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Here at last is a version of the great game of Quidditch that can be played by us muggles in a hall - without the need for flying broomsticks!!
You have to adapt this to suit your hall and the age (and cunning) of your players. Its basically a bit like Handball and Netball - with a few quirky bits thrown in.
This can be made even more fun if you adopt
team names as in the book - but avoiding the actual names as everyone wants to be in
Griffindor and no one wants Slytherin !!
Snufflegrunt, Dumblerun, Groovythrum, Gigglewhump..............make your own. Then they
can make banners, challenge other units to matches - the possibilities of there one day
being a Guide Association Quidditch League are not impossible!
So we are not all Wizards !!
That does not mean we can't have a really good go at enjoying a game of Quidditch !
Here is a version of the game converted for us Muggles (non magic folk) who (sadly) cannot
fly on broomsticks !
Equipment.
I Quaffle - a large football sized foam ball (for indoors - you might try a light football
or beach ball for outside)
2 Bludgers - tennis sized foam balls (keep these as foam as they are used to throw at
players)
1 Golden Snitch - a very small, very bouncy ball about the size of a large marble.
Alternatively an odd shaped small ball that has an unpredictable bounce.
Some kind of goal at each end of the Hall or field.
A loud whistle for the referee!
Players.
Each team needs -
1 Keeper - (a goalkeeper). SAVES GOALS ANY WAY SHE CAN.
3 Chasers - (shooters or centre forwards) CHASERS ONLY TOUCH THE QUAFFLE.
2 Beaters - (essentially defenders to put off the Chasers) BEATERS ONLY TOUCH THE
BLUDGERS.
1 Seeker - ( a loner who has only to catch the Golden Snitch) SEEKERS ONLY TOUCH THE
GOLDEN SNITCH.
Object of the Game.
Basically using either a "bouncing the ball as you
run" technique or a "pass it in the air like volleyball" one (depending on
your Hall/Field and the bounciness of your Quaffle, the Chasers have to score goals. The
Keepers have to stop them.
The Beaters throw the Bludgers at the Chasers on the opposite team. If they hit a Chaser
then the Chaser has to stop still or sit for the count of three (without touching the
Quaffle). This is the equivalent of falling off of a broomstick! It even has to work that
way if the Chasers are hit by their own Beaters by mistake.
The Seeker waits to see when and where the Golden Snitch might appear and has to try to
catch it.
She basically ignores the rest of the game.
If she catches the Golden Snitch her team have won as it is worth so many points.
The Golden Snitch is thrown on intermittently by two Guiders (or YLs or Guides) one each
side of the field of play. They bounce it to each other and have to retrieve it quickly
before the Seekers have a chance to catch it.
There are no rules as to how many times the Golden Snitch is thrown, it just makes brief
and occasional appearances.
Scoring.
A goal scores 10 points.
If the Golden Snitch is caught then it scores 150. This effectively is the end of the
game.
(We found it took about ten minutes per game on average)
Tips.
This is very much a contact game, so keep the balls as light as possible - foam works well
but the Quaffle sized one is a poor bouncer.- still better than bruised Guides.
You can vary the numbers if needed by adding more Chasers and Beaters. However there
should only ever be ONE Seeker per team.
You will need to be subtle about playing the Golden Snitch. Pick moments of confusion when
the Seekers attention is taken off of you - or have two or three Golden Snitches (only use
one at a time) so that each Guider has one and they don't know which of you is going to
throw it on. (Young Leaders will love this job!)
It would help if you had some kind of ribbon sash to mark the players - the kind that are
used for Netball. (I am going to make some out of Blanket edging ribbon - its cheap. Maybe
a marker pen could be zig-zagged on the Chasers ones?)
Back to the games page…………………………………………………………………………………………………
In case you are wondering what the game looks like in the Harry Potter books - here are
the rules. In this game the magic balls can all fly (apart from the Quaffle) and are under
their own control. Hence the change from bats for the Beaters to using their hands to
throw the Bludgers and the Golden snitch has to be played from the sidelines.
(This is the game of Quidditch as set out in the books)
Basic Rules of Quidditch as set forth by Ms. JK Rowling:
.
Stadium:
3 golden goalposts on either side, round goals are 50 feet (or 15 meters) in the air.
There are raised bleachers for spectators.
.
Balls & Equipment:
· 1 Quaffle - bright red, about the size of a soccer ball, used to score goals
· 2 Bludgers - jet black, slightly smaller than Quaffle, attempt to knock players of both
teams off their broomsticks, can cause injury
· 1 Golden Snitch - elusive walnut-sized ball with silver wings
· Players use broomsticks.
.
Team Players:
· 1 Keeper - guards the goals to keep opponents from scoring
· 3 Chasers - throw Quaffle back and forth trying to score goal
· 2 Beaters - defence, use bats to keep Bludgers from their team-mates
· 1 Seeker - tries to catch the Golden Snitch to end the game
.
Object of the Game:
To score as many points as possible by getting the Quaffle through one of the opposing
goals while flying on a broomstick. Players try to avoid the pummelling Bludgers to
prevent injury and, if they are thrown from their broomstick completely, removal from the
game. Game ends when the Golden Snitch is caught by a Seeker.
.
Start of Game:
The referee calls for the team captains to shake hands. When everybody has mounted their
broomsticks, the referee releases the four balls. The referee sounds a whistle and players
may then rise on their broomsticks and play begins.
.
Scoring & Winning:
Each time a Chaser gets the Quaffle in the opposing goal, his team is awarded 10 points.
When a Seeker captures the Snitch, his team is awarded 150 points. Upon the capture of the
Snitch, the team with the most points wins.
.
Penalties:
There are 700 ways to commit a Quidditch foul. Fouls may result in the opposing team
receiving possession of the Quaffle or getting a free shot at a goal.
With many thanks to J.K. Rowling for thinking the whole
Harry Potter thing up in the first place!
