Quidditch: The Non-Magical Version

The alchemy of the Harry Potter generation: Play quidditch despite lacking magic. 

Quidditch

The Game as Played in Harry Potter

Players fly on brooms around the field. Points are earned by throwing balls through hoops. The game ends when the snitch is caught.

The Game as Played by the International Quidditch Association

Players run on brooms around the field. Points are earned by throwing balls through hoops. The game ends when the snitch is caught.

The Players 

 

Beater (Two per team)

Novel: Players responsible for using bats to beat bludgers away from their team members and toward the opposing team members with the goal of knocking them off their brooms.
IQA: Players throw bludgers at other players. When a player is hit by a bludger they are out of play. In order to become an active player they must tag the hoops on their side of the field.

 

Keeper (One per team)

Novel: Player responsible for protecting the hoops on their side of the field.
IQA: Player responsible for protecting the hoops on their side of the field.

Chaser (Two per team)

Novel: Players responsible for throwing the quaffle through the opposing team's hoops to score points.
IQA: Players responsible for throwing the quaffle through the opposing team's hoops to score points.

 

Seeker (One per team)

Novel: Player responsible for finding and catching the snitch.
IQA: Player responsible for finding and catching the snitch.

The Balls 

 

Quaffle (One in a game)

Novel: Points are scored when Chasers throw the quaffle through one of the three hoops positioned on the opposing team's side.
IQA: Slightly deflated volleyball used by Chaser. Points are scored when Chasers throw the quaffle through one of the three hoops positioned on the opposing team's side.

 

Bludgers (Two in a game)

Novel: Magic balls that fly around the field with the sole purpose of knocking players off their brooms.
IQA: Dodge-balls. Beaters throw them at players on the opposing team, temporarily knocking players out of play. When a player is hit with a bludger he/she must get off his/her broom, run back and touch his/her team's hoops before becoming an active player again.

Snitch (One in a game)

Novel: A small, magic ball that that flies around avoiding capture. Once the snitch is caught the game is over.
IQA: A person. This person is not associated with either team and has no rules about where he/she can go or what he/she does. The snitch has a flag-football styled tennis ball in a sock hanging from the back of his/her shorts. When a Seeker pulls this off the snitch's shorts the game is over.

The biggest challenge of adapting the game is the golden snitch. Without magic, what do you chase? I remember playing a version of quidditch in elementary school, right after the third book came out, that was superbly lame because a tennis ball was used as the snitch. Not difficult to catch, nor interesting. The IQA nailed this one. The rules of general play are very structured, but the snitch's freedom brings a level of spontaneity and unknown that adds a unique level of interest to the game.

You can read more about the International Quidditch Association and its origins here.