Quidditch rebrands as Quadball

The real-life sport of Quidditch, which was inspired by the Harry Potter franchise, has officially changed its name to Quadball.

The governing bodies of the sport, the U.S. Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, are behind the name change, and will now be known as U.S. Quadball and Major League Quadball.

The governing bodies announced their intention to find a new name for the sport in December, citing what they called anti-trans positions of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

In addition to distancing themselves from the author, organizers hope the name change will give the sport more opportunities to grow and not be inhibited by the trademark for "quidditch" being owned by Warner Bros.

In 2020, Rowling voiced her concerns over trans women being allowed access to female spaces, drawing praise from some women's rights campaigners as well as accusations of transphobia, which the author has rejected, by trans activists.

Quadball, referring to the number of balls and positions in the sport, was chosen following surveys.

First introduced in Rowling's books, the game was adapted to real life in 2005 with two teams of seven players running around with broomsticks between their legs in a full contact sport.

Today nearly 600 teams in 40 countries play the game, according to the IQA.

The USQ and MLQ will own the quadball trademark in the United States, the IQA said, adding that it expects to enter into a license agreement to use the term.

[grahamhume]

I love the Harry Potter books and films, but never in a million years, would I go and see people running around with a piece of wood between their legs.

[josef.]

The running around holding the stick between your legs ruins it for me

[xondragrafia]

They play it while holding a stick between their legs.
They should distance themselves from things other than Rowling 😂😂😂😂😂

[ryan]

So many asking “why the sticks, so cringe” and can’t fucking google for a few seconds. It’s a handicap, like having to constantly dribble a basketball as you move down the court, or only using your feet in soccer. The sticks impede the players so they either cannot run at full speed, or can only use one arm. You can either hold it with one hand and run, or squeeze it between your legs and use both arms.

[fogasterg]

the only point of playing that stupid game IRL is that it reminds you of the HP novels which you love.
So, by changing the HP novels name of that game, the game really has no point left at all.

[fredo]

A sport where you run around with a broomstick hanging out of your arse, and they think there is something wrong with J.K. Rowling, right.

[MrUzt]

Insight from quidditchperson here. They are changing the name to avoid paying royalties to Warner, in order to professionalise the game. Blaming the name change on jk Rowling is just a cheap excuse to hide the financial reason

[faultyclone]

Why the fuck is there a need to hold a stick between the legs??? If anything riding a flying broomstick is like riding a motorcycle. This is just so silly

[crazyhorseeight]

Seems like a "sport" for people who got bullied in school

[Alex]

There are sports and well... there is this.

[KyotoriGaming]

They changed the name to quadball and now it’s time to remove the broom between your legs and the yellow dude with a sack behind his back. Then you’ll have a real game that people would enjoy.

[w.w.heisenberg]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 You know when a group of kids watch a film then try to recreate it. "I believe I can fly" 😂

[induction]

This game seems really dangerous for men.

[PaulR]

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen curling

[MaThista]

Interesting information, but how about quoting the source for the video material

[dookie_]

Why can't they just LARP like normal people?

[elmis]

Why not go all the way and call it queerball? 🤣

[stanislausklim]

This might be a little less stupid if they got rid of the brooms.

[geoffm]

The irony that this all came from comments she made about people pretending not to have a stick between their legs!

[Superman]

I'm a Harry Potter fan and this looks stupid as hell.. they need to get rid of the sticks for one. What's next Sarcastaball?