 A chaser tries to advance the quadball but is deterred by an opposing beater | |
| Highestgoverning body | International Quadball Association[1] |
|---|---|
| First played | 2003 inOrlando, Florida |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Full[2] |
| Team members | 7 on field, 21 total on roster; 1 additional player who is not a member of either team Both teams cansubstitute playersfreely at any time behind their proper keeper zone. |
| Mixed-sex | Yes |
| Type | Team sport,ball sport |
| Equipment | volleyball Dodgeballs Flag (tennis ball in a cloth bag) Sticks (capped PVC pole) Hoops |
| Venue | Quadball pitch (also known simply as a "pitch") |
| Presence | |
| Country or region |  |
| Olympic | No[3] |
| Paralympic | No |
Quidditch,[4] sometimes also known asquadball since 2022, is ateamsport that was created in 2003 at Nimbus 2003,[5] a Harry Potter convention inOrlando, Florida, United States, and was inspired by thefictional game of the same name in theHarry Potter books by the authorJ. K. Rowling.[6] Two teams of seven players each, astride PVC pipes and opposing each other on a rectangular pitch, compete with the primary objective of passing a ball through the defenders' hoops, while preventing their opponents from passing it through their own hoops. Before being renamed, the real-world sport used to be referred to as "muggle quidditch" to distinguish it from the fictional game of the books, which involves magical elements such as flying broomsticks and enchanted balls—amuggle in theHarry Potter series being a person without magical abilities. The sport is played around the world.
Rules of the sport are governed by theInternational Quadball Association (IQA), and events are sanctioned by either the IQA or thatnation's governing body. A team consists of a minimum of seven (maximum 21) players, of which six are always on the pitch: three chasers, one keeper, and two beaters. The seventh position, known as a seeker, joins each team after a time period known as the "seeker floor" (20 minutes under all three major rulesets). The pitch is rectangular, 66 by 36 yards (60 by 33 m), with three hoops (3, 4.5, and 6 feet (91, 137, and 183 cm)) at either end.[Rulebook 1] Teams are required to be gender-balanced: each team may have a maximum of three non-seeker players who identify as the same gender on the field at one time, making quidditch one of the few sports that not only offers a gender-integrated environment, but an open community to those who identify asnonbinary.[7][8]
To score points, chasers or keepers must get the quadball—a slightly deflated volleyball—into any of the three opposing hoops, which scores the team 10 points.[9] To impede their opponents, beaters can use dodgeballs to hit opposing players and temporarily remove them from play. Once hit by an opposing dodgeball, that player must dismount their stick, drop any ball being held, and return to touch their own team's hoops before re-entering the game.[10][9]
The ultimate goal is to have more points than the other team by the time the flag—a tennis ball inside a cloth tube hanging from the shorts of an impartial official dressed in yellow—is caught. After twenty minutes of play, the flag runner moves onto the pitch and tries to evade the two seekers. When one of the seekers catches the flag, that team is awarded 30 points.[9] If this leads to the catching team having more points overall than their opponents, the game ends immediately with the catching team winning. In the event a team catches the snitch but still trails in points (or is tied for points) the game goes into an overtime period, with the target being the score achieved by the non-catching team plus 30 points. The first team to reach the target score wins the game; alternatively, either team may concede at any time during the overtime period. Matches or games often run about 30 to 40 minutes including stoppages, but tend to vary in length due to the unpredictable nature of the flag catch.
Rules vary from the IQA standard in domestic competitions, most notably in the US. In games sanctioned byMajor League Quadball (MLQ) andUS Quadball (USQ), catching the flag results in 35 points, which help teams reach a set score, 60 (MLQ) points above the score of the leading team before the seeker floor. The first team to reach this set score wins the game.
