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Hey guys,
I wasn't sure if anyone has heard of or plays Quidditch on teamliquid so I thought i'd make a blog to educate you all on it.
What's Quidditch? It's a fictional sport from the Harry Potter books. It has been adapted to be played in real life (no, sadly you do not fly). The game started on the east coast and has since spread across the nation to college and high school campuses everywhere. There 847 official teams in the United States, and quite a few more world wide. Official teams meaning they are part of the International Quidditch Association (IQA). You can see all the teams and learn about the IQA at http://www.internationalquidditch.org/.
The sport has been evolving for almost seven years now. It started off with people playing on brooms in capes and has evolved into a full contact sport that I would compare to rugby. There are now conference tournaments, regional play offs and a ranking system that is updated every Monday.
How do you play? The teams are broken up into 7 players each, although a team may have 21 players on its roster and use them to sub in and out throughout the game, sort of like hockey. The game does not stop for subs.
The 7 players are broken down into several positions. They are; Keeper, Chaser, Beater, and Seeker.
Here is a quick picture that explains each position. ![[image loading]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/26e0fabde5896acc10551fb81376aaf3/tumblr_mez25zNjVy1rjdi0io1_500.jpg)
The snitch is the neutral player (Usually taken from another team not playing in the match) and runs around attempting to not get caught. Snitches come in many shapes and sizes. Some snitches are cross country runners that will just run from you all day, other snitches are wrestlers who don't run at all, instead they just toss you around.
The game is a full contact co-ed sport. Any player in possession of a ball is eligible to be tackled, knocked over ect. The sport is still evolving but at the moment there isn't really any safety gear which makes for injuries being a common thing.
Now for the brooms. The brooms are what really set Quidditch apart. It may seem silly, it may look silly, but it adds a whole new level to playing a game. The broom limits your movement and also makes it so you can only play with one hand most of the time. Running with a broom is quite a bit more tiresome than running with both your arms swinging. Catching a volley ball or dodge ball one handed while your other hand lugs around a broom is a skill that has to be learned.
I personally play on the Illinois State Quidditch team which has been a blast the last few years. Each year the IQA hosts a world cup which is a ton of fun. Last year we attended our first one and there were 100 teams present to compete in New York City. Being on Quidditch has given me the opportunity to meet tons of new friends and people from many different walks of life. I highly recommend this sport to anyone looking to have fun but not quite looking to be on a soccer or rugby team.
So, is there a Quidditch team at your university?
Below are some action pictures of quidditch being played and a video of the World Cup finals match from last year. I do photography for fun and most of the pictures below are some i'v taken at the tournaments and matches we've attended.
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So that's basically all there is to know about Quidditch. If anyone is in the Chicago land area we are hosting a large tournament in the city of Rockford with the help of the Rockford visitors bureau. The tournament will be free to attend so if you want to check out some awesome Quidditch matches stop by! It will be held on April 27th and 28th. If anyone is feeling generous and kind and would like to donate to help us put on this super fun tournament you can at: http://www.indiegogo.com/RockfordQuidditch
 
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quidditch seems to be a lot more popular than i thought. cool blog
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1) if the snitch can leave the field and go wherever, why doesn't he just go home and take a nap? gg
2) the brooms really do look ridiculous 
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United States10241 Posts
the snitch is only worth 30 points?
and if i was the snitch, id just walk home and go on teamliquid xD
gg, game never ends.
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Wow....I had no idea people actually played Quidditch in real life. I thought it'd be a blog just talking bout the ficitonal sport.
So...it looks pretty fun, and pretty fleshed out too....but the brooms....I read what you said but....really, the brooms?
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That.... is...... so...... fucking....... AWESOME!
I had no idea people actually did this, this shit looks like a ton of fun.
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This is really chaotic haha, for some reason I thought it would have more defined strategies and formations and stuff, but it just look like a huge clusterfoop still quite exciting for the players :D
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On January 24 2013 17:26 Aerisky wrote:This is really chaotic haha, for some reason I thought it would have more defined strategies and formations and stuff, but it just look like a huge clusterfoop still quite exciting for the players :D
It's in its infancy of course it's going to look like that.
From the videos I've seen it really seems like the sport would gain a lot from a larger pitch most of the videos I've seen seem like they take up an area no larger than a basketball court when ideally you'd want the hoops stationed further away than that.
The increase in space allows for more overall mobility and allows for more passing and such.
The Snitch rule is still hilarious. Basically a game of hide and seek within a game of soccer/basketball/dodgeball rolled into one.
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On January 24 2013 15:29 Ydriel wrote:
Wow....I had no idea people actually played Quidditch in real life. I thought it'd be a blog just talking bout the ficitonal sport.
So...it looks pretty fun, and pretty fleshed out too....but the brooms....I read what you said but....really, the brooms?
I'm with you on this, I think you could take the brooms out without really losing anything. Is it really quidditch without the brooms? Maybe not thematically but as they say in MMOs. Gameplay > Lore.
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quidditch FTW. ill be reffing world cup!
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On January 24 2013 17:44 Vindicare605 wrote:Show nested quote +On January 24 2013 17:26 Aerisky wrote:This is really chaotic haha, for some reason I thought it would have more defined strategies and formations and stuff, but it just look like a huge clusterfoop still quite exciting for the players :D It's in its infancy of course it's going to look like that. .
I don't know if I'm just imagining it, but why do you have to be so bitchy or passive-aggressive no matter what I say? No need to be so snarky. "Of course X because of Y." "Obviously this." I mention that CA has a lot of sports teams, "CA has a lot of people." great, no need to be an asshole about it. You're usually a nice guy, so it's off-putting that you're so passive-aggressive to me. Whatever, not a big deal. Agreed, it definitely could benefit from a bigger court so that the action is more clearly separated and people aren't crowded around one another on the pitch as much.
Muggle Quidditch is 7 years old. This has been a sport for a while. Granted 7 years is not a long history, but just because you found out about it recently, doesn't mean it was just born.
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I'm not being passive-aggressive. If you're interpreting it that way my apologies but that isn't my intent. I'm just pointing out the obvious.
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United States33493 Posts
can't really get over the broom
a litany of contrived and complex rules is the norm in most team sports, but equipment that serves no purpose but to hinder natural body movement is a bit over the top.
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On January 24 2013 19:30 Waxangel wrote:
can't really get over the broom
a litany of contrived and complex rules is the norm in most team sports, but equipment that serves no purpose but to hinder natural body movement is a bit over the top.
This.
I thought it looked cool and made some sense when I read the pic with the rules, except maybe the Snitch, but I can't understand the brooms. Running around with a big piece of wood near your crotch in a full contact sport with no protective gear for no practical reason doesn't make a lot of sense, personally. It's probally not really the point, but there are a few odd things that I think it wouldn't really work if this tried to become more competitive.
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On January 24 2013 19:30 Waxangel wrote:
can't really get over the broom
a litany of contrived and complex rules is the norm in most team sports, but equipment that serves no purpose but to hinder natural body movement is a bit over the top.
qft. I mean? maybe the sport is fun, but you can't fly on a broom, get rid of the damn thing and maybe someone somewhere will take this seriously. I am all about loving nerdy things, and being proud of it, but that is just pointless and rather off-putting to any potential competitive excitement. Maybe these people could go play polo on those stick horses too...
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The brooms look really awkward, no idea people even played this.. the brooms though lol
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On January 24 2013 19:30 Waxangel wrote:
can't really get over the broom
a litany of contrived and complex rules is the norm in most team sports, but equipment that serves no purpose but to hinder natural body movement is a bit over the top.
To get over the broom your first need to get on the broom.
I'm in in need of someone to tell me I'm not a wizard so I can move on with my life.
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I had no idea this existed.
