Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: A Roleplay discussion

Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on broomsticks. It is the most popular game among wizards and witches, and, according to Rubeus Hagrid, the equivalent to Muggles' passion for football.

The game is played by two teams of seven people (three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker) and involves four balls (a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch).

The Keeper guards the goal posts, the three Chasers score goals with the Quaffle by tossing it into one of the opposing team's three goal posts, the two Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team and hit the Bludgers towards the opposing team, and the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch.

The object of the game is to score more points than your opponents. Each goal is worth ten points and catching the Snitch is worth one-hundred fifty points. The game ends when the Snitch is caught or an agreement is reached between the captains of both teams. Some games can go on for many days if the Snitch is not caught (the record, according to Quidditch Through the Ages, is six months).

Quidditch pitches are typically in the shape of an oval, five-hundred feet long and one-hundred eighty feet wide, with a small central circle of approximately two feet in diameter. At each end there are three hooped goal posts of different heights, surrounded by a scoring area. As Quidditch is an aerial sport, Quidditch pitches usually feature spectator seating at high vantage points, whether in towers (such as at Hogwarts) or in a fully-encircling platform style (such as the British stadium that held the 1994 Quidditch World Cup).

The Quidditch pitch as described in the books. The films' pitch is wider and has a larger centre circle with a halfway line.
Added by Animagi Prongs
Quidditch pitches are built in places where they will not attract Muggle attention. This began in 1398 when the wizard Zacharias Mumps emphasised the need for anti-Muggle security while playing the game: "Choose areas of deserted moorland far from Muggle habitations and make sure that you cannot be seen once you take off on your brooms. Muggle-repelling charms are useful if you are setting up a permanent pitch. It is advisable, too, to play at night." The advice of Mumps must not have always been followed as in 1362, the Wizards' Council outlawed playing Quidditch within fifty miles of a known Muggle town. This was amended in 1368, possibly due to growing popularity of the game. This amendment made the playing of the sport within one-hundred miles of a Muggle town illegal.
The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692 made all Ministries of Magic responsible for the consequences of magical sports in their territories. The Department of Magical Games and Sports was created for this purpose. Quidditch teams that flouted Ministry guidelines were disbanded. One such instance was the Banchory Bangers.

Game progressionEdit
The game starts with the referee releasing all four balls from the central circle. The Bludgers and Snitch are bewitched to fly off of their own accord, but the Quaffle is thrown into the air by the referee to signal the start of play (This is similar to how association football, the most popular sport in the Muggle world, will begin by the referee removing his foot from the ball).
Since the lengths of Quidditch games are variable (some games can go on for days if the Golden Snitch is not caught) the game is not played in periods. Teams continue using the same goal posts to score throughout the game.

Chasers score by sending the Quaffle through any of the three goal hoops. Each goal scored is worth ten points. After a goal is scored, the opposing team's Keeper throws the Quaffle back into play.

The game only ends when the Golden Snitch is caught, or at the agreement of both team Captains. Catching the Golden Snitch is worth 150 points to the team whose Seeker made the catch. The Snitch is bewitched to respond to the first witch or wizard to make contact with it, in case there is any dispute regarding which Seeker touched it first. The winner of the game is the team with the most points, regardless of who caught the Golden Snitch. As a result, it is possible, although difficult, to win the game even though the opposing team caught the Snitch, if your team is one-hundred sixty or more points ahead, as was the case of the Final Match between Ireland and Bulgaria of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.

RulesEdit

Kennilworthy Whisp's book Quidditch Through the Ages, which depicted the history of Quidditch with letters and visuals.
Added by Cavalier One
The worldwide popularity and playing of the game of Quidditch is closely monitored and analysed by International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee
In 1750, the Department of Magical Games and Sports set down official rules for the game of Quidditch.

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 (it is unknown what the penalty is if a player on defense leaves the pitch).
"Time out" may be called at any time by the Captain of a team. Time out may be extended to two hours if a game has already lasted for more than twelve hours. Failure to return to the pitch after this time will lead to the team being disqualified.
Penalties can be awarded to teams by the referee. A single Chaser may take the penalty by flying from the central circle towards the scoring area. The opposing team's Keeper may attempt to stop the shot being scored, but all other players must not interfere (it is unknown if the Seeker may still attempt to catch the Snitch while a penalty is being attempted).
Contact is allowed, but a player may not seize hold of another player's broomstick or any part of their anatomy.
No substitution of players is allowed throughout the game, even if a player is too injured or tired to continue to play, unless there are reserve players present.
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.
A game of Quidditch will only end once the Golden Snitch has been caught, or at the mutual consent of both team Captains.
FoulsEdit
There are over seven-hundred Quidditch fouls listed in the Department of Magical Games and Sports records, but most of these fouls are explicit instances relating to the breaking of one of the major rules, and need not be listed in their entirety. Also, most of these are banned anyway, by the rule concerning wand use, or rather, lack thereof. There are, however, ten common fouls, named below:
Blagging: No player may seize any part of an opponent's broom to slow or hinder the player
Blatching: No player may fly with the intent to collide
Blurting: No player may lock broom handles with the intent to steer an opponent off course
Bumphing: Beaters must not hit Bludgers towards spectators
Cobbing: Players must not use their elbows against opponents
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
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 (unknown what would happen if this occurred by accident)
Stooging: No more than one Chaser is allowed in the scoring area at any one time
All seven-hundred fouls were committed during the final of the 1473 Quidditch World Cup. Some of these included:
Transfiguring of a Chaser into a polecat.
Attempted decapitation of a keeper with a broadsword.
The release of one-hundred blood-sucking vampire bats from under the Transylvanian Captain's robes during the game.