Muggle Quidditch
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Muggle Quidditch is a co-ed sport based on Quidditch, the fictional sport from the Harry Potter series. It is popular with fans of the novels, fantasy sports aficionados, and children.[1]
In Muggle Quidditch, as in Wizard Quidditch there are four positions on a team. In Wizard Quidditch, all positions are played in the air on magical flying brooms; however, due to the non-existence of such devices, Muggle Quidditch is played on the ground, with game play confined to a playing field comparable in size to a soccer field.[2]
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[edit] Equipment and Game Play
The equipment in Muggle Quidditch varies depending on venue. Often three hula hoops held up by PVC pipes are used as the goals on either side of the playing field. Volleyballs, basketballs and dodgeballs are often used as Quaffles, with softer objects like Nerf balls or Wiffle Balls acting as Bludgers. Often, for more competitive leagues, Chasers will use a frisbee as a quaffle. This allows for a much more intense experience. [3]
Beaters may use tennis rackets to 'serve' the Bludgers. Beaters also may use dodgeballs to simulate the bludgers, while still allowing precise aim. Tennis rackets don't quite allow the precision spoken of in the Novels. In more extreme versions of the game, bludgers are eliminated and the beaters are allowed to tackle the chasers and other players (seeker and keeper are generally off limits when tackling.)
While the Snitch is a magical object within the canon of the Harry Potter Novels, in Muggle Quidditch the Snitch is most often a human being. This human being usually dressed in all yellow.The Snitch, after release, is usually allowed to roam an area beyond the playing field. When played on a college campus the range is often the entire campus.
Ideas for equipment:
| Magical Quidditch | Muggle Quidditch Suggestions | Possible Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Goal hoops | Hula hoops, PVC Octagons made from PVC and 45deg elbows | Use magical quidditch rules |
| Bludgers | dodge ball, nerf ball, wiffle ball. |
|
| Beater Bats | tennis or badminton racquets, cricket bats, small baseball bats, or none. | |
| Quaffle | Soccer ball, Volleyballs, basketballs, rugby balls, Gaelic footballs, Frisbee. | Use magical quidditch rules |
| Brooms | Roller Skates, Bicycles, Unicycles, skateboards, broom held between legs, none | The broom between legs works well, because it forces someone to hang on with one hand, as is usually done in the fictional Quidditch |
| Snitch |
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Or only seekers may be separate in a room |
[edit] Positions
- Chasers are responsible for passing the Quaffle and scoring points by throwing the Quaffle through one of the opponent's goals. Three or four chasers from a team may be in play at one time. When a Chaser in possession of the Quaffle is hit by a Bludger, he or she must throw the Quaffle into the air.
- Keepers are the goal protectors (similar to goalkeepers in football (soccer)) and must try to block attempts to score by the opposing team's Chasers. One keeper from a team may be in play at a time. In most versions of the game, the keeper is invulnerable to bludgers when within a reasonable distance of his/her teams' hoops. In other versions, when the keeper is hit by a bludger from the opposing team while that team is in scoring range, the keeper must freeze for 2-3 seconds to simulate the recovery time in magical quidditch.
- Beaters attempt to hit the opposing team's players with Bludgers and also attempt to block the Bludgers from hitting their team's players. Two Beaters on a team may be in play at a time.
- Seekers attempt to catch the Golden Snitch, set into play during the game. (In some variations the snitch is released at halftime, in others at an undisclosed time.) Seekers may play as Chasers before the Snitch’s release.
[edit] Established Muggle Quidditch Games
- Intercollegiate Quidditch Association - Founded on the campus of Middlebury College, in Vermont, the Intercollegiate Quidditch Association is the outgrowth of wildly popular on-campus tourneys. The Association currently encompasses 105 schools including Vassar College, Marlboro College, and Bucknell University, and is gaining momentum across the United States. The 2006 Middlebury Quidditch World Cup gained the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which subsequently profiled the phenomenon on its front page, [1] while the 2007 edition was featured as a cover story in the November 27, 2007 edition of USA Today's Life section. A portion of a Middlebury College - Amherst College match was shown live on the CBS morning show on March 28, 2008.
- Camp Wanocksett - At Camp Wanocksett in Dublin, New Hampshire, USA, Muggle Quidditch was played during the third week of July in 2007 between the three teams: The Gryffindor Lions (Troop 10 Townsend), The Fitchburg Finches(Troop 17 Fitchburg), and The Chudley Cannons.[4]
