (15.2 m), comprising the scoring area. There is also a line that shows mid-field, which is 180 ft (54.9 m). Quidditch fields have white shaded areas around the goalposts, to mark the scoring area and the bounds in which keepers must stay. These are on very few Quidditch fields. Since Quidditch is an aerial sport, Quidditch pitches are shown to feature spectator seating at high vantage points, either in towers (such as at HogwartsHogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or simply Hogwarts is the primary setting for the first six books of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, with each book lasting the equivalent of one school year. It is a fictional boarding school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of...
) or in a fully encircling platform, and the "top box" is considered the most prestigious place for a spectator to be seated. The British stadium that is shown for the 1994 Quidditch World Cup in the film version of Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
is of this latter style, which appears similar to modern football or athletics stadium, albeit that the seating continues to curve upwards beyond the vertical, almost enclosing the pitch. Both the Hogwarts and World Cup pitches have been shown turfed with grass. The surface is used primarily for launching off at the beginning of the game, and on occasion for falling onto when players are dismounted from their brooms. Seekers, who sometimes fly close to the pitch surface, can be tricked into crashing into the surface occasionally at great speed (when tricked into doing so by the opposing seeker, it is known as the Wronski feint).
Quidditch Balls
Quaffle
The Quaffle is spherical in shape (although it is shown with four large dimples in the films, appearing more as a tetrahedronTetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at each vertex. A regular tetrahedron is one in which the four triangles are regular, or "equilateral", and is one of the Platonic solids...
), bright red in color, and approximately 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter, and about the weight of a soccer ball but hollow. It is explained in Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
that the Quaffle is enchanted to fall very slowly through the air when dropped to prevent players having to continuously dive to retrieve it. The backstory of Quidditch explains that the red color was instituted to create a stronger contrast between the Quaffle and mud. The Quaffle is also enchanted to make it easy to grip with only one hand. There is only one quaffle, unlike the bludgers. If the chaser throws it through the hoop they score 10 points for their team.
Bludgers
The two Bludggers are round, jet black balls, made of iron.A Bludger is ten inches in diameter10 inches (25.4 cm). They are described as being bewitched to fly without any visible means of propulsion, although they do retain inertiaInertia
Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest, or the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. It is proportional to an object's mass. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to...
, which makes them unable to change speed or direction swiftly. Their purpose in the game is to be an obstacle: they fly around attempting to knock players off their brooms indiscriminately ,it is the Beater's job to protect their teammates from the Bludgers and at the same time aim them towards the opposing players. While it is possible to enchant them to seek out specific targets, as Dobby the house elf had done in Harry's second year, it is illegal in the rules of the game. When Dobby tampered with the Bludger, it was put under a jinx to follow Harry and Harry only. This particular Bludger actually ended up breaking Harry's arm. The Bludgers do most of the damage in the game of Quidditch; they will occasionally injure players and break brooms. A correctly bewitched Bludger with no jinxes will not side with a team; they will instead alternate teams after they try and knock a player from one team off their broom.
The Golden Snitch
The Golden Snitch, often referred to as simply the Snitch, is a small golden ball the approximate size of a walnut (roughly 1 inches (2.5 cm) in diameter), developed by Bowman Wright (1492–1560). In the films, the wings on the Snitch are gold, although in the books it is described as having silver wings. The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover, dart, and fly around the pitch, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of the playing area. Each team has a designated Seeker (most seekers are the lightest, fastest, and smallest players on their team), whose only task is to capture the Snitch. The seeker who catches the Snitch scores 150 points, and strictly speaking, only the capture of the Snitch will end the game. (However, Quidditch Through The AgesQuidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
describes an instance in which the team captains agreed to end the game without the capture of the Snitch, as the game had gone on for several months, and the captains were unhappy with their respective Seekers' performances.) Games have been known to last for months, so it is of key importance to catch the Golden Snitch as quickly as possible. It is also explained in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that the Snitch has a "flesh memory", able to recall the first person who has touched it, and will respond only to the first person who caught it. This helps when there is a dispute about who caught the snitch first. Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow was the first person to fashion a Golden Snitch, replacing the Golden Snidget bird, a magical creature resembling a hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
, also mentioned in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about the magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe...
, which was previously used in the game, but was replaced due to animal cruelty issues. No other player aside from the Seeker is allowed to touch the Snitch, and referees and Snitch makers wear gloves when handling them. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore leaves to Harry in his will the first Snitch Harry had caught, inside of which he had hidden the Resurrection Stone.
Players
Each team is made up of seven players, consisting of three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and one Seeker.The Chasers progress up and down the pitch passing the Quaffle by hand amongst themselves while keeping it away from the other team, in an attempt to score goals by throwing it through one of their opponent's three goal hoops which scoring 10 points. In this respect, the game is similar, as Harry suggests in the first book
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling and featuring Harry Potter, a young wizard...
, to "basketball on broomsticks with six hoops".
The Keeper will protect the three goal hoops, in much the same way as a goalkeeper in football (soccer).
The Beaters are armed with wooden clubs that are similar to, but shorter than, baseball bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
s. They are tasked with protecting their team-mates and the seeker (mainly) from the Bludgers by knocking these balls off course or towards opponents.
Finally, the Seeker, usually the lightest member of the team and equipped with the fastest broom, is tasked for searching for and capturing The Golden Snitch. Seekers are the only players permitted to touch the Snitch. The seekers, like Harry Potter, are usually small, agile, and stealthy.
Each team includes a captain, who may play any of the four roles. The captain helps the team practise and chooses the team players after the tryouts.
Broomsticks
Magical flying broomsticks are one of the forms of transportation for wizards and witches, as well as for playing Quidditch. Interestingly, Hogwarts Quidditch players are allowed to use whatever broomsticks they like or their sponsors can afford, despite the fact that more expensive brooms often confer great (and arguably unfair) advantages in speed and manoeuvrability. The Nimbus model line has a reputation as one of the best in the Wizarding world. Harry receives a Nimbus 2000 during his first year so that he can play for Gryffindor; Lucius Malfoy buys a full set of the more advanced Nimbus 2001s for the Slytherin team in exchange for choosing his son DracoDraco Malfoy
Draco Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a Slytherin student in Harry Potter's year. He is frequently accompanied by his two accomplices, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen...
as Seeker the following year. A Firebolt is an advanced professional-level flying broomstick and the most expensive and fastest racing broom in existence. It is said that they are the best in the world. They can even fly out of the atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
if the weather conditions are fair. Harry gets one from his godfather, Sirius Black
Sirius Black
Sirius Black is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Sirius was first mentioned briefly in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a wizard who lent Rubeus Hagrid a flying motorbike shortly after Lord Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter...
, after his Nimbus 2000 was destroyed during a Quidditch match in his third year after falling in a storm. Comets and Cleansweeps are cheaper than the Nimbuses and are more common. (The latter, however, has been identified as still a decent broom.) A Shooting Star is another brand of broom, but it is considered to be slow and out of style. Another broomstick series called The Bluebottle was introduced in the advertisements at the Quidditch World Cup, it was described as a family broom, with safety devices such as an anti-theft alarm. There is also another brand called Silver Arrows, as mentioned in Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
, along with the Tinderblast, Swiftstick, and Twigger 90, and the Oakshaft 79. The Oakshaft is the broom famed for its journey across the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Moontrimmer was popular because it was still controllable at extremely high altitudes. During a Quidditch training session in the third book, Madam Hooch mentioned that she learned to fly on a Silver Arrow and that it was a fine broom.
Game progression
The game starts with the referee releasing all four balls from the central circle. The Bludgers and the Snitch, having been bewitched, fly off on their own accord; the Snitch to hide itself quickly, and the Bludgers to attack the nearest players. The Quaffle is thrown into the air by the referee to signal the start of play.Chasers score by sending the red, football-sized Quaffle through any of the three goal hoops. Each goal scored is worth ten points. After a goal is scored, the Keeper of the team scored upon throws the Quaffle back into play. Capturing the Snitch earns the Seeker's team 150 points, equivalent to 15 goals scored by Chasers. Since the game ends immediately after the Snitch is caught, the team capturing the Snitch is very likely to win the game. However, teams are ranked according to points scored, not games won. For example, at Hogwarts, the team with the most points at the end of the year wins the Quidditch Cup. There are only two occasions in the books when the team that catches the Snitch loses: once during the Quidditch World Cup, when Viktor Krum of Bulgaria catches the Snitch, and once when Ginny Weasley replaces Harry as Seeker after he has been banned from playing by Dolores Umbridge. It is never explained why a Seeker would catch the Snitch in a situation where doing so would give the victory to the other team, i.e., the leading team's score exceeds the losing team's by 160 points, instead of simply waiting for the score to change. If teams are ranked according to points scored, however, a team that knows it cannot hope to catch up to the winning team might favour quickly catching the Snitch (also ending the game) so as to end the game before any more points are scored and hence reduce the lead in point difference obtained by the winning team, so that it is easier to win them back in subsequent matches. It is suggested that Viktor Krum catches the Snitch during the World Cup to "end [the match] on his own terms".
All seven players must constantly avoid both being hit by the Bludgers (which attempt to attack them) and accidental contact with the Golden Snitch (which is a foul if anyone but a Seeker touches it).
The length of a Quidditch game is variable, as play can only end with the capture of the Golden Snitch by one of the Seekers or by mutual consent of the two team captains. The game length is therefore determined largely by the Seekers' abilities. The shortest game ever is described as lasting three and a half seconds, with the score obviously being 150–0 (Seeker Roderick Plumpton catches the Snitch at the mentioned time.) Some games can go on for days, and even months, if the Snitch is not caught. The longest game recorded supposedly lasted three months.
Rules
The official rules of Quidditch are partially described in Quidditch Through the Ages. They are said to have been laid down in 1750 by the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Some of the more common rules are as follows:- Players must not stray over the boundary lines of the pitch, although they may fly as high as desired. The Quaffle must be surrendered to the opposition if any player leaves the boundary. Quidditch matches in the Harry Potter films, however, show players often deliberately flying over the boundary lines and even around the spectator towers.
- A time out may be called at any time by a team Captain. It may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch afterward disqualifies the offending team.
- The referee can impose penalties if a foul occurs. A single Chaser from the fouled team takes a penalty shot by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. The opposing team's Keeper may attempt to block this shot, but no other player may interfere, much like a penalty shot in ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. - Contact is allowed, but a player may not grasp another's broomstick or any part of his or her body. (Draco Malfoy breaks this rule in Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The book was published on 8 July 1999. The novel won the 1999 Whitbread Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short-listed for other...
by grabbing Harry's broomtail to stop him from seizing the Snitch.) - No substitution of a player is allowed, even if one is too badly hurt to continue (rare exceptions may be made when the game continues for a great length of time, and players become too fatigued to continue).
- Players may take their wands onto the pitch, but they must not be used on or against any players, any player's broomstick, the referee, any of the four balls, or the spectators. (The right to carry wands at all times was granted during the height of wizard and witch persecution by Muggles, according to Quidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
). - Players shall not attack one another by wand, hand or broom.
Fouls
Rowling writes that there are 700 Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, but most of these fouls are not open to the public, owing to the Department's supposed fear the wizards/witches who read the list of fouls "might get ideas". It is claimed that all 700 occurred during the very first Quidditch World Cup. Apparently, most are now impossible to commit as there is a ban on using wands against an opponent (imposed in 1538). The most common of those fouls which are described are enumerated below.- Blagging: No player may seize any part of an opponent's broom to slow or hinder the player. (Draco Malfoy commits this foul in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, thus preventing Harry from seizing the Snitch.)
- Blatching: No player may fly with the intent to collide. (Substitute Slytherin seeker Harper breaks this rule when he collides into Harry after insulting the latter's friend, and Gryffindor Keeper, Ronald Weasley. This occurs in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.)
- Blurting: No player may lock broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course. (Often occurs whilst playing Slytherin)
- Bumphing: Beaters must not hit Bludgers towards spectators (although Harry jokingly orders one of his Beaters to send one at Zacharias Smith in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), or the Keeper, unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area. (In the first film, however, Marcus Flint, a Chaser, commits this foul with a Beater's bat, and Madam Hooch penalises him for it.)
- Cobbing: Players must not make excessive use of their elbows against opponents. (Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Chaser, commits this foul against the Gryffindor Chaser, Angelina Johnson, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).
- Flacking: Keepers must not defend the posts from behind by punching Quaffles out of the hoops – goals must be defended from the front.
- Haversacking: Chasers must not still be in contact with the Quaffle as it passes through a hoop (the Quaffle must be thrown through).
- Quaffle-pocking: Chasers must not tamper with the Quaffle in any way.
- Snitchnip: No player other than the Seeker may touch or catch the Golden Snitch.
- Stooging: No more than one Chaser is allowed in the scoring area at any one time. (However, game play in Harry Potter: Quidditch World CupHarry Potter: Quidditch World CupHarry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a video game produced by EA Games and EA Sports that features the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise. The user plays in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup competition, competing amongst the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin,...
and the fan-made Q3D permit this behaviour.)
International renowned player Patrick Mckenzie of Scotland is the only known player to commit more than half of these in one match, with multiple offenses.
Fictional history
The backstory of Quidditch is mentioned only in passing in the main Harry Potter books. The majority of information on the origins of the game comes from Quidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
.
