Section 2: The Game

Scoring
See 'Section 1: Positions' to read how points are scored.

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Forfeiture

A game is considered a forfeit if a team cannot field the 3 positions of Keeper, Seeker, and Chaser, or if a team roster isn't posted 15 minutes after the set start time of the game. The House receiving the forfeit win will automatically receive 150 points.

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Substitutions

The four (4) reserve players are the first-choice substitutes for a game. If a starter cannot play, you must use these players before selecting someone else from your House.

Any substitute players who are not on your roster must be approved by the Quidditch Official prior to posting your roster in the Captains' Locker Room thread.

Sometimes a technical situation* might arise during the course of a game and the loss of either the Keeper or Seeker might occur. If this occurs, the Quidditch Official will call a time out and suspend play while the team that's affected makes a few changes to avoid a forfeit. Only those players listed on the roster posted in the Captains' Locker Room can take the place of the missing player (eg. Player E moves from Beater to Keeper). A new roster will then be posted and the opposing team will be rewarded 10 points for the roster change after the deadline. In the match thread, the Quidditch Official will announce the position change and play will resume.

*Note: technical situations are loss of power or internet connection. If the Keeper or Seeker leaves the game for any other reason before it is over, the roster will not be changed and the team will have to play without the key position.

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Games

The Quidditch season in the school RP will consist of a total of six (6) games, with each House playing a total of (3) games each. Each game will happen in one session lasting up to 3 hours. The game ends when one team has caught the Golden Snitch three times, and the team who has scored the most points will be declared the winner. Just like in canon Quidditch, a tie may occur naturally; a winner does not have to be declared as points are the deciding factor toward the Quidditch Cup.

The Quidditch games are set up in a round-robin format; that is, every house team will play each opposing team once, resulting in six (6) total games throughout the term. This gives each house team three equal opportunities to rack up individual player points for the Quidditch Leaderboard. The Quidditch Cup will be awarded based on total combined points from each house's three (3) games against each other house. Each house's total combined points after three games will be the deciding factor as to who receives 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place in the running for the Quidditch Cup.

In the event of an end-of-term tie of total combined points between any of the teams for first place, the winner of the game in which the two houses previously played each other in the present term will be named the Quidditch Cup Champions. If that game ended in a tie, the winner will be decided according to which house had the most total individual points (one point for every goal scored, goal saved, bludger hit, and snitch caught) combined from each house's three games.

During the match, the only people who should be in direct contact with the Quidditch Official are the team captains or administrators who are consulting with the official (see "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" for the penalty). It is important that the official is not distracted during the running of a game, so please be courteous and avoid contacting them until the game is over.

If the Quidditch Official makes a typing error that significantly impacts the question (ie. typing "1893" rather than "1883" or the misspelling of a name), a new question of the same position and possession will be asked in the following post and the faulted question will be thrown out. The ruling of a significant error will be decided upon by an administrator and/or staff member.

House points will be awarded to each house after a match based upon how many points each team earned; a house's earned points in one Quidditch match will be divided in half and added to the house point totals. For example, a team who racks up 200 points in a Quidditch match will be awarded 100 house points.

At the end of a match, if a team has negative points, their final total on the scoreboard for that match will become zero (0).

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Posting the Answer During the Game

To avoid confusion over who is responding to which question, the following position letters MUST be posted before each answer:

• C - for Chaser
  
• K - for Keeper
  
• B - for Beater
  
• S - for Seeker

If a player forgets the letter, the official will remind both captains in the chat about this rule so that they can remind their players. If a player posts the correct position letter but answers the wrong question, see Penalties & Infractions for further details.

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Game Day Chats

Teams are welcome to have a mass team chat during the game, however ONLY those on the game roster are permitted to be in the chat (no one on the Staff should be in your team chat nor should Staff members have private chats with players at any time during the game). Captains are expected to be in a chat with the Quidditch Official before and during the game. After the game is over, teams may allow others to join their mass chats. MSN via Trillian will be the preferred mode of contact.

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Spelling, Punctuation, and Capitalization

The spelling of all words in answers must be exact to be accepted. Precision in punctuation and capitalization is not necessary. Please refrain from adding additional punctuation (such as a question mark) to answers that already meet the minimum character limit for a post. Be confident in your answers; you can do it. We all believe in you.


Section 3: Responsibilities

Captains' Responsibilities

It is the duty and responsibility of each captain to hold tryouts (team trials) for their respective House teams. The tryouts will take place in each House's respective tryout thread. When the tryout period has ended, each captain will submit their roster consisting of 7 starters (including themselves) and 4 reserve players by the deadline set by the Quidditch Official. This roster must be sent to the Quidditch Official, who will then send it to the proper Head of House and Headmistress. Only AFTER the Head of Houses and Headmistress give the Quidditch Official their input on the rosters will team rosters be posted in each respective locker room.

It is the responsibility of each captain to hold regular practices and to make sure they can field a team on game day. Captains are also expected to be active in the school RPG. This includes attending classes and earning points through participation/homework.

It is the responsibility of each captain to attend their matches. If a captain is unable to attend a match session, it is their responsibility to contact the Quidditch Official prior to the game and provide the name of their substitute. A Prefect on the House team, a long time House team player, a former captain, or a moderator may fulfill this temporary role. The Quidditch Official will respond and then post the approved substitution in the Captains' Locker Room (if a captain fails to contact the official and is absent on the day of the match, the Quidditch Official will find an appropriate substitute for the match so that the team will not be penalized).

The two captains in each game are expected to be in a chat with the official prior to the start of and during the duration of the game. In the chat, the official will remain in constant contact with the captains and inform them of the ruling on the pitch prior to posting. If the official has any questions regarding the ruling of an answer, they will consult an administrator in a separate window and keep the captains informed of what is being discussed. In these official-administrator chats, the official keeps the identity of each team anonymous to avoid any favoritism (an example of how the official presents the problem to the administrator: "The Snitch question was: "Who replaced Harry as the Gryffindor Seeker?" Seeker A posted first with the answer of 'Ginny' while Seeker B posted second with the answer of 'Ginevra Weasley'. Which answer would you accept?") If an administrator is not present, the official will seek the advice of at least two Staff members (who are not the heads of the two houses playing) in a chat. The same anonymity will be used by the official to avoid favoritism.

It is the responsibility of each captain to communicate with the Quidditch Official during a game if a situation arises (or anytime that you need assistance). Present your problem calmly and without accusing the official of favoritism or cheating. If that doesn't work, then explain your problem to your Head of House who is your advocate and will help you resolve any problems you have in the school, whether it be Quidditch or something else. The final person you can turn to is the Headmaster or Headmistress - they run the school for the site owner and have the power to reverse the official's ruling if it is in error.

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Practices

All team practices will be held in the practice pitch designated for each team and will be run by each team captain. Only the players on the approved roster may practice - this includes the four reserve players. Substitutes may practice once they have been approved by the Quidditch Official. Those who make their teams are expected to participate in practices, and those who attend practices should be the first choice players when creating the game roster. The team captain has the right to not play those who fail to attend practice and fail to contact them regarding absences. Joint team practices must be approved by the official before they take place.

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Sportsmanship

All members on each team is expected to act with decorum both in the school RP and on the SS site. