WHAT IS QUIDDITCH?

Quidditch is a competitive sport in the wizarding world of the Harry Potter universe, and is from the series of children’s novels and movies. It is an extremely rough but very popular semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches. Matches are played between two teams of seven players riding flying broomsticks, using four balls and six elevated ring-shaped goals, three on each side of the Quidditch pitch (field). In the Harry Potter universe, Quidditch holds a fervent following similar to the position that association football holds as a globally popular sport.

DFMM Quidditch Rules 2028/29

This is a write-up of the official MM Quidditch rules, which adhere to the canonical Quidditch rules as closely as possible. Of course some of the canonical rules cannot be followed due to the limits of MM’s Quidditch equipment but we have stuck as faithfully to them as possible.

These rules are dealt with by the IC referee mostly in-game.

These have been in place since the introduction of this Quidditch system and must be adhered to in every game. It is up to the team captains to remind players of these rules and follow them in practice sessions. These rules were standardised by the British Ministry of Magic in 1750 and have been the official rules ever since. Any rule breaks will be dealt with by the referee who may decide the severity of the punishment, be it a warning, penalty, a Green or Red Sparking or removal from the game:

  • Players must not stray too far from the pitch boundaries. There are no exceptions to this rule.
  • Time out may be called at any time by the team captains. Time outs will be timed by the referee and teams must be ready to recommence play as soon as the referee calls them. The referee may also call time outs if there are any problems.
  • No substitution of players is allowed during a game, even if a player is too injured or tired to continue playing. Exceptions to the rule may only be granted by the referee should a game last longer than 24 hours.
  • 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 and wait behind the halfway line, including seekers. Play resumes as normal as soon as the shot is scored/blocked.
  • Contact is allowed, however players must not deliberately tamper with another players’ flight.
  • 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.
  • Only the keeper can block quaffle shots thrown by the opposing team. If a team’s chaser is by the rings they must not tackle the attacking chaser or intercept their shots.
  • Players will not argue with the referee or insult or question their decisions. All three referees are to be treated with the utmost respect and in the event that they are not the offending player may be given a Green Sparking or at least cede a penalty.
  • Players must NOT enhance their performance with potions of any kind. 
  • Players must NOT alter their form in any way (for example, a metamorphmagus player extending their height, a player transfiguring their arms into gorilla arms for extra strength, etc.)
  • If a Sparking is called all players must ground themselves immediately. Failure to do so and capitalising upon this may result in the non-offending team being awarded a penalty.
  • Refusal to continue to play a game will result in the game being forfeited and the opposing team being gifted the win by 150 points to nil.

SPARKINGS

A Sparking is a method wherein a referee will utilise Green or Red Sparks – in accordance with the severity of the foul or penalty conceded/given. If a Sparking is called all players must ground themselves immediately. Failure to do so and capitalising upon this may result in the non-offending team being awarded a penalty. A Green Sparking is created when a referee or touch-judge casts Green Sparks in the air after witnessing a breach of the following rules, and should act as a warning to BOTH teams not to commit the same foul:

  • Players must not stray out of the pitch boundaries. There are to be no exceptions to this rule.
  • Only the keeper can block quaffle shots thrown by the opposing team. If a team’s chaser is by the rings they must not tackle the attacking chaser or intercept their shots. This only applies to the attacking zone, however it is acceptable for teams to try to steal in an opposing team’s safe zone.
  • Beaters can target the opposing seeker at any time, however excessive bludgering preventing any player to leave the ground is not acceptable. Mind your offensive spread, and be mindful of how many times you are targeting the seeker per minute.

In the event of a Green Sparking, the player in question is punished via these three methods at the same time:

  • The player in question must spend 10 minutes grounded whilst play resumes, weakening their team in the long run.
  • Professional Players pay a fine on top of having in game consequences. Professional player’s fines take into account 1% of their monthly wage before adding additional charges upon it in accordance with the severity of the reasoning and repeat offences.
  • Once the Green Sparking is declared and the player is forced to spend 10 minutes grounded, play resumes with a penalty attempt at goal for the team fouled against. Once this attempt is taken the 10 minutes begins.

If a player during a game causes 3 fouls or penalties they automatically acquire a Green Sparking for persistent fouling. The player will receive warnings each time they make a certain foul, and upon the 3rd foul/warning, they will receive a Green Sparking. On some occasions, the referee may issue a warning to both teams if they see the same foul across several players, or to act as a final warning for that foul in particular. Any further fouls will immediately result in a Green Sparking in this case. This does not include penalties that already resulted in Green Sparkings.