Ancient games
Quidditch is explained to be derived from an amalgamation of several fictional ancient games:- Stichstock: Originating in Germany and consisting of a single wizard acting as a guardian or goalkeeper, trying to protect an inflated dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
bladderUrinary bladderThe urinary bladder is the organ that collects urine excreted by the kidneys before disposal by urination. A hollow muscular, and distensible organ, the bladder sits on the pelvic floor...
. A number of other players mounted on broomsticks would attempt to pierce the bladder, with the first who successfully did so being declared the winner; the goalkeeper could attempt to hex the other players; if nobody was able to pierce the bladder, the goalkeeper won. - Aingingein: An Irish game which required broomstick-mounted players to fly through a number of burning barrels set in the air, whilst all the time clutching a ball with one hand. At the end of this fiery course was a goal into which the ball had to be hurled. The wizard who completed the course and scored a goal in the shortest time, without catching fire along the way, was the winner.
- Creaothceann: An exceptionally violent and often fatal game originating in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. A large number of boulders were charmed to hover in the air and each player had a cauldronCauldronA cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...
strapped to the back of his/her head. A horn was sounded, the rocks were released, and the players would fly around on their broomsticks trying to catch as many rocks in their cauldron as possible. The winner was the player who caught the most rocks. - Shuntbumps: A very simple form of broomstick-joustingJoustingJousting is a martial game or hastilude between two knights mounted on horses and using lances, often as part of a tournament.Jousting emerged in the High Middle Ages based on the military use of the lance by heavy cavalry. The first camels tournament was staged in 1066, but jousting itself did not...
where one flyer attempted to knock the other off his broom. - Swivenhodge: Rather like tennis on a broom, this involved hitting an inflated pig's bladder back and forth across a hedge.
Evolution of Quidditch
The name "Quidditch" is supposedly derived from Queerditch Marsher, the location of the first recorded game. The first ball to be introduced was the Quaffle, then a leather ball quite similar to the modern Quaffle, and hence the only playing positions were Chaser and Keeper. Soon afterwards were included in the game flying boulders that had been enchanted to attack players – the first Bludgers.At first, the bludgers had no human opponents on the pitch, but Beaters were introduced not long afterwards. As the heavy bats had the unfortunate tendency to shatter the boulders into flying gravel, the first metal Bludgers replaced them almost immediately. They were originally made of lead, but in the 15th century, magically reinforced beaters bats were introduced. They are currently made of iron. The final modification to the original "Kwidditch" was to set up three half-barrels
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
at either end of the pitch as scoring targets (previously trees had been used for this purpose). The one missing element from this ancient game was the Golden Snitch.
History of the Snitch
The back-story of the Snitch is the most elaborate of all the Quidditch balls, and its introduction (so it is described in Quidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
) came as the direct result of a game played in 1269 in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. By this time, the game had attracted a cult following, and large crowds regularly attended matches.
Barberus Bragge, the Chief of the Wizards’ Council, attended the 1269 game. As a nod to the sport of Snidget-hunting, which was also popular at the time, Bragge brought a Snidget to the game and released it from its cage. He told the players that 150 Galleons – then an enormous sum of money – would be awarded to the player who caught the bird. As the promise of such a large reward would suggest, the players thence totally ignored the game, and simply went off in pursuit of the Snidget, which was kept within the arena by the crowd using Repelling Charms.
A witch named Modesty Rabnott took pity on the Snidget and rescued it with a Summoning Charm, but the connection with Quidditch had been made, and soon a Snidget was being released at every game. Each team added an extra player – originally called the Hunter, later re-named the Seeker – whose sole job was to catch and kill the Snidget, for which 150 points were awarded in memory of the 150 Galleons offered by Bragge in the original game. The popularity of Quidditch led to quickly declining Snidget numbers, and in the middle of the 14th century it was made a protected species by the Wizard's Council. This meant that the bird could no longer be used for Quidditch purposes. The game, however, could not continue without a substitute.
Whilst most people looked for a suitable alternative bird to chase, a metal-charmer called Bowman Wright from Godric's Hollow invented a fake Snidget which he called the Golden Snitch: a golden ball with silver wings, the same size and weight as a real Snidget, enchanted to accurately follow its flight patterns. An additional benefit was that the ball was also charmed to stay within the playing area. The Snitch was also given a "flesh memory", allowing it to remember who touched it first in order to leave no dispute as to who caught it. The Snitch quickly became the approved replacement for the Snidget, and the game of Quidditch has remained largely unchanged ever since.