Quadball was originally called Quidditch, and has its roots in thefictionalHarry Potter sport of the same name. Before the name change, to denote the difference, the fictional sport uses the capitalised "Quidditch" whereas the sport played as per the IQA rules used the uncapitalised "quidditch". In April 2017 Oxford Dictionaries recognised "quidditch" as a word.[11]
The sport was created in 2003 at Nimbus 2003, a Harry Potter convention inOrlando, Florida, by Christopher Dickson, a convention staff member. It grew into its own distinct sport after ten[12] publications of rulebooks.[13]
In 2007, the firstQuidditch World Cup took place, won by Middlebury. Starting in 2008 there was a World Cup in the United States, where collegiate and community teams would compete. Canada often sent several Ontario or Quebec teams, and Australia, Mexico and France each sent a team once. In 2012, the IQA hosted theSummer Games, where five nations sent national teams. Two years later, the IQA hosted theGlobal Games, where the United States defeated Australia for the gold medal.[14] There is now an IQA World Cup every two years, though the 2020 World Cup was cancelled and the 2022 World Cup was delayed until 2023.
The sport grew at universities in the United States, extending to Canada atMcGill University andCarleton University in 2009. In 2010,UCLA became the first major university to create a permanent Quidditch pitch, sponsored by actorMatthew Perry. By 2015, there were teams in Australia,[15] the UK,[16] and France.[17] This was followed by teams in Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Mexico, Argentina,[18] and Brazil.
In December 2021,US Quidditch andMajor League Quidditch proposed changing the name of the sport, to distance themselves Rowling'sviews on transgender people, that have been criticized astransphobic, and to avoid a potential trademark dispute withWarner Bros.[19] Names suggested include "quidball", "quadball", "quickball", "quicker", "quidstrike" and "quadraball".[20] In July 2022, the new name "quadball" was announced, which references the game's four balls and retains 'Q' as the first letter.[21]
Each match begins with six of the starting players (excluding the seekers) along the starting line within their keeper zone with brooms on the ground and the four balls lined in the centre of the pitch. The head referee then calls "brooms up!", upon which players run to gain possession of the balls.[9] The flag runner goes on the field at 19 minutes, and the seekers are released at 20 minutes.[9]
Goals are worth ten points. Once a point is scored, the quadball must be given to the other team's keeper, and almost immediately returns to the offensive.[9] Games can last any length of time longer than 20 minutes, depending on the skill and endurance of the seekers and flag runner.
The game ends after the flag has been caught through what is called a clean catch by the Flag Referee, The Head Referee, and the Flag Runner. The team that caught the flag is awarded 30 points, regardless if they are winning or losing the game.[9] The winner is determined not by the flag catch, but by the number of points earned throughout the entirety of the game. Depending on the score teams will delay the flag catch to better their chances of winning. Teams that are losing tend to defend the flag by placing themselves between the Flag Runner and the opposing seeker.
The players positions are shown by the colour of the headband they wear on pitch.[22][23]
The game is played with six standing hoops, three on each side of a square pitch. Each player must hold a broomstick between their legs. There are three different types of balls in play, and five in total: the quadball, three dodgeballs, and the flag.
The stick serves the purpose of being ahandicap such as one-handed dribbling inbasketball or using only one's feet inassociation football.[24] The player must stay mounted on their stick continuously unless they have been hit with a dodgeball, in which case the player needs to dismount from their stick and return to their hoops.[9] To be mounted on the broomstick means that the player must hold the stick between their legs and not have it fully on the ground.[25] If a player comes off of their stick for any reason, they have to dismount fully and return to their hoops to tag back in and remount.
Players can substitute a variety of objects for stick depending on the level of seriousness. Many teams play on PVC pipes of about 3 feet or 1 meter in length; these are usually made, but can also be purchased from specialist quadball suppliers.
Three hoops, each 2.75 ft or 84 cm across, are placed on either side of the pitch on poles of differing heights (3 ft or 0.91 m, 4.5 ft or 1.4 m and 6 ft or 1.8 m), placed 2.75 m or 9.0 ft apart.[9] Chasers and keepers can score by throwing the quadball through any one of the hoops, from either front or back, gaining ten points for their team per score. Any player experiencing a knock-out effect from either dismounting their stick or getting hit with a dodgeball must touch with any part of their body excluding the stick to the pole or loop of any one of their hoops and then remount before returning to play.
