Quidditch Rules

Pitches

Quidditch matches are played on (or rather over) an oval-shaped, 500 feet (150 m) long and 180 feet (55 m) wide pitch, with a small central circle approximately 10 feet (3.0 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 m), and one at 50 ft (15 m), comprising the scoring area. There is also a line that shows mid-field, which is 180 ft (55 m). Quidditch fields have white shaded areas around the goalposts, to mark the scoring area and the bounds where 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 Hogwarts) 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 stadia, 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).

[edit] Balls
The Quaffle and Bludgers as seen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The Snitch is held behind the Hogwarts crest in the centre of the lid.

[edit] The Quaffle

The Quaffle is spherical in shape (although it is shown with four large dimples in the films, appearing more as a tetrahedron), bright red in colour, and approximately 12 inches (300 mm) in diameter. 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 colour 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. The Quaffle is depicted in the books as "Bright Scarlet."

[edit] The Bludgers

The two Bludgers are spherical, approximately ten inches in diameter and are made of iron. They are described as being bewitched to fly without any visible means of propulsion, although they do retain momentum which makes them unable to change direction swiftly. Their purpose in the game is an obstacle - they fly around attempting to hit players off their brooms indiscriminately, though it is possible to enchant them to seek out specific targets, as Dobby the house elf had done in Harry's second year.

[edit] 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 an inch (2.54 cm) in diameter). The winged Snitch is enchanted to hover and dart around the pitch, avoiding capture while remaining within the boundaries of the playing area. Each team has a designated Seeker, whose only task is to capture the Snitch. The team who catches the Snitch wins 150 points, and only the capture of the Snitch will bring the game to an end. 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 in the game, due to animal cruelty issues. No other player aside from the Seeker is allowed to touch the Snitch, whereas referees and Snitch makers wear gloves, to negate the flesh memory effect. During the last book Harry finds out that the snitch he was given by Dumbledore opened when Harry said "I'm about to die." leaving him the last deathly hallow, the resurrection stone.

[edit] 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, in an attempt to score goals by throwing it through one of their opponent's three goal hoops. In this respect, the game is similar to rugby, or, as Harry suggests in the first book, "basketball on broomsticks with six hoops".[HP1]

The Keeper is charged with protecting the three goal hoops, in much the same way as a goalkeeper in soccer.

The Beaters are armed with wooden clubs that are similar to, but shorter than, baseball bats. They are tasked with protecting their teammates 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 charged with searching the pitch for, chasing down and eventually capturing, the elusive Golden Snitch. Seekers are the only players permitted to touch the Snitch.

Each team includes a captain, who may play any of the four positions. The captain helps the team practise and chooses the team players after the tryouts.

[edit] Broomsticks

Magical flying broomsticks are one of the forms of transportation for wizards and witches, as well as for Quidditch. The Nimbus broomsticks are known to be one of the best broomsticks in the Wizarding world. 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 in his third year, from his godfather, Sirius. Comets and Cleansweeps are cheaper than the Nimbuses and are more common. (The latter, however, has been identified as still a respectable 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 Silver Arrow is the broom famed for its journey across the Atlantic and the Moontrimmer was popular due to the fact that it was still controllable at extremely high altitudes. During a Quidditch training session in the third book, Madam Hooch mentioned that it was a fine broom, but the company stopped selling them.

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 total 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 by Dolores Umbridge.

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. The game length is therefore determined largely by the Seekers' abilities. The shortest game ever is described as lasting three and a half seconds, scoring 150-0[HPQ]. Some games can go on for days, and even months, if the Snitch is not caught. The longest game recorded supposedly lasted three months[HP1]. It is mentioned in Quidditch Through the Ages that a game can be halted or postponed without the capture of the Snitch with the mutual consent of both captains.

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. This is possibly because these are just school matches and thus aren't as strict regarding the rules.
* 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.
* 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 Azkaban 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 players' broomsticks, 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 Ages).

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 fouls "might get ideas." In actuality, not listing all seven hundred fouls meant that she need only invent a handful for publication. 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 named 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 Chamber of Secrets, 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.
* Bumphing: Beaters must not hit Bludgers towards spectators (though 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 use 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.