A chaser (R) is tackled during the European Quidditch Cup in Warsaw, Poland on April 13, 2019. Quidditch is the semi-contact sport based on the fictional game from the popular Harry Potter novels that has become popular mainly in universities around the world since it's real life inception in the United States in 2005. (Xinhua/Jaap Arriens)
WARSAW, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The European Quidditch Cup kicked off in Warsaw on Saturday morning, with 16 teams from across Europe competing in a game which originated in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels.
Invented on college campuses in the United States in 2005, quidditch is a sport in which two teams, whose players are mounted on broomsticks, face off trying to get as many points as possible by using several balls. It's been described as a mix of handball, rugby and dodgeball.
The real-life game is based on a sport played by witches and wizards from the Harry Potter novels, where quidditch competitions involving the various schools of magic are often mentioned. While the Harry Potter players flew on broomsticks, the real-life sportspeople have settled for running.
The game has been increasing in popularity worldwide since it was invented in the U.S. Across Europe, quidditch is currently played by more than 5,000 players from nearly 300 teams spread over 24 countries, according to the website of the European Quidditch Cup.
The teams competing over the April 13-14 weekend in Warsaw, coming from 12 different countries, are part of the 'division 2' of the European cup - an extra league introduced this season to make space for players from countries where the game is newer, such as those in central and eastern Europe. A tournament of the best European teams, the so-called 'division 1', will take place in May in Belgium.
A key feature of the game is that no team can have more than four players of one gender on the field. The rule has made the game popular with the LGBTQ community.
"The gender that a player identifies as is considered to be that player's gender. Quidditch Europe accepts those who don't identify within the binary gender system and acknowledges that not all of our players identify as male or female," write the official rules of the sport on the website of the European Quidditch Cup.