The volleyball is slightly deflated and can only be manipulated by chasers or keepers. Used for scoring, it may pass through any hoop from either side. Regardless of which team caused the volleyball to pass through the hoop, as long as it is in play, a goal is scored against the team whose hoop was scored upon, which is counted to be 10 points.[Rulebook 2]
The dodgeball is a slightly deflated standarddodgeball, 68 cm or 2.23 ft in circumference, that can only be manipulated by beaters. There are three dodgeballs. The dodgeballs are used to hit any other player on the field. Upon being hit by a dodgeball, a player must dismount their stick, drop any ball that they may have been carrying, and touch their team's hoops before resuming play. There also is no friendly fire, meaning that dodgeballs thrown by beaters cannot affect any of their teammates.[Rulebook 3]
The flag is atennis ball placed at the bottom of a long yellow pouch that is attached to the back of the flag runner's shorts like intag rugby. The flag-runner is allowed to be more physical than other players.[27]
Only seekers may make advances towards the flag or the flag runner, and no forceful contact with the flag runner is allowed. If the flag is not caught within a certain period of time, handicaps for the flag runner come into play. Catching the flag awards 30 points.[Rulebook 4]
As of the release of Rulebook 8, the flag runner is relegated to playing only on the field in the same fashion as the other players. Previously, flag runners left the pitch to be pursued by seekers returning to the field after a predetermined amount of time.
The flag runner has the following handicaps imposed on them as the game progresses, to even the field if they are significantly more skilled than either seeker
USQ (originally IQA) has released 20 iterations of the Rulebook, each building upon the last. The modern IQA has released 10 iterations of the Rulebook since it split from USQ.
Each match begins with four of the starting players (excluding the seekers) along the starting line within their keeper zone with sticks on the ground. One beater from each team has a dodgeball with them. One chaser and one beater from each team line up at the midline, and the quadball and the contested dodgeball are placed 8.25 m or 9.02 yd in front of them.[9]
The head referee then calls "sticks up!" at which players run to gain possession of the balls. After brooms up is called, the seekers must not interfere with other positions, and wait near the pitch until the end of the seeker floor, usually 20 minutes. The flag runner goes on the field at 19 minutes, and the seekers are released at 20 minutes.[29]
Play runs rapidly, with quick change-of-hands of the quadball, because every goal (each worth 10 points) scored against a team gives that team the ball. Once a point is scored, the quadball must be given to the other team's keeper, and almost immediately returns to the offensive. Games can last any length of time longer than 20 minutes, depending on the skill and endurance of the seekers and flag runner. Because of this, there are flag runner handicaps to ensure games fit within reasonable time slots.
The game is won only after the flag has been caught cleanly, and the team that caught it is awarded 30 points.[Rulebook 4] The winner is determined not by the flag catch but by the number of points earned at the time of catch; thus it is not unknown for teams that are losing by a wide margin to try delaying a flag catch so that they can narrow the opponents' lead, while teams that are up hope to catch rapidly.
Depending on the severity of the foul, a player found committing an illegal play will result in a back-to-hoops, or a blue, yellow, and/or a red card.[23] A back-to-hoops foul means the player must follow the same procedure as when hit with a dodgeball.[30] A blue card or yellow card mean the player must go the penalty box, for either one minute or until the next goal. Blue cards do not stack, but two yellow cards stack to a red card. If a player receives a red card, they are banned from the rest of the match.[30]
If a Keeper is sent to the penalty box, they must give their headband to another chaser on their team, as both teams are required to have a keeper on the pitch at all times.