If a player receives three Green Sparkings they automatically receive a disciplinary Red Sparking.

A Red Sparking is far more serious, and is only given out by refs in the above event or when a player breaches the following rules:

  • 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.
  • Players must NOT enhance their performance or ruin their opposition’s performance with potions of any kind. 
  • Players must NOT alter their form in any way (for example, a metamorphmagus player extending their height, a player transfiguring their arms into gorilla arms for extra strength, etc.)
  • Players must not hit bludgers towards the spectators or downed players.
  • Players will not argue with the referee or insult or question their decisions. All three referees are to be treated with the utmost respect.
  • If a player receives three Green Sparkings
  • If a player commits a foul their team has had previous warnings/Green Sparkings for
  • If a player’s foul directly impacts the outcome of the match, or hinders the other team’s fair chance during a match-deciding moment, e.g. going out of bounds to catch the snitch, before the chase has begun

In the event of a player receiving a Red Sparking, they get taken off for the rest of the game with no substitution allowed, effectively making their team play with a player-down. After this, they are required to see a disciplinary council held at the Ministry of Magic by the Department of Magical Games and Sports in order to investigate the manner of these fouls and how the player intends to go ahead before they can play again. It is illegal and can result in permanent bans from the sport if a player begins to play again without seeing a disciplinary council. Whilst Red Sparkings are incredibly rare, they are also very important when they happen. If a player has a history of Red Sparkings and Green Sparkings it is entirely possible that the DoMGS might ban them from the sport for life.

On top of these specific instances, a referee may deem some actions worthy of a Red Sparking. It is down to the referee’s discretion whether severe cases that are not specifically detailed within the rules are worthy of a Red Sparking. A referee may also escalate straight to a Red Sparking from a Green, or even a warning, during match-deciding moments. A match-deciding moment is categorised as a moment within a match that would secure a certain outcome, typically one team’s victory, and hinder the other team’s fair chance. For an example, this could be when a Beater strikes the Seeker before a chase has begun, where both Seekers are close to catching (4 out of 5 attempts each), meaning that Seeker and that team have lost their fair chance in deciding the outcome of the match.

FOULS

There are another seven hundred fouls (approximately) that may result in a warning, penalty, a Green or Red Sparking or removal from the game by the referee, including:

  • 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 captain’s robes during a game
  • Setting fire to an opponent’s broom tail
  • Attacking an opponent’s broom with a club
  • Attacking an opponent with an axe
  • Chucking butterbeer into an opponent’s eyes
  • Running on the ground for more than seventy-seven seconds
  • Swearing profusely at the referee
  • Flirting profusely at the referee
  • Bribery
  • Bribery with leprechaun’s gold
  • Using omninoculars to check the opponents are wearing undergarments

ALLOWED TACTICS AND MOVES

Several tactics and moves are considered acceptable and entertaining, such as:

  • Checking: When a chaser intercepts an opposing chasers’ pass outside of the attacking third
  • Dopplebeater Defence: Both beaters striking a bludger at the same opponent, doubling their chance of grounding them
  • Hawkshead Attacking Formation: Three chasers flying in a triangle shape during an attack
  • Power Play: A large concentration of players is applied in a certain area of the pitch, in order to clear a path for the chaser who is carrying the quaffle
  • Twirl: Whirling about of the broomstick, in an attempt to dodge something, usually an opponent or a bludger
  • Wronski Feint: A seeker from high above dives down sharply as if to collect the snitch, tricking the opposing seeker to chase after them, only to pull up at the last second, leaving the opposing seeker to crash into the ground below.
  • Zig-Zag: A player moving in a back and forth motion to avoid bludgers and other players, and confuse the keeper
  • Double Eight Loop: A keeper flies in front of the three goals at high speed to block the quaffle
  • Porskoff Ploy: One chaser flies upwards, and then throws the quaffle straight down to another chaser directly below
  • Reverse pass: A chaser throws the quaffle to teammate behind them
  • Wollongong Shimmy: All chasers fly in a zig-zag to confuse opposing chasers
  • Falmouth Feint: One chaser flies toward the goal hoops and pretends to shoot before either passing to another chaser so they can shoot, or shooting themselves