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Not bad, really. The broom is more natural than I thought it would be.
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On January 24 2013 19:30 Waxangel wrote:
can't really get over the broom
first thing that popped into my head
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What's the point of the broom?
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At first I thought, "Ey someone adjusted the rules so non flying humans can play must be cool", until I saw the brooms.
Damn.
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What do the rules say about the requirements of the broom?
- How long does the broom have to be? Can I use a small toy broom?
- How heavy does the broom have to be? Could I use a hollow aluminum stick as a handle?
- Do the rules specifically say you have to hold the broom with your hands? Because if not just make a harness and play with both hands. Could be something very simple. V-shaped front and back connecting at the shoulders with a ring on both points that slides over the broom handle behind and in front of you.
This is just 5 minutes of thinking how to improve/abuse the broom.
ps. I think it's great people are playing it and it looks like a lot of fun. Never heard of it before.
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On January 25 2013 07:21 Golden Ghost wrote:
What do the rules say about the requirements of the broom?
- How long does the broom have to be? Can I use a small toy broom?
- How heavy does the broom have to be? Could I use a hollow aluminum stick as a handle?
- Do the rules specifically say you have to hold the broom with your hands? Because if not just make a harness and play with both hands. Could be something very simple. V-shaped front and back connecting at the shoulders with a ring on both points that slides over the broom handle behind and in front of you.
This is just 5 minutes of thinking how to improve/abuse the broom.
ps. I think it's great people are playing it and it looks like a lot of fun. Never heard of it before.
There is a certain broom length in inches it has to be, I will have to look it up though. Most players prefer a lighter broom, and you could fashion one of out an aluminum stick if you would like to decrease weight. You cannot use any device to hold up the broom other than your own body, so in theory I suppose you could clutch it between your thighs and run at the same time?
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On January 24 2013 18:17 annul wrote:
quidditch FTW. ill be reffing world cup!
Awesome! What team are you on from? I'm a certified ref as well =)
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I'v seen quite a few questions regarding the snitch. In most matches and tournaments a boundary is set and agreed upon before the games start to contain the snitch in a certain radius around the field. This is to prevent the snitch from just jumping on a bus or something and the game never ending. Snitches have been known to jump over spectators, hide in bathrooms, climb trees and swim in lakes, so being the seeker and running down a snitch wherever he may go is quite challenging. Yes the snitch is only worth 30 points. It is more of a wild card in the game, it can make and break a close game, but cannot propel an inferior team into a win they don't deserve. (most times)
As for quidditch being really chaotic, that is pretty true. Each year and even each tournament we attend there are more and more strategies and plays that are developed and deployed. New things that take us by surprise are quite interesting and fun. It really is an experience playing a sport that is so new that nothing is figured out 100%. It is like playing Sc2 during the initial beta phases, no one knows what the optimal build is!
As for the broom, it is kind of wild. If you are worried about it demolishing you between the legs then you can by all means wear a cup. Protective gear is not required but it is encouraged. I agree that the broom is something that makes the sport hard to take seriously, and if the sport stays around for a while I personally think they will eventually do away with the brooms all together. For example, it used to be mandatory to wear a cape while playing, they got rid of that fairly quickly. So who knows where the equipment at the game will go, it will be exciting to see! As for right now, the broom is just part of the game, you have to learn to work with it.
I personally think that Quidditch will increase the protective gear you are required to wear in the near future. At each tournament we attend there are always several people being carted off in ambulances and concussions are not uncommon.
I see someone mentioned the field size. Right now I feel like it is a pretty decent size. Without any rules how on to advance the ball really you can get to the other side of the field, but with it being full contact and having 2 beaters that can basically disable you rather quickly it makes it a necessity to be able to have a fast turn around. If you had to travel a long distance the defending team would have too much time to prepare their beaters and get into position and it would make scoring really difficult. Also running with a broom is rather tiring, it may seem like a small thing but running without the momentum of both your arms is a bit harder than just running.
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