Contact rules are similar to other contact sports. Tackles are legal between the knees and shoulders. Two-handed tackling is allowed. All tackles must be initiated from the front side of the opposing player. Any back tackles made will result in a yellow card, however, if the player turns their back into the tackle with no chance for adjustment, it is not considered illegal. Players can only tackle other players of their same position (with keepers considered chasers) if they have the ball. Pushes are allowed if the arm is held straight; it is illegal to push if the arm is bent and then extended when pushing another player.[9] Players are not allowed to dive for balls, slide into contact, trip opposing players, or initiate contact around the neck or over the shoulder. If a player is found making any of these offences it will result in a card depending on the severity of the offence.
After several various types of illegal play, after an injury, or after a flag catch, the head referee will blow their whistle in paired short blasts to indicate stoppage of play, at which point which every player must drop their stick where they stand.[Rulebook 5]
The flag runner can 'take a knee' by having any part of their body except their feet touch the floor. In this case, the seekers cannot advance towards them at all until three seconds after the flag runner is back up – if they do so, they will be sent back to hoops.
The quidditch pitch is usually marked with cones or with painted lines,[Rulebook 6] and it is where all play occurs (a rectangle of 36 by 66 yards or 33 m × 60 m around the pitch).[31] Balls are not allowed to be kicked off the pitch under penalty, nor is play allowed in the spectator zones. Players are asked to return to the pitch when play moves out of bounds.
On the edge of the pitch is a penalty box where players who have committed fouls that warrant yellow cards are sent for one minute.[32]
Each official game requires having several referees present as well as an official flag runner. The referees consist of:
The flag runner, being a neutral player and assistant referee, may help the referees to determine whether or not the catch was clean.[33]
There is also usually a timekeeper and scorekeeper for each game.
The rules of quidditch have changed significantly as the sport has developed over time. New IQA rulebooks are released approximately every one or two years.
The release of Rulebook 8 coincided partially with the reformation of the IQA. As USQ released the rulebook, the IQA chose to adopt the eighth iteration as the de facto international standard where the proceeding rulebook will be released under the guise of the IQA. The changes from Rulebook 7 to Rulebook 8 were minimal except in two areas: blue cards and snitching.
A technical foul results in a blue card on a player where that player must substitute with another player of the same position. The substitution does not, however, result in apower play for the other team, and play is not stopped when this card is rendered. A play may accrue an unlimited number of technical fouls during a match.[34]
Snitching also changed in Rulebook 8 resulting in the deletion of off-pitch seeking. Where before, the snitch would be "released" before each match by running off the pitch during a set amount of time, now the snitch is released to the field, limited to the playing area, at 17 minutes (the seekers being released at 18 minutes). Many NGBs chose to continue playing under Rulebook 7 rules.[34]
The release of Rulebook 9 coincided partially with the reformation of the IQA. As USQ released the rulebook, the IQA chose to adopt the eighth iteration as the de facto international standard where the proceeding rulebook will be released under the guise of the IQA. The changes from Rulebook 8 to Rulebook 9 were minimal.
Rulebook 9 required that if a chaser or keeper decides to reset the play by throwing the quaffle back to their side of the pitch, there must be a chaser and/or keeper to receive the quaffle. If there is no one to receive the ball, it will be considered a turnover and the offending team will lose possession of the quaffle.
The release of Rulebook 10 coincided partially with the reformation of the IQA. As USQ released the rulebook, the IQA chose to adopt the eighth iteration as the de facto international standard where the proceeding rulebook will be released under the guise of the IQA. The changes from the Rulebook 9 to 10 were minimal.
Rulebook 10 now requires that once an opposing team has scored, the keeper and or point chaser must keep the ball moving forward at all times. The rulebook has become more strict on tackling and cards are given at the discretion of the head referee. In addition, moving screens are illegal. This means that if a person wishes to screen for another player that has the quaffle, the person setting the screen must have their feet planted.