Quidditch pitch
At the time of the introduction of the Golden Snitch, a standard Quidditch pitch consisted of an elongated oval playing area 500 feet (152.4 m) long and 180 feet (54.9 m) wide. It had a small circle at the centre, approximately 2 feet (61 cm) in diameter, from which all the balls were released at the start of the game. The early barrel-goals had been replaced by baskets on stilts, but whilst these were practical, they did carry an inherent problem: there was no size restriction on the baskets, which differed dramatically from pitch to pitch.By 1620, scoring areas had been added at each end of the pitch, and an additional rule in the game dictated that only one Chaser was allowed in these areas at any given time. In addition, the size of the baskets themselves had reduced considerably, although there was still a certain amount of variation between pitches. Regulations were finally introduced in 1883, which replaced the baskets with hoops of a fixed size.
Hogwarts Quidditch Cup
| Year | Champions | Year | Book | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravenclaw | 1991/92 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling and featuring Harry Potter, a young wizard... |
Ravenclaw hands Gryffindor its worst defeat in centuries when Gryffindor must play without Seeker Harry Potter. |
| 2 | Cancelled | 1992/93 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls on the school's corridors warn that the "Chamber of... |
Deemed unsafe due to the mysterious attacks on students |
| 3 | Gryffindor | 1993/94 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling. The book was published on 8 July 1999. The novel won the 1999 Whitbread Book Award, the Bram Stoker Award, the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and was short-listed for other... |
Cancelled due to Dementor assaults |
| 4 | Cancelled | 1994/95 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, published on 8 July 2000.The novel won a Hugo Award in 2001, the only Harry Potter novel to do so... |
Cancelled due to Triwizard Tournament |
| 5 | Gryffindor | 1995/96 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, and was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada... |
|
| 6 | Gryffindor | 1996/97 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and penultimate novel in the Harry Potter series by British author J. K. Rowling... |
|
| 7 | Never Played | 1997/98 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows | Field destroyed |
Hogwarts teams
A major motif of five of the Harry Potter books is the competition among the four Hogwarts houses for the Quidditch Cup each school year.Years 1–3
The winning Gryffindor Team of Harry Potter Year 3 consisted of:| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Keeper | Oliver Wood (Captain) |
| Centre Chaser | Angelina Johnson |
| Outside Chaser | Katie Bell |
| Outside Chaser | Alicia Spinnet |
| Blind Side Beater | Fred Weasley |
| Open Side Beater | George Weasley |
| Seeker | Harry Potter Harry Potter (character) Harry James Potter is the title character and main protagonist of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Potter who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard... |
This team was often referred to, in the books, as the best team Hogwarts had ever seen.
No Quidditch Cup tournament was held in Year 4 (Goblet of Fire) because of the Triwizard Tournament being hosted by Hogwarts.
Year 5
The winning Gryffindor Team of Harry Potter Year 5 consisted of:| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Keeper | Ron Weasley Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. His first appearance was in the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger... |
| Centre Chaser | Angelina Johnson (Captain) |
| Outside Chaser | Katie Bell |
| Outside Chaser | Alicia Spinnet |
| Blind Side Beater | Fred Weasley/Jack Sloper |
| Open Side Beater | George Weasley/Andrew Kirke |
| Seeker | Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... /Ginny Weasley |
Harry and the Weasley twins were banned from playing Quidditch for life by Dolores Umbridge for being involved in a fight with Draco Malfoy after the Gryffindor-Slytherin game. Subsequently the seeker spot was taken over by Ginny Weasley, while Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper became the new beaters. Following Umbridge's removal from the school, Harry's ban was lifted, so he could play again in the next year.
Year 6
The winning Gryffindor Team of Harry Potter Year 6 consisted of:| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Keeper | Ron Weasley Ron Weasley Ronald Bilius "Ron" Weasley is a fictional character and one of the three protagonists in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. His first appearance was in the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as the best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger... /Cormac McLaggen |
| Centre Chaser | Ginny Weasley/Dean Thomas |
| Outside Chaser | Katie Bell/Dean Thomas |
| Outside Chaser | Demelza Robins |
| Blind Side Beater | Ritchie Coote |
| Open Side Beater | Jimmy Peakes |
| Seeker | Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... (Captain)/Ginny Weasley |
Ron Weasley and Katie Bell both became unintended victims of Draco Malfoy's attempts to kill Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a major character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts...
, and while they were unable to play, their spots in the team were taken over by Cormac McLaggen and Dean Thomas. After they were healed, they both returned to the team. Snape
Severus Snape
Severus Snape is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling. In the first novel of the series, he is hostile toward Harry and is built up to be the primary antagonist until the final chapters. As the series progresses, Snape's character becomes more layered and...
banned Harry from the season’s last game for cursing Malfoy. Therefore, for that game, Ginny Weasley played as a seeker, and her position as chaser was taken over by Dean Thomas.
