Once hit by an opposing bludger, that player must dismount their broom, drop any ball being held, and return to touch their own team's hoops before re-entering the game.

[9] The ultimate goal is to have more points than the other team by the time the snitch—a tennis ball inside a long sock hanging from the shorts of an impartial official dressed in yellow—is caught.

Matches or games often run about 30 to 40 minutes, but tend to vary in length due to the unpredictable nature of the snitch catch.

Two years later, the IQA hosted the Global Games, where the United States defeated Australia for the gold medal.

In 2010, UCLA became the first major university to create a permanent Quidditch pitch, sponsored by actor Matthew Perry.

In December 2021, US Quidditch and Major League Quidditch proposed changing the name of the sport, to distance themselves Rowling's views on transgender people, that have been criticized as transphobic, and to avoid a potential trademark dispute with Warner Bros..[21] Names suggested include "quidball", "quadball", "quickball", "quicker", "quidstrike" and "quadraball".

Many teams play on PVC pipes of about 3 feet or 1 meter in length; these are usually made, but can also be purchased from specialist quidditch suppliers.

Any player experiencing a knock-out effect from either dismounting their broomstick or getting hit with a bludger must touch with any part of their body excluding the broom any one of their hoops before returning to play.

Upon being hit by a bludger, a player must dismount their broom, drop any ball that they may have been carrying, and touch their team's hoops before resuming play.

Previously, snitch runners left the pitch to be pursued by seekers returning to the field after a predetermined amount of time.

Depending on the severity of the foul, a player found committing an illegal play will result in a back-to-hoops, or a blue, yellow, and/or a red card.

[42] The snitch can no longer leave the pitch and is also subject to 'brooms down' (which is when play stops and no one can change location or headband), but can 'take a knee' by having any part of their body except their feet touch the floor.

On the edge of the pitch is a penalty box where players who have committed fouls that warrant yellow cards are sent for one minute.

Rulebook 10 now requires that once an opposing team has scored, the keeper and or point chaser must keep the ball moving forward at all times.

It takes place every two years and any quidditch-playing nation is offered the chance at competing on the world level at this tournament.

The original World Cup was titled "Summer Games" to match the Olympics being held in London, United Kingdom.

July 2012 saw five national teams from around the world compete in this first international tournament run by the IQA, taking place in University Parks, Oxford, England.

EQC began first in France in Lesparre-Médoc on 13 October 2012 where a minimal number of teams attended due to the fact that quidditch was only recently introduced to Europe.

[57] The tournament quickly grew however and during the 2015–2016 season, Gallipoli, Italy, hosted EQC IV on 16–17 April 2016, with 40 teams attending from 13 countries.

The teams that competed at the inaugural Asian Quidditch Cup were the Australian National University Owls (ANU), Damansara Dementors, and Subang Chimaeras.

Its precursors, East and West Regionals, were held in Kingston, Ontario and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on 1 and 7 February 2015, respectively.

MLQ features standardized schedules, officiation, statistics, and live or previously recorded footage of all games.

Melbourne Manticores defeated UNSW Snapes On A Plane in the 2014 tournament final held at Macquarie University.

Most recently in the 2017 tournament held at the same location as 2016, the Whomping Willows of Victoria (in their first year as a team) took out the QUAFL cup.

The first US Quadball Cup champion, since the forming of a separate USQ nationals, was Quidditch Club Boston (QCB) in 2016.

At this tournament, the defending Champions, The Radcliffe Chimeras, were defeated in the final by Southampton Quidditch Club 1, with Keele Squirrels coming third.

[69] The second Northern Cup took place on the 31 October–1 November 2015, and was won by Nottingham Nightmares, who defeated Durhamstrang in the final.

[70] The second Southern Cup took place on the 14–15 November and was won by the Radcliffe Chimeras, who defeated Warwick Quidditch Club in the final.

[75] The sport has also been illustrated to yield a positive experience for athletes of all genders, increased desires for inclusivity and stereotype reduction.

Unlike the world-popular Middlebury version, 'Corrigan Quidditch' remains a local event still played on its originating campus.