Lesson Three

Before we finish up this class with some more games and analyzation of them, we will take a look at all of those sports that fall under the broomstick category - that is to say, all the sports played on broomsticks.

Quidditch:

Quidditch, as we all know is played on broomsticks and involves different balls and many players. To start this off, let's have a brief explanation of how quidditch is played. Two teams consisting of seven people - three chasers, two beaters, one keeper, one seeker - play the game. The chasers try to get the quaffle - the scoring ball which is not enchanted at all - through the hoops while the keepers try to defend the hoops by blocking the quaffles from getting in. While this goes on, the beaters try to knock bludgers - enchanted balls that will fly at someone and knock them off their brooms and/or throw them off - at the opposing team's players. While all of this is taking place, the seekers fly above the scene and look for the snitch - the small, fast ball that dodges in and out trying to avoid capture. Every time a chaser is successful in getting the quaffle through the hoops, their team scores ten. If the seeker catches the snitch, their team earns one hundred fifty points.

Quidditch is played all over the place in the magical community. Enormous tournaments are held to compete between well-known teams. People set up pitches and play against each other in their backyards. Quidditch is an enormous part of Hogwarts that attracts tons of students.

Quidditch got its name from the place where it was played for the first time, Queerditch Marsh. The match was recorded by Gertie Keddle in 1050 when she wrote it down in her journal. Though, of course, this first game was not the same as nowadays quidditch, it was where the idea most likely originated from. The official rules didn't even come out until 1750 when the Ministry of Magic made the rules official. 

Quodpot:

Quodpot is mostly an American version of Quidditch. It's played on broomsticks like quidditch, except only one ball is used. To play, you divide into two teams of eleven players each. The point of the game is to get the quod, which is what the ball is called in Quodpot, into the pot which is situated at the end of the pitch. The pitch is shaped like an oval and is divided in half. On the left half, there is the starting circle where everybody starts off the game. To the right is the scoring circle with the pot inside. The big twist to this game is that the quod explodes! Each team tries to grab the quod and get it into the pot before it explodes. If it explodes before it reaches the pot, whoever was holding it is eliminated from the game and a new quod is brought into play. Once the quod is put into the pot, it cannot explode since the pot is filled with a substance that prevents it from doing so. Every time the quod is successfully put into the pot, that team gets a point. The game ends when only one person is left because everyone else has been eliminated.

Quodpot was created sometime in the eighteenth century by Abraham Peasegood when his quaffle accidentally exploded in his face when he was tossing it around. Peasegood decided that there should be a game where the quaffles were enchanted to do just that - explode. With the help of his friends, he experimented with leather balls and eventually was successful.

Quodpot is the most popular sport in the states but is considered a minority sport elsewhere. 

Creaothceann:

Creaothceann was another game played on broomsticks, though it is not one you should ever try as it is considered the most dangerous broomstick game. Because of the danger of playing, the Ministry of Magic made it illegal in 1762.

To play, players would strap a cauldron on their head and get on their broomsticks. There were twelve players in each game. The game would commence at the sound of a horn. Rocks and Boulders were enchanted to stay above the players until the start of the game when they would all come raining down. The players had to race around the field and collect as many rocks as possible in their cauldrons.

This game was popular in Scotland and mostly attracted the men who thought it would prove their manliness and courage even though out of the twelve players, usually only two survived the game. It has been thought that the rocks used in Creaothceann were the inspiration for nowaday bludgers. In the 1960s Magnus Macdonald tried to reintroduce the game, but the Ministry of Magic shot it down immediately.

Broom Races:

Broom racing is a popular past time for many wizards and witches. As the name suggests, it involves racing people on brooms trying to be the fastest and get to the finish line first. Broom racing dates back most likely to the beginning of broomsticks. Companies, like the Nimbus Racing Broom Company, design their brooms especially for such races.

Notable Races:

In 1754, Torquil McTavish and Silvio Astolfi raced each other on brooms from Aberdeen, Scotland to Colosseum, Rome. Many spectators came to watch the race and Ministry officials were stationed at the start and finish line of the race. The race didn't end so well when a riot broke out at the finish line, which ended up breaking the Coliseum. Luckily, Orabella Nuttley, creator of the Mending Charm, was able to fix the Coliseum using her spell before muggles noticed anything out of the ordinary happening. She also installed portkeys around the finish line so all of the witches and wizards in attendance could leave quickly before muggles noticed the large crowds and became curious.

Since the tenth century, there has been an Annual Broom Race each year in Sweden. It is an incredibly popular event and wizards and witches came from all over the place to attend it. The race is a total of 437 miles and it takes place over a Swedish Short-Snout dragon reservation. Because of the danger of the location, there are a few fatalities with each race although the event has not been banned as a danger to the racers yet. The winner receives a trophy that is modeled after a Swedish Short-Snout dragon. 

That's it for lesson three! Head on over to Assignment Three!