Formerly known as quidditch, quadball is the first ever fictional sport to be played in the real world. Now 20 years on, the community looks to re-establish itself as a sport of inclusivity, and stray away from the title of the ‘Harry Potter game’.
Whilst you might not be able to fly through the air on broomsticks in real life, you can still play quidditch. Created in 2005, Quidditch is one of the world’s first sports to be based on a fictional game, taking inspiration from the Harry Potter series. Now two decades on, Quidditch has grown massively, and is recognised as one of the most inclusive sports on the university scene, as well as one of the more unique sports that is played on a global scale. Now officially known as Quadball since 2022, the community aims to be recognised for its inclusivity, uniqueness and individuals, not as ‘the game from Harry Potter’.
Quadball is played with seven players on each team: a keeper, two chasers, three beaters, and a seeker. A deflated volleyball is used as a ‘quaffle’, the ball chasers aim to throw through the three opposing hoops to score 10 points for their team. Dodgeballs are used as bludgers, the balls used by beaters to knock chasers off their broom. In the fictional game, the golden snitch is a small ball that flies around the arena which the seekers have to catch to gain an instant win. To achieve a similar effect in quadball, there is a neutral ‘snitchrunner’ who’s aim is to move around the field avoiding the seekers. The snitch runner has a tennis ball or a flag attached to their lower back, which represents the snitch, which the seekers aim to catch. Finally, all players must play holding a stick between their legs. This represents a ‘broomstick’
Thomas Ng, fresher from Oxford University Quadball Club, believes that the inclusion of a stick ‘puts people off’ from trying the sport, but says it serves more of a purpose than being just a novelty accessory:
“People say ‘it would all be fine if there wasn’t a stick between your legs.’ It has never bothered me.
“It actually makes the game better as it acts as a handicap. You have to receive the ball side on and it stops people running full pelt at each other. It is also difficult to catch the ball on the run. So it does have a purpose, more than just making the game more similar to quidditch.”
Thomas started playing quadball at university as a way to try something new and make friends. Beyond an interest in the game itself, Thomas was drawn by the playing atmosphere of the community. Thomas said: “I didn’t realise how universal the friendliness was.
“It’s all very wholesome and everyone is always complimenting each other.
“I sort of assumed it was just my club, but when I went to the first tournament I thought ‘wow, everyone is like this!’”
Martin Conmy, student at Oxford University, had a similar experience when he tried quadball for the first time. Martin went undercover as someone interested in trying the sport, when in reality he was there to review the community. He describes his experience as pleasantly surprising:
“I quickly realised that the atmosphere of quidditch is very different from that of any other sport I’ve played.
“It felt like all the people who had been picked last in P.E. had assembled to play a sport of their very own.
“That probably sounds cruel and condescending, but in reality, it was much more welcoming than I had anticipated.”
The official Quadball UK says “quadball is for everyone – including those from an LGBTQ+ background and who identify within the trans or non-binary community.” Martin found that when he first arrived, the first thing they did was share pronouns, instead of any excessive ritual commonly associated with sports teams such as doing an extreme forfeit. He said in relation to the website’s comment:
“it seemed like a truthful statement, rather than a piece of empty propaganda. There were people of all sizes, genders, and backgrounds gathered together.”
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the community decided to adopt a new name for the sport. The creator of the fictional game Quidditch, JK Rowling, has made comments towards LGBTQ+ people and the trans community in the past that have been deemed ‘toxic’ and offensive, leading to the switch to ‘quadball’, in order to disassociate with her views. Thomas Ng said:
“We want to be recognised as our own sport and not just ‘Harry Potter’. It’s not really relevant. And we do want to try and detach from JK Rowlings views. It makes people much more comfortable straying away from that title.”
Whilst safely within the sport in terms of acceptance is a fundamental value of quadball, safety on the pitch is another key area of focus. Quadball is one of the few full contact mixed sports that is played around the world. Many of the tackles that occur in a game are strong and fast-paced, but Thomas Ng said he still feels safer playing quadball, than other contact sports. He said:
“All the rules are designed around safety. Even though the tackle is the same as a rugby tackle, I feel a lot safer on a quadball field.
“I feel like the referees are a lot quicker to hand out cards for illegal contact. People try not to initiate contact but people are very accepting of it. The rules are very specific about what you can do to the front and what you can do to the back. So yes, contact is scary, but it is well controlled.”
One criticism of quadball is that it is difficult to follow as a spectator. Usually in team sports, there is one game taking place with one objective (normally for one team to outscore the other), however, with quadball, there are often multiple smaller games happening at once within the overall main game. Thomas said:
“There’s the beater game and the chaser game, and they kind of happen at the same time and sometimes interact. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. If I’m ever watching it on YouTube I have to rewind in order to see everything that had gone on.
“I’m a beater, not a chaser, and most of the time I don’t know what the score is because I’m that focused on my game. So in that way it’s a lot to process.”
The complicated nature of the sport is something that can act as a barrier for beginners, but clubs are keen to support new players as much as they can. Isla Adams, president of Wessex Warlocks, said:
“We just want them to come and enjoy themselves. It’s a safe space for everyone, and that’s always the main focus when new people come along.
“Yes, there is a lot going on. I just say don’t worry too much about all of that, just go out there and try it. You’ll pick most of it up as you go along.”
Isla has been president for almost a year and is happy with the growth she has seen since running the club. She said:
“Honestly it’s so great to see. I love seeing everyone playing with a smile on their face. The club has grown so much recently and I think a lot that is down to the atmosphere we have created.
“One of the things I liked about quadball when I heard about it was how friendly everyone was. I noticed that straight away, and I like to hope I can help others feel the same as I did when I joined.”
In the space of two decades, the sport of quadball has grown exponentially. This is not due to the popularity of the Harry Potter series – as a matter of fact – it seems that most players would rather ignore the origins of quidditch completely. Yes, it began as a fictional sport. Yes, it is most known from the books and the films. Yet when you take a closer look, you actually find that there is so much more to it than that. It’s about acceptance for who you are. It’s about having the courage to say ‘I don’t care what people are going to say’. People might poke fun at players for having an imaginary stick or trying to recreate a magic golden snitch with a tennis ball, but those people are narrow-minded and ignorant to what the sport means for the people. It is a safe place for many, especially the LQBTQ+ and trans community. It’s somewhere you can embrace your differences together with your team, and your opponents. It’s a celebration of the adversity that you face off the field. It allows players to experience the adrenaline, the thrill, the competition of any other sport – without the tribal toxicity that inevitably comes with most team sports. And now quadball continues to grow year on year – beyond the fiction.