The 2020–2021 IQA rulebook is notable for making significant changes to several aspects of the game. The most major changes are chaser positioning when restarting play (after third bludger interference and most penalty cards), two yellow cards no longer resulting in a red card, a new setup for the start of games and snitch catches when the catching team ends up behind no longer ending the game.[35]
The start setup was altered so players no longer line up on their starting line but instead enter the pitch from the side. One bludger starts in the middle of each team's keeper line, whereas the quaffle and third bludger are placed on the midline. One beater and one chaser from each team are chosen as designated runners who line up on the midline. The other players on the team all line up anywhere on the sideline on their half of the pitch, excluding one chaser who acts as the offensive zone chaser and starts on the sideline in the opponents' half.[36]
In the event a team catches the snitch but this results in them still trailing in points (or being in a tie for points), the game now goes into an overtime period where a target score of the non-catching team's score plus 30 points is set. The first team to reach the target score wins the game, however either team may concede at any time during this overtime period. Catches that result in the catching team leading in points still end the game immediately with the catching team winning.
Along with the name change and removal of all copyrighted terms, the 2022 IQA rulebook added in two-arm wrappings and tackling, allow initiating contact from behind if a player has come to a complete stop and extend the seeker floor from 17 to 20 minutes (bringing it in line with the current USQ/MLQ seeker floor). It also adds other minor rules such as required extra breaks during high heat or humidity, allowing plastic shin guards and metal cleats, penalizing beats thrown to the head from less than 5 meters away and new rules about specific scenarios with regard to resetting and stalled quaffles.[37]
One additional change was proposed but failed receive enough votes which was a "3 maximum" gender rule that would allow teams to only have up to a maximum of 3 players of the same gender on pitch before the seeker floor (compared to the current 4 maximum of the same gender on pitch at any time).[38]QuadballUK have decided to implement this rule change starting in 2023.[39]
The 2024 IQA rulebook incorporated the '3-max' rule proposed in 2022, with exemptions for teams deemed to be 'developing'.Other rule changes included tweaks to tackling and head-beat rules, intended to improve safety, and an increase in the distance between the hoops.
The International Quadball Association serves as the central governing body for quidditch worldwide and helps to coordinate with national associations around the world through the IQA Congress. Previously, The IQA held a World Cup for qualifying members of the association at the end of every season, the first being held in 2007, ending in 2014 with its restructuring.[40] Now, the IQA hosts World Cups featuring national teams, as well as Continental Games in the years between World Cups.
Each nation in which quidditch is played has or is in the process of developing has a national organisation. The job of the national organisation, or NGB, is to organise quidditch within the country, create membership policies for teams, organize referees, snitches, and coaches and be the bridge between that nation's teams and the IQA.
Previously known as the Global Games and Summer Games, the World Cup is the IQA's tournament for national teams. It takes place every two years and any quidditch-playing nation is offered the chance at competing on the world level at this tournament. The last tournament took place inBrussels, Belgium, in July 2025.
