Quidditch

Quidditch is a fictional ballgame[?], a sort of magical variant of football or polo, devised by J. K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series of children's books.

It is portrayed as very popular in the fictional world of Harry Potter. Hogwarts has four Quidditch teams, one for each house in the school.

Teams of seven players mounted on broomsticks compete by throwing a ball called the Quaffle through any of three high mounted hoops at either end of the field. Meanwhile, magical Bludger balls actively attempt to unseat broom riders while team members called Beaters may use sticks to direct those balls at opponents.

The game ends when either team's Seeker gets hold of a small golden winged ball (the Golden Snitch[?]). Getting the Snitch is worth 150 points, which is often enough to win the game. Many fans feel that this is a plot device intended to make it possible for Harry Potter to be single-handedly responsible for his house's victories.

It has been suggested that the name "quidditch" is derived from the names of the balls: Quaffle, Bludger and Snitch.