LESSON 4: THE EVOLUTION OF QUIDDITCH
The International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee has always boasted that no matter what – wars, disease, famine – the World Cup has been held every four years. Of course, there was the Tournament that Nobody Remembers, which put a slight hiccup in the pattern as it was staged again the very next year. People are also quick to point out the misnumbering of the tournament in 1918, which has yet to be rectified.
Leading up to what was supposed to be the final of the 113th Quidditch World Cup in 1918, all the banners in the stadium were numbered incorrectly. While 113 in roman numerals is supposed to be CXIII, the banners instead showed CDIII – 403. Archer Evermonde, who was Minister of Magic at the time, announced the match as the 403rd Quidditch World Cup finals. The mistake was not pointed out until the announcement of the 405th Quidditch World Cup, after which Evermonde's successor Hector Fawley famously said, “that cannot possibly be correct,” upon his realization that the World Cup would have predated not only Quidditch itself, but the use of flying broomsticks, if this number was at all accurate.
Leading up to what was supposed to be the final of the 113th Quidditch World Cup in 1918, all the banners in the stadium were numbered incorrectly. While 113 in roman numerals is supposed to be CXIII, the banners instead showed CDIII – 403. Archer Evermonde, who was Minister of Magic at the time, announced the match as the 403rd Quidditch World Cup finals. The mistake was not pointed out until the announcement of the 405th Quidditch World Cup, after which Evermonde's successor Hector Fawley famously said, “that cannot possibly be correct,” upon his realization that the World Cup would have predated not only Quidditch itself, but the use of flying broomsticks, if this number was at all accurate.
CHANGES IN STRATEGY
From the implementation of the Stooging Penalty in 1884 to the 1940s, Quidditch was a “Seeker's game.” During this period, teams rarely scored more than 150 points before the Snitch was caught, essentially making the entire match a race for the Snitch. In 1921, Roderick Plumpton ended a match before any goals could be scored when he caught the Snitch within seconds of it being released. Six years later in an exhibition match between the Vratsa Vultures and the Tornavacas Toros, Chasers and Keepers ignored the Quaffle completely and instead aided their Seekers in searching for the Snitch.
Darren O'Hare, who played Keeper for the Kenmare Kestrels and the Irish National team from 1947-1960, was the foremost innovator of Quaffle play in the 20th century. His contribution to the game, the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, was responsible for the exponential increase in goals scored in the 1950s. The formation, which involved the Chasers flying together in an arrowhead pattern, spread quickly and by 1952, half the teams in the European Cup were using some variation of O'Hare's strategy.
In 1953, the Heidelberg Harriers played a seven day match against the Holyhead Harpies. In what is widely regarded as one of the finest displays of Chasing ever seen, the Harriers and Harpies showed just how far the game of Quidditch had come, flying in perfect formations and executing pin-point passes. The game, however, is perhaps most famous for Harriers' Captain Rudolf Brand's marriage proposal to Harpies' Captain Gwendolyn Morgan; Morgan received a three-game suspension after knocking Brand over the head with her broomstick.
In response to the increased emphasis placed on Quaffle play, Beaters had to step up their game. While the first rule of Brutus Scrimgeour's The Beater's Bible is to “Take out the Seeker,” Beaters in the 1960s instead focused much of their efforts towards shutting down the opposing Chaser attack. The most feared Beating team at the time was the Falmouth Falcons' dynamic duo of Kevin and Karl Broadmoor, who accumulated no less than fourteen suspensions from the Department of Magical Games and Sports for taking the Falcons motto, “Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads,” a little too literally. After losing to the Falcons in the semi-finals of the 1964 European Cup, Bigonville Bombers Chaser Sebastian Strauss said, “I'm just glad to be alive.”
Darren O'Hare, who played Keeper for the Kenmare Kestrels and the Irish National team from 1947-1960, was the foremost innovator of Quaffle play in the 20th century. His contribution to the game, the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, was responsible for the exponential increase in goals scored in the 1950s. The formation, which involved the Chasers flying together in an arrowhead pattern, spread quickly and by 1952, half the teams in the European Cup were using some variation of O'Hare's strategy.
In 1953, the Heidelberg Harriers played a seven day match against the Holyhead Harpies. In what is widely regarded as one of the finest displays of Chasing ever seen, the Harriers and Harpies showed just how far the game of Quidditch had come, flying in perfect formations and executing pin-point passes. The game, however, is perhaps most famous for Harriers' Captain Rudolf Brand's marriage proposal to Harpies' Captain Gwendolyn Morgan; Morgan received a three-game suspension after knocking Brand over the head with her broomstick.
In response to the increased emphasis placed on Quaffle play, Beaters had to step up their game. While the first rule of Brutus Scrimgeour's The Beater's Bible is to “Take out the Seeker,” Beaters in the 1960s instead focused much of their efforts towards shutting down the opposing Chaser attack. The most feared Beating team at the time was the Falmouth Falcons' dynamic duo of Kevin and Karl Broadmoor, who accumulated no less than fourteen suspensions from the Department of Magical Games and Sports for taking the Falcons motto, “Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads,” a little too literally. After losing to the Falcons in the semi-finals of the 1964 European Cup, Bigonville Bombers Chaser Sebastian Strauss said, “I'm just glad to be alive.”
BROOMSTICKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
In 1967, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company created the Nimbus 1000 to compete with the Cleansweep Broom Company and Comet Trading Company who had dominated the broomstick market for over forty years. The Nimbus revolutionized the game of Quidditch as players could fly faster than ever before. The difference was immediately noticeable; the increased velocity meant Beaters could hit Bludgers harder and Chasers could throw Quaffles more swiftly. Seeking was largely unchanged for the next few decades as players found it difficult to adjust to making sharp turns at such high speeds. By the 21st century, the Nimbus had been replaced as the fastest broom in the world by the Firebolt and the Thunderbolt.
NOTABLE WORLD CUPS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Royston Idlewind, an ex-player from the 1966 World Cup-winning Australian team, was appointed the new International Director of the ICWQC in 1971. Idlewind, undoubtedly influenced by the many jinxes he had received from the crowd during his playing days, controversially banned all wands from the stadium during the 1974 World Cup. In response, spectators played Dissimulators, a new style of musical instrument which emits a sound similar to that of the vuvuzela, during matches. During the final match between Syria and Madagascar, a hundred thousand Dissimulators emitted loud raspberries and were transfigured back into the wands they had been disguising all along. Idlewind, humiliated by the blatant disregard for his ban, immediately resigned from his position.
Twenty years later, Ireland took on Bulgaria in the final match of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum performed a Wronski Feint that Wronski himself could not have pulled off, and caught the Snitch to end the match 160-170 in favor of Ireland. Following the match, Bulgaria's star Chaser, Clara Ivanova, criticized Krum for not giving her more time to cut down Ireland's lead. However, her interview with Rita Skeeter was cut short when supporters of Lord Voldemort launched an attack on fellow wizards and local Muggles.
Twenty years later, Ireland took on Bulgaria in the final match of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum performed a Wronski Feint that Wronski himself could not have pulled off, and caught the Snitch to end the match 160-170 in favor of Ireland. Following the match, Bulgaria's star Chaser, Clara Ivanova, criticized Krum for not giving her more time to cut down Ireland's lead. However, her interview with Rita Skeeter was cut short when supporters of Lord Voldemort launched an attack on fellow wizards and local Muggles.
"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted, who like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH — BUT IRELAND WINS — good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"
"What did he catch the Snitch for?" Ron bellowed, even as he jumped up and down, applauding with his hands over his head. "He ended it when Ireland were a hundred and sixty points ahead, the idiot!" "He knew they were never going to catch up!" Harry shouted back over all the noise, also applauding loudly. "The Irish Chasers were too good.... He wanted to end it on his terms, that's all...." |
MODERN QUIDDITCH
In 1999, Ginny Weasley became the youngest witch to play for the Holyhead Harpies. She led the Harpies to back-to-back European Cup finals in the early 2000s and in her fifth year with the team, she set the league record for goals in a season – a record which would later be broken by Puddlemere United's Mark Dimbleby, who described Weasley as “the only Chaser who could match him even on his best day." Unfortunately, we never got to see Weasley reach her full potential as she retired from the league in 2004 due to her desire to start a family.
During the summer of 2012, the Montrose Magpies, in an attempt to regain their former glory, became the highest paying team in league history after signing American Seeker Amani Hooper and French Keeper Rene Leroux to matching ten-year, two-hundred million-Galleon contracts. The Magpies, dubbed “the Dream Team” by manager Cormack McLeod, quickly learned you cannot buy success in Quidditch. Despite stellar performances by the Magpies' All-League Beaters, George and Harrison Hobbs, the team finished bottom of the league two years in a row, and by the 2015 European Cup, all seven players had been transferred to other teams.
Quidditch has come a long way since the days of Queerditch Marsh. Players of every position have perfected their craft; Mark Dimbleby is perhaps the greatest Chaser of all time. Archie Jarvis of the Appleby Arrows has revolutionized the Keeper position – Keepers no longer circle the hoops, but instead slowly fly backwards as the Quaffle approaches to cut off scoring angles. Iefan Rice and Darren Floyd of the Welsh National Quidditch team have perfected both offensive and defensive beating, while modern Seekers like Viktor Krum, Sigrid Kristofferman, and Liang Liao could give even the late Eunice Murray a run for her money. It is difficult to predict what the future of Quidditch will look like, but if history is any indication, we should expect even more amazing games.
During the summer of 2012, the Montrose Magpies, in an attempt to regain their former glory, became the highest paying team in league history after signing American Seeker Amani Hooper and French Keeper Rene Leroux to matching ten-year, two-hundred million-Galleon contracts. The Magpies, dubbed “the Dream Team” by manager Cormack McLeod, quickly learned you cannot buy success in Quidditch. Despite stellar performances by the Magpies' All-League Beaters, George and Harrison Hobbs, the team finished bottom of the league two years in a row, and by the 2015 European Cup, all seven players had been transferred to other teams.
Quidditch has come a long way since the days of Queerditch Marsh. Players of every position have perfected their craft; Mark Dimbleby is perhaps the greatest Chaser of all time. Archie Jarvis of the Appleby Arrows has revolutionized the Keeper position – Keepers no longer circle the hoops, but instead slowly fly backwards as the Quaffle approaches to cut off scoring angles. Iefan Rice and Darren Floyd of the Welsh National Quidditch team have perfected both offensive and defensive beating, while modern Seekers like Viktor Krum, Sigrid Kristofferman, and Liang Liao could give even the late Eunice Murray a run for her money. It is difficult to predict what the future of Quidditch will look like, but if history is any indication, we should expect even more amazing games.