Theoriginal World Cup was titled "Summer Games" to match the Olympics being held inLondon, United Kingdom. July 2012 saw five national teams from around the world compete in this first international tournament run by the IQA, taking place in University Parks, Oxford, England. The five teams were from the US, Canada, France, UK, and Australia.[41]
| Year | Host city | Champion | Second | Third | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 |  Oxford |  United States |  France |  Australia | |
| 2014 |  Burnaby[a] | United States | Australia | Canada | |
| 2016 |  Frankfurt | Australia | United States | United Kingdom | |
| 2018 |  Florence | United States |  Belgium |  Turkey | |
| 2023 | Richmond | United States | Germany | Belgium | |
| 2025 | Brussels | Belgium | Germany | Australia |
Similar to the World Cup, the European Games is an international tournament open to national teams. Inclusion within the European Games is limited to members of the European Committee (also known as Quadball Europe or QEurope). Thefirst European Games were held inSarteano, Italy in July 2015.[42]
TheEuropean Quidditch Cup, also known as EQC and formerly known as the European Quidditch Championship,[43] is a yearly championship tournament for teams in Europe. EQC began first in France inLesparre-Médoc on 13 October 2012 where a minimal number of teams attended due to the fact that quidditch was only recently introduced to Europe.[44] The tournament quickly grew however and during the 2015–2016 season,Gallipoli, Italy, hosted EQC IV on 16–17 April 2016, with 40 teams attending from 13 countries.[45]Mechelen Belgium hosted EQC V on 25–26 March 2017, and saw 32 attending teams from 15 countries.[46]
The inaugural Asian Quadball Cup took place between the 30 and 31 July 2016 in Malaysia. It was held again in 2017 and held biennially to match the World Cup/Regional tournament alternations. The teams that competed at the inaugural Asian Quadball Cup were the Australian National University Owls (ANU), Damansara Dementors, and Subang Chimaeras. The ANU Owls emerged champions.[47]
Canadian Nationals is the national championship tournament forQuadball Canada.[48] The 2014–2015 national championship was held inBurnaby, British Columbia on 28 March 2015. Its precursors, East and West Regionals, were held inKingston, Ontario andMoose Jaw, Saskatchewan on 1 and 7 February 2015, respectively.[49]
Major League Quadball (MLQ) was founded in 2015. MLQ features standardized schedules, officiation, statistics, and live or previously recorded footage of all games. The league included eight teams across the United States and Canada for its inaugural season in the summer of 2015. The league expanded to 16 teams for the 2016 season with the slogan "#16for16". For its third season in 2017, the league introduced practice squads behind the 16 teams, as well as developed a policy to allow league official teams to play unaffiliated teams.[50][51]
Yearly, theAustralian Quadball Association hosts QUAFL (Quadball united Australian federated league), an all-Australian championship that determines which Australian team is the best. The first tournament was held in December 2011 atUNSW, Sydney and won by the hosts. The second tournament was hosted byMacquarie University and was won again by theUNSW Snapes on a plane. The tournament in 2013 was held at theUniversity of Western Sydney on 30 November and 1 December. The winning team was the Perth Phoenixes.Melbourne Manticores defeatedUNSW Snapes On A Plane in the 2014 tournament final held atMacquarie University. The same teams would make the 2015 tournament final, held atMonash University, where the Manticores would once again emerge triumphant. Wrackspurts QC from Victoria took out the 2016 tournament held at the Australian Institute of Sport. Most recently in the 2017 tournament held at the same location as 2016, the Whomping Willows of Victoria (in their first year as a team) took out the QUAFL cup.
Beginning in 2017, the Quidditch Premier League (QPL) was a league in the United Kingdom[52] that, as of its end in 2019, was split into four divisions and 17 teams.[53]
TheUS Quadball Cup (previously known as the IQA World Cup, Quidditch World Cup, and US Quidditch Cup) is the national championship tournament forUS Quadball. The tournament is a continuation of the IQA's original "Quidditch World Cup", having changed names for the 2015–2016 season andUS Quidditch Cup 9. The change came about as the IQA shifted to become solely an international governing body for the sport and USQ took over quidditch governance in the United States. Each year, teams from around the United States compete at their respective regional championships to qualify for the US Quadball Cup tournament held at the end of the college school year. In the 2017–2018 season, USQ introduced separate divisions for college and community/club teams.
The goal of the USQ Championships is to compete to see which team is the best in the United States. USQ membership policy dictated that any team outside the US would be eligible to compete in this and any other USQ tournament as long as they pay the membership fees in full, but, to date, only two teams outside the US have registered as such:University of British Columbia's A and B teams. This policy, however, has since been discontinued. The first US Quadball Cup champion, since the forming of a separate USQ nationals, was Quidditch Club Boston (QCB) in 2016.
