Real-life Quidditch World Cup this weekend. So how on earth does that work?

By World of Sport (original post from Yahoo! Eurosport can be found here)

It's not often the worlds of Harry Potter and sport come face-to-face, but this weekend in Florida that's exactly what will happen as the real-life Quidditch World Cup takes place.
Anybody who has read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of the films will no doubt be surprised at this news, since the first thing anybody really notices about the made-up sport is that it's played in mid-air on flying broomsticks.

But apparently people have been honing the rules of a real-life version ever since 2005 - and now, for the first time, 56 teams from four different countries will come together to find out who is the best.

Sadly, genuine witchcraft and wizardry seems to be notable only by its absence: instead of flying, players run around the pitch holding broomsticks between their legs. The end result is something that looks a little like aliens attempting to play lacrosse.

So how does it work? Well, you can read the full Quidditch rules here, but basically it's like this. Two opposing teams try to score by throwing the 'Quaffle' (a slightly deflated volleyball) through one of their opponents' three hula hoops at the end of the pitch, earning 10 points if they do so. Netball is probably the closest equivalent.

To stop them, their opponents can either try to intercept the ball or throw one of the 'Bludgers' (three rubber balls) at them. If a player is hit by a bludger they must run back to their own hoops, dropping the Quaffle if they have it, before they're allowed to re-enter the game. This bit is a little like dodgeball.

As for the snitch, which Harry Potter famous catches again and again in the books and films? Instead of a high-speed flying ball it's actually a person, who runs off somewhere in the grounds of wherever is hosting the match.

That can mean hiding in the changing rooms, in nearby buildings, behind cars, up trees... pretty much anywhere they think the two 'seekers' won't find them. It's basically a big game of hide-and-seek followed by a chase where the 'seeker' has to grab a tennis ball stuffed into a sock that is hanging out of the back of the snitch's shorts. Finding the snitch is only worth 30 points (unlike the 150 in the books), but it ends the game.

Make sense? Almost certainly not unless you're a Potter fan, but if you're in Kissimmee, Florida, or are bored and have access to the internet to watch the live stream this weekend then you can see what the fuss is about.

There's not a single team from Britain taking place, incidentally: Canada, Mexico, France and of course the USA are the only nations sending teams. Seems like the owl carrying the invitation to the Chudleigh Cannons must have got lost somewhere while crossing the Atlantic!