Post by Arienne Devereaux on Jun 9, 2006 14:20:41 GMT -5
((Years 4-7- sorry about there not being a lesson two, but there was no hw, so don't worry about it. ))
Professor Devereax made her way to the quidditch pitch on a hot, sunny day. "Okay, this lesson is going to take place here, and we're going to be talking about- what else- quidditch? Again, I know this is redundant for most of you, so it should be an easy O for those of you that actually do the homework." With a swish and flick of her wand, a multitude bean bag chairs appeared in the center of the pitch, all in cherry red. "Quidditch, "the sport of warlocks," is the premier sport of the wizarding world. Nearly everyone follows Quidditch. Quidditch is a fast, dangerous, exciting game in which two teams flying on broomsticks compete for points scored by throwing a ball--the Quaffle--through hoops on either end of a large grassy pitch. Those hoops," the professor said, pointing to the hoops that flanked them in triplicity. "Now, Quidditch falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, part of the Ministry of Magic. The professional organization is called the International Association of Quidditch. Professional matches are attended by trained mediwizards and, while there are frequent injuries, there are few deaths from Quidditch accidents.
"Quidditch is played up on broomsticks up in the air, as we all know. Quidditch has three balls. The ball that scores the points is the Quaffle. The people who try to score with the Quaffle are called chasers, and there are three per team. The person defending the hoops is called the keeper. The Quaffle has made some different changes over the years, and the design of the modern Quaffle dates back to the first half of the eighteenth century. Originally Quaffles were not enchanted objects. The red color of the Quaffle was first applied in the winter of 1711 to make it easier to see when dropped to the ground. Ironically, soon afterward the modern Quaffle - technically named the Pennifold Quaffle after its inventor - was developed, making the color change unnecessary: Daisy Pennifold had the idea of bewitching a Quaffle to slow its fall through air to about the speed of falling through water, so that chasers had a better chance of catching the ball in mid-air rather than continually retrieving it from the ground. In 1875, Gripping Charms were discovered, and afterward applied to the standard Quaffle to make it possible for a player to keep a one-handed grip on the ball."
The Bludger is probably the most dangerous ball of all of them. A Bludger always attacks and attempts to unseat the nearest player, which is why Beaters attempt to knock Bludgers toward opposing players. Originally a Bludger was just a rock enchanted to make it attack the players as a modern Bludger does, but the use of rocks was abandoned in favor of other substances since Beaters' bats could eventually smash them into gravel Serious injuries have been caused by Bludgers hitting people and causing them to fall off their brooms.
The third and most important ball is the Golden Snitch. The Golden Snitch is a tiny ball that has wings and is enchanted. The first Snitch was a tiny bird that was very small and very tiny, but changes to the rules made it illegal to use the actual bird. The current enchanted, winged ball version of the Snitch was invented by Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow. If the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch, his or her team earns 150 points and usually wins the match. The Snitch was invented in the 1300s as a replacement for the Golden Snidget, which was used until the Snidget was declared to be an endangered species in the 1200s. The Snitch's behavior during a game is due to enchantments placed on it to make its flight resemble that of a Snidget as closely as possible.
In the center of the Pitch is a circle where the balls are all thrown into the air and the match begins. As the balls are thrown, the players all gather on the ground and then kick off as the referee blows his/her whistle. During the game a player can get a foul or break a rule. Here are some fouls that a player can receive: blagging (applies to all players, it is when a player seizes opponent's broom tail to slow or hinder), blatching (applies to all players, it is when a person is flying with the intent to collide), bumphing (applies to beaters only, it is when a Beater is hitting a Bludger towards the crowd, necessitating a halt of the game as the officials rush to protect bystanders.( Sometimes used by unscrupulous players to prevent an opposing Chaser from scoring).