The regions within USQ are:[54]
| Year | Winner | Title (at the time) | Organizing Body | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Middlebury College | World Cup 1 | IQA | Middlebury, VT |
| 2009 | Middlebury College | World Cup 2 | IQA | Middlebury, VT |
| 2010 | Middlebury College | World Cup 3 | IQA | Middlebury, VT |
| 2011 | Middlebury College | World Cup 4 | IQA | New York, NY |
| 2012 | Middlebury College | World Cup 5 | IQA | New York, NY |
| 2013 | University of Texas | World Cup 6 | IQA | Kissimmee, FL |
| 2014 | University of Texas | World Cup 7 | IQA | North Myrtle Beach, SC |
| 2015 | University of Texas | World Cup 8 | USQ | Rock Hill, SC |
| 2016 | Quidditch Club Boston (QCB) | US Quidditch Cup 9 | USQ | Columbia, SC |
| 2017 | Texas Cavalry | US Quidditch Cup 10 | USQ | Kissimmee, FL |
| 2018 | University of Rochester (College Division) Texas Cavalry(Club Division) | US Quidditch Cup 11 | USQ | Round Rock, TX |
| 2019 | University of Texas (College Division) Texas Cavalry(Club Division) | US Quidditch Cup 12 | USQ | Round Rock, TX |
| 2022 | University of Texas (College Division) Texas Hill Country Heat(Club Division) | US Quidditch Cup 2022 | USQ | Salt Lake City, UT |
| 2023 | University of Texas at San Antonio (College Division) The Warriors(Club Division) | US Quadball Cup 2023 | USQ | Conshohocken, PA |
| 2024 | Harvard Horntails (College Division) Boom Train(Club Division) | US Quadball Cup 2024 | USQ | Round Rock, TX |
| 2025 | Creighton Quadball Club (College Division) The Warriors(Club Division) | US Quadball Cup 2025 | USQ | Richmond, VA |
The IQA World Cup is the former "world" championship of quidditch, which was held yearly in the United States. As it was maintained by the former IQA, it was almost a purely US-based tournament, seeing little turnout from teams outside of the country. This tournament was discontinued in 2014 when the IQA took on its new role as an international sports federation, choosing instead to host the then-Global Games now-World Cup as a world championship with individual teams relying on their national governing body for a culminating tournament.
TheBritish Quadball Cup was first held in Oxford, England, on 9 and 10 November 2013, and was won by theOxford University's first team, The Radcliffe Chimeras.[55] The BQC was repeated on the weekend of 7 March 2015 held in Wollaton Park, Nottingham. At this tournament, the defending Champions, The Radcliffe Chimeras, were defeated in the final by Southampton Quidditch Club 1, with Keele Squirrels coming third. In total 24 teams were registered to compete with 23 doing so.
Also significant in the UK are the two regional tournaments –Northern Cup and Southern Cup. Originally devised as independently organised tournaments by Keele University Quidditch Club in March 2014, and the Southampton Quidditch Club the following November, the inaugural tournaments were won by Bangor Broken Broomsticks andRadcliffe Chimeras. The tournaments were then taken over by QuadballUK, to ensure consistency between the two, as the tournaments are now used as qualification criteria for theEuropean Quidditch Cup.[56] The second Northern Cup took place on the 31 October–1 November 2015, and was won by Nottingham Nightmares, who defeated Durhamstrang in the final.[57] The second Southern Cup took place on the 14–15 November and was won by the Radcliffe Chimeras, who defeated Warwick Quidditch Club in the final. The following year, the Velociraptors won Northern and Warwick Quidditch Club Southern.[58][59] The top three teams from each regional tournament (from Northern: the Velociraptors, Durhamstrang, and Tornadoes Quidditch Club and from Southern: Warwick Quidditch Club, Werewolves of London, and Brizzlebears) qualified for the European Quidditch Cup, which took place on the 25–26 March 2017.[60]
In 2017, the increasing number of teams led to the introduction of theDevelopment Cup, or Dev Cup for short, where teams that did not qualify for BQC could play. The style is a round-robin tournament, leading to all teams playing eight games (in the first one) over two days. The first winners of this were the Liverpuddly Cannons, who won all of their games.