Harry's performance as Seeker
| Year | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Slytherin | Harry catches the Snitch in his mouth; Gryffindor wins |
| Hufflepuff | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins | |
| Ravenclaw | Harry does not play; unconscious in hospital wing, Gryffindor loses | |
| 2nd | Slytherin | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins |
| Hufflepuff | Game cancelled | |
| Ravenclaw | Game cancelled | |
| 3rd | Hufflepuff | Harry falls during match due to Dementors; Gryffindor loses (though Hufflepuff Seeker Cedric Diggory thought the win to be unfair and wanted a rematch) |
| Ravenclaw | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins | |
| Slytherin | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins the match and the championship too | |
| 4th | N/A | No Quidditch matches due to Tri-Wizard Tournament |
| 5th | Slytherin | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins |
| Hufflepuff | Harry does not play; banned by Umbridge; Gryffindor loses, even though Ginny Weasley catches the Snitch | |
| Ravenclaw | Harry does not play; banned by Umbridge; Gryffindor wins the game and the championship | |
| 6th | Slytherin | Harry catches the Snitch; Gryffindor wins |
| Hufflepuff | Harry knocked out of game injured; Gryffindor loses | |
| Ravenclaw | Harry does not play; in detention with Snape; Gryffindor wins anyway with Ginny as Seeker, Gryffindor wins the championship as well |
Professional Quidditch teams
The following teams are listed in Quidditch Through the AgesQuidditch Through the Ages
Quidditch Through the Ages is a 2001 book written by British author J. K. Rowling about Quidditch in the Harry Potter universe. It purports to be the Hogwarts library's copy of the non-fiction book of the same name mentioned in several novels of the Harry Potter series.Rowling's name does not...
.
| Team | Situated | 
| Appleby Arrows | Appleby | Colors are pale blue with a silver arrow. Founded in 1612. Has a rivalry with the Wasps (see below) |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
Chudley Cannons | Chudley | Bright orange and a double C with a speeding cannonball. The team's motto was originally "We shall conquer"; it was later changed to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best." Ron Weasley is a fan of the team. |
| |
Falmouth Falcons | Falmouth Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset.... |
Dark grey & white robes with a Falcon on the chest. Motto: "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads." |
| |
Puddlemere United | Puddlemere | Place does not exist in the muggle world. Navy blue robes with two crossed Bulrushes. Founded in 1163. Oliver Wood is picked for this team's reserve squad after graduating from Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore Albus Dumbledore Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a major character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts... 's favourite side. |
| |
Tutshill Tornados | Tutshill Tutshill Tutshill is a small village within the parish of Tidenham in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Wye, which forms the boundary with Wales at this point and which separates the village from the town of Chepstow... |
Sky blue robes with a double T in dark blue on the front and back; league success in 1995; accused of cheating. Cho Chang supported this team since she was six. |
| |
Wimbourne Wasps | Wimborne Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster is a market town in the East Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town... |
Horizontally striped robes of yellow and black and a Wasp on the chest. Ludo Bagman played as beater for this team in his younger days. |
| Ballycastle Bats | Ballycastle Ballycastle, County Antrim Ballycastle is a small town in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Its population was 5,089 people in the 2001 Census. It is the seat and main settlement of Moyle District Council.... |
Black robes with a scarlet bat. | |
| |Kenmare Kestrels | Kenmare Kenmare Kenmare is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mara meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.-Location:... |
Emerald green robes with two yellow K's back to back. Founded in 1291 | |
 |
Montrose Magpies | Montrose Montrose, Angus Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers... |
Black and white robes with a magpie on the front and back |
| |
Pride of Portree | Portree Portree Portree is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is the location for the only secondary school on the Island, Portree High school. Public transport services are limited to buses.... |
Deep Purple Robes with a gold star on the chest. Founded in 1292 |
| |
Wigtown Wanderers | Wigtown Wigtown Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in the Machars of Galloway in the south west of Scotland. It lies south of Newton Stewart and east of Stranraer. It has a population of about 1,000... |
Blood red robes with a Meat Cleaver on the chest. Founded in 1422 |
 |
Caerphilly Catapults | Caerphilly Caerphilly Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively... |
Vertically striped robes of light green and scarlet. Founded in 1402. Beat the Karasjok Kites to win the 1956 European Cup Final. |
| |
Holyhead Harpies | Holyhead Holyhead Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland.... |
Dark green robes with a golden talon on the chest. An all-female team whose members have first names that start with G. Founded in 1203. Between 1998 and 2013, Ginny Weasley spends several years playing for this team. |
| Other teams | |||
 |
Thundelarra Thunderers | Perth Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000.... |
Perth is the capital and largest city of Western Australia. |
| |
Wollongong Warriors | Wollongong Wollongong, New South Wales Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney... |
Has a rivalry with the Thunders (above) |
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Vratsa Vultures | Vratsa Vratsa Vratsa is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Vratsa Province. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 60,482 inhabitants.... |
