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... and witches, too, of course |
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The sport of quidditch is well documented in the book Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp. A copy of this volume, written by a wizard for wizards, managed somehow to fall into muggle (non-magical people) hands, and it is now widely available in bookshops around the world. To summarize the game in a few sentences: Quidditch is played in an oval playing area called a "pitch," roughly four times the size of an American football field. At either end of the pitch are three large hoops on tall posts of varying heights. The players are mounted on flying broomsticks. The object of the game is to score points by hurling the game ball, or quaffle, through one of the opposing team's hoops. The players whose task it is to handle the quaffle while flying at dizzying speeds on the broomsticks are the chasers; the player guarding the goal and attempting to turn away the quaffle is the keeper. Complicating the game is a set of flying balls called bludgers, which seem to have minds of their own, and attempt to unseat the chasers from their brooms. Each team has a complement of beaters, players whose task it is to prevent the bludgers from knocking the players to the ground while handling the quaffle. The quaffle successfully hurled past the keeper and through a hoop is worth ten points. Each quidditch team also has one player called a seeker. This player's task is to find and capture a small, elusive flying ball called the golden snitch. The snitch is fast, and difficult to track. It can fly in and out of the paths of the other players, requiring the seeker not only to be aware of the snitch, but of all the other fast-moving elements of the game as well. When the snitch is captured, the team scores 150 points and the game is over. Conceivably, a team can win without scoring a single goal if they capture the snitch early. On the other hand, if the snitch evades capture, a game can continue for days. |
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