Quadball

IQA World Cups

IQA Quidditch World Cup - 2016 Frankfurt

Quidditch is the most loved and watched sport in the world of Harry Potter. The sport is played by two teams of seven people (three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker) and involves three different types of balls (a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a Golden Snitch). To learn more about Quidditch, go to Quidditch Through the Ages.

Quidditch is so popular that the sport has even been adapted for the Muggle world, with hundreds of teams competing around the world and watched by thousands of fans. This Muggle version of the sport has even been featured in both television and film. The International Quidditch Association governs the Muggle version of this sport.

About the IQA

The International Quidditch Association (IQA) represents hundreds of club quidditch teams within more than two dozen national governing bodies. This association works in various areas regarding the Muggle quidditch world, anywhere from organizing international competitions to improving the official rule book.

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History

Xander Manshel and Alex Benepe created Muggle quidditch in 2005 at Middlebury College. Intramural games became regular, and in 2007, they played the first official match.

The sport became international in 2008, when the first non-US team, a Canadian team from McGill University of Quebec, debuted in the first World Cup championship. As the sport gained popularity, it was decided that more formal leadership was needed. As a result, the IQA was created in 2010.

Finland joined the US and Canada in 2011 for World Cup V. Over 10,000 fans came to watch this tournament, where 96 teams performed in New York City.

2012 saw the first bi-annual Global Games, which had teams from the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Australia perform in Oxford, England. This event sparked interest and growing popularity of the sport all around the world.

In 2014, the IQA changed the names of the tournaments, thus renaming the previously held "World Cups" into "US Cups" and starting off the series of bi-annually World Cups, held around the world with teams competing from all around the world.

In 2020, Bex Lowe, team manager for UK Quidditch, started the Amazonian Quidditch League, the first quidditch league exclusively for female, trans, and non-binary players. To help players develop as individuals, the league also hosts expert-led workshops and drills.

Rules

The pitch is rectangular with rounded corners: 55 meters (60 yards) by 33 meters (36 yards). Three hoops of varying heights are at either end. The game is over when the snitch is caught, and the team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Each match begins with six of the starting players (excluding the seekers) along the starting line within their keeper zone with brooms on the ground and the four balls lined up in the center of the pitch. The head referee then calls "Brooms up!" at which point players mount their brooms and run to gain possession of the balls, which are lying in the middle of the field, similar to dodgeball.

To be mounted on the broomstick means that the player must hold the broom between their legs and not have it fully on the ground. It can be supported by their thighs or hands equally, just as long as it is not attached to their person or fully resting on the ground.

After "Brooms up" is called, the seekers must not interfere with other positions and wait near the pitch until the end of the seeker floor, which ends after 18 minutes. The snitch runner goes on the field at 17 minutes, and the seekers are released at 18 minutes. All players need to be touching their brooms at all times with one hand.

A team lineup is similar to the magical version of this Muggle game:

1 keeper, who tries to guard the goals and can act as a fourth chaser, with special rights in their respective goal zone. The keepers wear green headbands.
3 chasers, who try to pass the quaffle (a slightly deflated volleyball) and score goals through the hoops. Goals can be scored from both sides. Each goal is worth 10 points. The chasers wear white headbands.
2 beaters, who use the three bludgers (slightly deflated dodgeballs) to hit the other players on the field. A player who has been hit by a bludger will need to dismount their broom, drop the quaffle if they are currently holding it, touch a hoop on their side of the pitch, and mount their broom again to get back into the game. The beaters wear black headbands.
1 seeker, who tries to catch the snitch before the other seeker does in order to end the game. The snitch is worth 30 points. The seekers wear yellow or golden headbands.

A snitch is a tennis ball in a sock hanging out of the shorts of a person wearing yellow or gold clothes who is called the snitch runner. The seekers will try to catch the snitch since this ends the game and awards their team 30 points. The latest rules issued three handicaps for the seekers and the snitch runner: Once the seekers are released, the snitch runner must remain between the two keeper zones. If the snitch has not been caught at the 23-minute mark, the first handicap is issued, requiring the snitch runner to stay within 1.5 yards of the middle of the pitch. The second handicap, at 28 minutes, constrains the snitch runner to keep one arm behind their back; the third and final one, at 33 minutes, restricts the snitch runner to within 1.5 yards of the intersection of the middle of the pitch and the sideline opposite the scorekeeper and benches.

Quidditch is coed and just like its magical version, a very brutal sport.

Depending on the severity of the foul, a player found committing an illegal play will be given a blue, yellow, and/or red card. Cards are issued at the discretion of the head referee.

When a blue card is issued, it is considered to be a non-stacking yellow card and can either result in being sent back to the hoops or spending one minute in the penalty box. When a yellow card is issued, the player must sit in the penalty box for one minute. If the opposing team scores before the minute is up, then the player will be allowed to return to the game. They are still considered off the broom and must tag their team's hoops in order to resume play. If a player receives two yellow cards, then the card will become red. If a player receives a red card, that player must sit in the penalty box for two minutes. When a red card is given, that player must sub out for another player. The player coming onto the pitch will then serve two minutes within the penalty box. Both teams are required to have a keeper on the pitch at all times. Therefore, if a keeper has been given a red card, they must give their headband to another chaser on their team.

National Governing Bodies

The IQA serves over three dozen national governing bodies. You can find your local organization here:

Contents

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Catalonia
Chile
Czechia
Denmark
France
Germany
Ghana
Hong Kong
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States
Vietnam

Argentina

Asociación Quidditch Argentina (Argentine Quidditch Association)

The Argentine Quidditch Association is a full member of the IQA but has yet to compete in an IQA World Cup.

About the IQA

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Catalonia

Chile

Czechia

Denmark

France

Germany

Ghana

Hong Kong

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Malaysia

Mexico

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Pakistan

Peru

Poland

Portugal

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Uganda

United Kingdom

United States

Vietnam

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Important Dates

November 2024

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Sun, Nov 24