Seven times champions of Europe |
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Haileybury Hammers | Haileybury | |
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Stonewall Stormers | Stonewall Stonewall, Manitoba Stonewall is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba with a population of 4,376 as of the 2006 census. The town is situated approximately north of Winnipeg on PTH 67. It is known for its limestone quarries. The local festival is the Quarry Days which is usually held over three days in August... |
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Gimbi Giant-Slayers | Gimbi Gimbi Gimbi is a town in western Ethiopia. Located in the West Welega Zone of the Oromia Region, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1845 and 1930 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Gimbi woreda.... |
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Quiberon Quafflepunchers | Quiberon Quiberon Quiberon is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon... |
Known for its shocking pink robes |
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Heidelberg Harriers | Heidelberg Heidelberg -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of... |
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Toyohashi Tengu | Toyohashi Toyohashi, Aichi is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.The city was founded on August 1, 1906. As of January 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 383,691 and a density of 1,468.62 persons per km². The total area is . By size, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-largest city until March 31,... |
Burns their brooms after a defeat. |
| |Gorodok Gargoyles | Gorodok, Lithuania Lithuania Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... |
Ambiguous place name ("gorodok" means "town" in Russian). Won against the Toyohashi Tengu in 1994. | |
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Bigonville Bombers | Bigonville Bigonville Bigonville is a small town in the commune of Rambrouch, in western Luxembourg. , the town has a population of 450.Bigonville was a commune in the canton of Redange until 1 January 1979, when it was merged with the communes of Arsdorf, Folschette, and Perlé to form the new commune of Rambrouch... |
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Moutohora Macaws | Moutohora Whale Island, New Zealand Moutohora Island or Whale Island is a small uninhabited island located off the Bay of Plenty coast of New Zealand's North Island, about north of the town of Whakatane. The island is a remnant of a complex volcano which has eroded, leaving two peaks... |
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Karasjok Kites | Kárášjohka - Karasjok | Lost to the Caerphilly Catapults in the 1956 European Cup final. |
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Tarapoto Tree-Skimmers | Tarapoto Tarapoto Tarapoto, known as the "City of Palms", is a thriving commercial hub in northern Peru, an hour by plane from Lima, situated in the San Martín Province of the San Martín Region, located in the high jungle plateau to the east of what is known as the selva baja... |
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Grodzisk Goblins | Grodzisk Grodzisk Grodzisk may refer to either of two Polish towns:*Grodzisk Mazowiecki, a town in eastern Poland*Grodzisk Wielkopolski, a town in western Polandor any of a number of villages:*Grodzisk, Greater Poland Voivodeship... |
Ambiguous Ambiguity Ambiguity of words or phrases is the ability to express more than one interpretation. It is distinct from vagueness, which is a statement about the lack of precision contained or available in the information.Context may play a role in resolving ambiguity... place name. Home team of Josef Wronski |
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Braga Broomfleet | Braga Braga Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World... |
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Banchory Bangers | Banchory Banchory Banchory is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, lying approximately 18 miles west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee.- Overview :... |
"Team" now defunct |
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Sumbawanga Sunrays | Sumbawanga Sumbawanga Sumbawanga is a city located in western Tanzania. It is the capital of Rukwa Region. The regional population is approximately 150,000 based on a 2002 census.Many people living in Sumbawanga are Fipa, called so for the native language also spoken there... |
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Tchamba Charmers | Tchamba Tchamba Tchamba is a city located in Tchamba Prefecture in the Centrale Region of Togo.Tchamba is originally a tribe in the present day Ghana.They were known as the Aborigines of Northern Ghana, covering Tamale, Bim Billa, Tikokonba Nanumba and others... |
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Patonga Proudsticks | Patonga Pader District Pader District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after Pader, the chief municipal, administrative and commercial town in the district, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:... |
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Fitchburg Finches | Fitchburg Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :... |
Captain and seeker Maximus Brankovitch III also captained the USA team at the Quidditch World Cup several times. |
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Sweetwater All-Stars | Sweetwater Sweetwater, Texas Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning... |
Won a five-day match against the Quiberon Quafflepunchers in 1993 |
Irish national team
The Irish National Quidditch team appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which they defeat Bulgaria in the Quidditch World Cup by 10 points. The team consists of Chasers Troy, Mullet, and Moran, Keeper Barry Ryan, Beaters Quigley and Connolly, and Seeker Aidan Lynch. According to Rowling's website, several players were named after friends of hers as an inside joke.Despite this, Ireland does not feature in the QWC video game.
