Calling all Harry Potter fans: quidditch is coming to Manchester

Bit of a Harry Potter fan? Missing the footy? Why not go and watch a game of quidditch instead?

The Quidditch Premier League will be hosting one of its fixtures in Platt Fields Park this summer.

The QPL is an elite quidditch league which represents the sport in the United Kingdom. Eight teams from across the country will be competing to become national champions of the sport.

The game at Platt Fields will feature teams from each of the UK’s northern regions including the East Midlands Archers, West Midlands Revolution, Yorkshire Roses, and the Northern Watch.

Just in case you’re the only person in the world who hasn’t heard of Harry Potter, quidditch is a semi-contact sport played by witches and wizards. The rules are simple.

A quidditch team consists of 21 athletes with seven players per team on the field at any one time. Each player has a broom between their legs. The four maximum rule of quidditch states that at most there can be four players of the same gender on pitch at one time. This ensures that the game is mixed gender and inclusive to all.

A game of quidditch involves three types of balls. The quaffle – a semi-deflated volleyball thrown through the hoops by chasers and keepers. Bludgers – dodgeballs thrown at other players by beaters. There are three bludgers on the pitch. The snitch – a sock with a tennis ball in it, attached to the snitch runner’s shorts. When caught by either team’s seeker, the game ends.

A team of seven will have one keeper, three chasers, two beaters and one seeker. Keepers guard the hoops from opposing chasers and become a fourth chaser on offense. Chasers throw the quaffle through the opposite team’s hoops to score goals worth 10 points. Beaters throw bludgers at the opposing team to ‘knock them out’ and make them return to hoops. Seekers catch the snitch (worth 30 points) to end the game.

That’s all there is to it. The rules of real life quidditch are the same as the magical version except flying is not allowed. Even if your surname is Potter. Or Weasley.

And you don’t have to be ginger to play but it clearly helps.

Platt Fields Park on 1 July

The game will be played at Platt Fields Park on 1 July. It’s a non-ticketed event which anyone can attend. Just don’t forget the cockroach clusters.

More information here.