Quidditch - fictional game from Harry Potter series makes its way to the real world

Hiba Khan - Writer 11:05 23/01/2018
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  • It’s been nearly two decades, but JK Rowling continues to mesmerise millions of youngsters all over the world through the magical universe of Harry Potter.

    The impact of this fictional world was so profound that it had nearly every teenager waiting for their acceptance letter into the world of wizards. Although fans will never be a part of that world, they’ve  got the next best thing in the non- magical or ‘Muggle’ version of the  wizardly sport – Quidditch.

    The sport is not only real, but is actually going pro in the United States of America. The Earth-bound version is a mixed gender contact sport with a unique blend of elements from rugby, dodgeball and tag.

    A Quidditch team consists of seven athletes with one ‘seeker’, one ‘keeper’, three ‘chasers’, and two ‘beaters’.

    Kyle Epsteen, 34, plays keeper for the Lost Boys Quidditch club in Los Angeles, California, and got involved with Quidditch five years ago.

    With a background in wrestling and baseball, moving to Quidditch was not only easy, but a great way to apply all the techniques he learnt from other sports.

    “Quidditch is a very progres- sive sport and United States Quid- ditch (USQ) welcomes people of all  identities into our league. There is no discrimination against players and the sport is truly breaking barriers,” he said.

    The sport was initially played  with brooms but with broom bris- tles proving uncomfortable, they  were then replaced with PVC pipes.

    Photo by Isabella Gong

    Photo by Isabella Gong

    The rules of the game are revised constantly and at first sight, the sport may look a little disorganised, but once you understand the rules Quidditch is both fun to watch and challenging to play.

    Participants play with a vol- leyball called the ‘quaffle’, three  dodgeballs that act as the ‘bludg- ers’, and the golden snitch, which  is basically a velcro tail attached to the shorts of a runner.

    Unlike the Harry Potter fran- chise, the golden snitch is worth  30 points instead of a 100 and is attached to the back of a neutral player who is dressed in a yellow uniform and uses any means to avoid capture.

    It is the seeker’s job to catch the runner. The three chasers are supposed to score goals with the quaffle that is worth 10 points if they pass it through the hoops.

    They advance the ball down the field by running with it, passing it to team-mates or kicking it. Each team has a keeper who  defends the goal hoops.

    Two beaters use dodgeballs called bludg- ers to disrupt the flow of the game  by knocking out other players with them.

    Any player hit by a bludger is out of play until they touch their own goalposts and then they can get back in the game. The snitch is worth 30 points and the game ends once it is caught.

    If the score is tied after the snitch catch, the game goes to overtime.

    Players who commit fouls face different penalties depending on the severity of the offence.

    If while running a player drops  his broom, it results in a back-to- hoops foul where the player must  pick up the pipe and run to the goal- post before he or she is allowed to  get back in the game.

    The penalty is the same for being knocked out by a bludger.

    A yellow card means a player must spend one minute in the penalty box.

    A red card means a player is barred for the rest of the game.

    Quidditch is all set to take its place in the world of professional sports with the Gulf region also on the radar.

    They are also attempting  to move away from the Harry Potter genre to avoid any copyrights  infringement.

    For more information on  the sport, log on to www.usquidditch.org

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