Quidditch Rules

[Elisabeth McNight]

An unbiased referee will start off the match by stating the players' names on each team, then releasing the balls. Other than the referee, there's no specific post order, though post order does determine the outcome of each move. If a foul is committed, the referee will jump in and award the opposite team a penalty.



Players

1 Seeker - A seeker's job is to find and capture the golden snitch. Once captured, the seeker earns their team 150 points and ends the game; most of the time this means victory, but not always.

1 Keeper - The keeper's job is to protect their team's three hoops; they are to attempt to block any goals the chasers make.

2 Beaters - Beaters are to keep the bludgers away from their teammates while trying to steer the bludgers toward the other team's members. They do this with clubs.

3 Chasers - Chasers must pass the quaffle to one another and score goals in the enemy's goal posts. Ten points are earned per goal. Keep in mind not more than one chaser may enter the scoring area to prevent stooging (a move in which two chasers enter the scoring area, ram the keeper aside so the third chaser may score a goal; this is a foul).


Balls

Snitch - The snitch is a small, golden,  walnut-sized ball with silver wings. The only player allowed contact is the seeker.

Quaffle - The quaffle is a scarlet ball, bewitched so that the chasers may grasp it without it falling out of their hand. Unlike the snitch or the bludgers, the quaffle cannot fly on its own. Only chasers and the keeper may handle this ball.

Bludgers - There are usually two bludgers (one for each beater), and they are enchanted to fly around the field and attempt to knock players off their broom. They are not prejudiced, so they will go for any player they can unless struck by a beater towards the enemy team.


Posting

Any player may begin posting as soon as the ref opens up the match. Immediately after, a team member must post in order to secure an action. If an opposing team member posts before your team does, then the action is not secured and the opposite team may intercept your move.

Chasers - Possession, Passes and Goal Scoring

When you pass the quaffle, you must not state whether or not your team got it. If the next person to post is your team member, they will catch it. If it is the opposing team, they will intercept the pass.

Goal scoring will be slightly different. Chasers may not post whether or not they made it into the hoop, however, because it is mandatory that the opposing keeper responds before the match continues.

If you are in possession and are hit by a bludger, you will lose possession. However, a team mate may regain possession if they manage to post again before the enemy team.

Example (in this example, posts will be extremely short; more on post length later)

Ravie Chaser 1: She threw the quaffle over to her teammate.
Ravie Chaser 2: He caught it before the Gryffindor team could get it. He then passed it to Chaser 3.
Ravie Chaser 3: She caught it just as she reached the scoring area. Concentrating, she tossed it towards the far right hoop.
Gryffindor Keeper: He barely made it to the hoop, but he caught the quaffle before it flew into the goal. He tossed it right back towards his team's chasers.
Gryffindor Chaser 1: She grabbed the quaffle and flew for it, speeding past the bludgers but not quite making it when one slammed into her, causing her to lose possession.
Gryffindor Chaser 3: Luckily she had been flying beneath her fellow chaser when she lost the ball. She flew up and grabbed it then sped towards the Ravenclaw goal posts.

Keepers - Saving and Missing Goals

Keepers are not to leave the scoring area. You may only successfully defend your goal if the opposing team has not responded after the attempt to score. Any team member may post.

If a keeper has successfully defended his or her goal, they are then to throw the quaffle to their team. This may not be intercepted.

Example:

Gryffindor Chaser 3: Entering the scoring area, she threw the quaffle towards the far left hoop as hard as she could.
Ravie Keeper: He zoomed to the left and caught the quaffle, tossing it back to his team.

Gryffindor Chaser 3: Entering the scoring area, she threw the quaffle towards the far left hoop as hard as she could.
Gryffindor Beater 1: He sped towards the bludger that was headed for the seeker, and used his club to send it off towards the other team's chaser.
Ravie Keeper: He zoomed to the left, but he was not fast enough and the quaffle made it through the hoop.


Beaters - Landing and Preventing Hits

Beaters may only land hits if a member of their team directly posts after they do. Beaters are not to post that their hit made contact. If a member of the opposing team posts directly preceding a beater's post, their hit will miss.

Example:

Gryffindor Beater 1: He sped towards the bludger that was headed for the seeker, and used his club to send it off towards the other team's chaser.
Ravie Keeper: He zoomed to the left, but he was not fast enough and the quaffle made it through the hoop.
Ravie Chaser 1: She dodged the oncoming bludger by rolling until she was hanging upside from her broom, letting it whiz past her before she rolling back up.


Seekers - Finding and Catching the Snitch

To keep the playing field as fair as possible, a minimum of three goals must have been scored by any team before the seeker can attempt to find the snitch. The seeker is to state in their post which section of the pitch the snitch was found, and that they are flying towards it. The seeker who found it may not say that they caught it unless:

- A member of their team has posted directly after them and none of the opposite team has responded.
- The enemy seeker was hit by a bludger.
- The enemy seeker was blocked.

In the event that the enemy seeker does not post, but a seeker who has found the snitch is being hit by a bludger or blocked, their teammate must make a post in order for the seeker to revive and continue their search and chase.

The sections of the pitch are as follows in the below diagram:





Ending the Game

The game ends when either one of two conditions are met:

- The seeker caught the snitch.
- The match has been ongoing for at least 25 rounds (25 quaffle scores), but neither seeker has found nor caught the snitch.


Substitutions

Substitutions may be brought into the match if a player is unable to post. Substitutions are to be brought to the referee’s attention and approved. Whatever action was taken against a player, the sub who fills in for them will take that action in their place. The sub may only sub for one round in the entire match.



Post Lengths and Other Posting Information

Each post must be no longer than 500 words, but no shorter than two paragraphs, five descriptive sentences each. This is to keep the match interesting for those following as well as to not give the ref more to read than is necessary.

If you have made a spelling or grammar error, you have fifteen minutes after posting to fix your response. If you edit it after this time frame, 20 points will be taken from your team and the opposing team will be awarded a penalty.

Please be aware that as in the books, you must follow basic quidditch protocol. You may not land on the ground at any point during the game unless your team captain calls for a break, and the ref agrees. All fouls committed will result in your opponent gaining a penalty shot. For a list of fouls, please see Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp. This also applies to godmodding and power playing.

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Let the games begin!