Quidditch scoring is practically unfair. Since catching the Snitch gains one side the equivalent of fifteen goals and ends the game so the other team can't counter it, Quidditch is essentially a match between the two Seekers and nothing else. So what makes it so popular? Do we all just watch it for the violence and fancy broom tricks? Not at all. Quidditch is always played in a series. Every Quidditch match is part of a larger series of matches, and accumulated points are what count toward ultimate victory. "
Professor Devereax made her way to the quidditch pitch on a hot, sunny day. "Okay, this lesson is going to take place here, and we're going to be talking about- what else- quidditch? Again, I know this is redundant for most of you, so it should be an easy O for those of you that actually do the homework." With a swish and flick of her wand, a multitude bean bag chairs appeared in the center of the pitch, all in cherry red. "Quidditch, "the sport of warlocks," is the premier sport of the wizarding world. Nearly everyone follows Quidditch. Quidditch is a fast, dangerous, exciting game in which two teams flying on broomsticks compete for points scored by throwing a ball--the Quaffle--through hoops on either end of a large grassy pitch. Those hoops," the professor said, pointing to the hoops that flanked them in triplicity. "Now, Quidditch falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, part of the Ministry of Magic. The professional organization is called the International Association of Quidditch. Professional matches are attended by trained mediwizards and, while there are frequent injuries, there are few deaths from Quidditch accidents.
"Quidditch is played up on broomsticks up in the air, as we all know. Quidditch has three balls. The ball that scores the points is the Quaffle. The people who try to score with the Quaffle are called chasers, and there are three per team. The person defending the hoops is called the keeper. The Quaffle has made some different changes over the years, and the design of the modern Quaffle dates back to the first half of the eighteenth century. Originally Quaffles were not enchanted objects. The red color of the Quaffle was first applied in the winter of 1711 to make it easier to see when dropped to the ground. Ironically, soon afterward the modern Quaffle - technically named the Pennifold Quaffle after its inventor - was developed, making the color change unnecessary: Daisy Pennifold had the idea of bewitching a Quaffle to slow its fall through air to about the speed of falling through water, so that chasers had a better chance of catching the ball in mid-air rather than continually retrieving it from the ground. In 1875, Gripping Charms were discovered, and afterward applied to the standard Quaffle to make it possible for a player to keep a one-handed grip on the ball."
The Bludger is probably the most dangerous ball of all of them. A Bludger always attacks and attempts to unseat the nearest player, which is why Beaters attempt to knock Bludgers toward opposing players. Originally a Bludger was just a rock enchanted to make it attack the players as a modern Bludger does, but the use of rocks was abandoned in favor of other substances since Beaters' bats could eventually smash them into gravel Serious injuries have been caused by Bludgers hitting people and causing them to fall off their brooms.
The third and most important ball is the Golden Snitch. The Golden Snitch is a tiny ball that has wings and is enchanted. The first Snitch was a tiny bird that was very small and very tiny, but changes to the rules made it illegal to use the actual bird. The current enchanted, winged ball version of the Snitch was invented by Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow. If the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch, his or her team earns 150 points and usually wins the match. The Snitch was invented in the 1300s as a replacement for the Golden Snidget, which was used until the Snidget was declared to be an endangered species in the 1200s. The Snitch's behavior during a game is due to enchantments placed on it to make its flight resemble that of a Snidget as closely as possible.
In the center of the Pitch is a circle where the balls are all thrown into the air and the match begins. As the balls are thrown, the players all gather on the ground and then kick off as the referee blows his/her whistle. During the game a player can get a foul or break a rule. Here are some fouls that a player can receive: blagging (applies to all players, it is when a player seizes opponent's broom tail to slow or hinder), blatching (applies to all players, it is when a person is flying with the intent to collide), bumphing (applies to beaters only, it is when a Beater is hitting a Bludger towards the crowd, necessitating a halt of the game as the officials rush to protect bystanders.( Sometimes used by unscrupulous players to prevent an opposing Chaser from scoring).
Quidditch scoring is practically unfair. Since catching the Snitch gains one side the equivalent of fifteen goals and ends the game so the other team can't counter it, Quidditch is essentially a match between the two Seekers and nothing else. So what makes it so popular? Do we all just watch it for the violence and fancy broom tricks? Not at all. Quidditch is always played in a series. Every Quidditch match is part of a larger series of matches, and accumulated points are what count toward ultimate victory. "