Bulgarian national team
The Bulgarian National Quidditch team appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which they are defeated by Ireland in the Quidditch World Cup. The team consists of Chasers Dimitrov, Ivanova, and Levski, Keeper Zograf, Beaters Volkov and Vulchanov, and superstar Seeker Viktor Krum.The current Bulgarian National Team recently lost their key utility player/beater, Patrick McKenzie after he assaulted the Irish Seeker, Aidan Lynch, with his bat during the international friendly match in 2008. Patrick McKenzie now plays for the Fitchburg Finches.
Quidditch in the films and video games
There are some minor differences between how Quidditch is represented in Rowling's books and how it appears to be played in the films and video games. For example, the rule that players must not stray outside the pitch boundary is not evident, as players can be seen flying around the spectator towers at the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.In Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
(2009), Quidditch players are seen to use a flying wedge formation to advance the quaffles toward the goal.
Quidditch was absent entirely from Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
(2007) and The Deathly Hallows, Part I (2010). In Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
, only before and after the Quidditch World Cup are seen. In The Deathly Hallows, Part II (2011) the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch is seen only in a single shot, on fire.
In the 2003 video game Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a video game produced by EA Games and EA Sports that features the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise. The user plays in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup competition, competing amongst the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin,...
, the rule of only having a single Chaser in the scoring area is not enforced. Additionally, the game allows players to make special moves whereby several goals are scored in succession as multiple Chasers pass the Quaffle back and forwards through the hoops, whereas the rules dictate that after a goal is scored, possession passes to the Keeper.
In the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is an attraction at the Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is the signature ride of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of the theme park, and takes riders through scenes and environments in and around Hogwarts Castle...
attraction in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
theme park, quidditch is featured near the end where riders are flown through the quidditch pitch. A storefront near Ollivanders Wand Shop is themed as a quidditch supply with a golden snitch on the sign and a case containing animated quaffle and bludgers surrounded by beaters bats.
Quodpot
Quodpot is a variant of Quidditch popular in the United States, the Western HemisphereWestern Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
and, as a minority, Europe – a clear reference to American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and its relative, Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
. Quodpot has never been mentioned in the novels, but it is described in Quidditch Through the Ages. There are eleven players on a side, who throw the Quod, a Quaffle modified to explode after a certain amount of time, from player to player, attempting to get it into the "pot" at the end of the pitch before it explodes. Any player in possession of the Quod when it explodes is disqualified. Once the Quod is in the "pot" (a cauldron containing a solution which prevents it from exploding), the scoring team is awarded a point and a new Quod is brought onto the pitch.
Quidditch video games
There have been video games that simulate playing Quidditch. Major games include:- Harry Potter: Quidditch World CupHarry Potter: Quidditch World CupHarry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a video game produced by EA Games and EA Sports that features the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise. The user plays in the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup competition, competing amongst the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Slytherin,...
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in North America, is an Electronic Arts multi-platform action-adventure video game developed by KnowWonder, Warthog, Griptonite, Argonaut, Eurocom and Westlake Interactive...
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a action-adventure game published by Electronic Arts and developed by both EA's internal development team and Eurocom for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance systems. It was simultaneously co-developed by Amaze Entertainment for...
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a video game, developed by EA's Bright Light Studio and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released on June 30, 2009 to coincide with the film's new mid-2009 release date. The game was released on the, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii,...
Nonfictional Quidditch
There have been small-scale attempts to adapt Quidditch to readily available technology, using bicycles, and unicycles.A street in Lower Cambourne, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England is named Quidditch Lane, supposedly after a type of nearby dry ditch called a Quidditch. Fans have been known to visit the area.
Also, some American Muggle
Muggle
Muggle, a term from the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling, refers to a person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born into the magical world...
schools, such as Polytechnic School
Polytechnic School
Polytechnic School, often referred to as simply Poly, is a college preparatory private school in Pasadena, California.-History:The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-sectarian, non-profit elementary school in California. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by...
, in California, have added Quidditch to their list of team sports.
See also
- List of fictional sports
Quidditch as grown in the USA dramatically however, there is even and IQA (International Quidditich Association). They host World Cups every year where teams from different countries travel to play each other, the 2011 World Cup had close to 100 teams and was held on Randall Island in New York.