Other long-standing tournaments include the Annual Mercian Cup, a mercenary tournament hosted by Derby Union Quidditch, Highlander Cup hosted by the Edinburgh Holyrood Hippogriffs, Reading University's Whiteknights Tournament, and Oxford's unique Valentines Cup, a fantasy tournament where players signed up in pairs. Since awareness of quidditch in the UK is rising exponentially, every year new tournaments are being devised.
In February 2017 it was announced that aQuidditch Premier League would be established in 2017.[61]
Since its inception, quadball has sought gender equality on the pitch.[62] One of the most important requirements within the sport is its gender maximum rule, which states:
A team may not have more than three players who identify as the same gender in play at the same time during either the seeker floor or overtime and not more than four players who identify as the same gender otherwise.
The gender that a player identifies as is considered to be that player’s gender
— "Gender maximum rule"[Rulebook 7]
This is a change from pre-2024 when the rule was 4 players of one gender on the pitch at one time, and allows exemptions back to the 4-max rule to be given to developing teams
In 2013, US Quidditch created Title 9¾, a nod to the facetious name once used to refer to the rule, a branch of the IQA that actively promotes advocacy and awareness as well as gender equality and inclusivity,[63] whose role moved on to the IQA under its "Initiatives".[62] The sport has also been illustrated to yield a positive experience for athletes of all genders, increased desires for inclusivity and stereotype reduction.[62] Testimonials include: "The gender rule makes playing safe for me. I'm trans and genderqueer, two reasons I never know which team to join ... so having a non-binary option means I don't have to choose."[64]
There are other variants of real-life Quidditch, notably played in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Hungary amongst other places. These variants often play with rules similar to the fictional sport within theHarry Potter universe but differ wildly from the IQA rules, including: playing without brooms, brooms serving a different purpose, referees throwing balls to act as snitches, differing bludger and beater roles, ridingbicycles instead of brooms, etc.[65]
A version of "real life" quidditch is also portrayed in the filmThe Internship, however it strays wildly from quidditch's ruleset.[66]
While Middlebury College certainly began the sporting craze for quidditch, an independent form of the sport originated in the early spring of 2007 on the campus of the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Georgia.[67] This version of the sport uses a Flying Disk as its quaffle, dodge balls as bludgers, and a golden-yellow 'super ball' for the snitch. This form of the game (known affectionately as 'Corrigan Quidditch' after its originator, an English professor at the university who taught aHarry Potter class that term and developed the game for tournament play as an outgrowth of that course) does not call for players to hold a broom between the legs. Additionally, all of the playing apparatus is located within the playing pitch (quaffle, bludgers, snitch, beater's bats, and keeper's brooms). The two brooms are used only to defend the goals, which rise five (1.5), ten (3), and fifteen feet (4.6 m) above the pitch at each end of an elongated octagonal playing field approximately 200 feet (60 m) long. 'Corrigan Quidditch', as does the Middlebury version, has its own official rule book but features whimsical offences including a 'Queensbury'—moving both feet whilst holding the quaffle—and an 'Impermissible'—which allows the offended chaser to run with the quaffle (without incurring a Queensbury offence) and make a 'try' at the goals, defended only by the opposing keeper. Play includes non-participating teams who stand around the pitch and take control of both 'bludgering' players as well as 'sending off' the snitch at irregular intervals during play to allow the seekers (who are kept secret during play) to attempt a game-winning catch. 'Corrigan Quidditch' was the form of play originally covered in the world press during that significant summer when the seventhHarry Potter book (and fifthHarry Potter movie) was released. Unlike the world-popular Middlebury version, 'Corrigan Quidditch' remains a local event still played on its originating campus.[68]
Modified rules with less contact have been used for younger (school age) players.[69] These rules include no tackling, modified hoops, and some leeway given to referees on the calls they make.
TheAustralian Quidditch Association has a set of rules for wheelchair Quidditch.
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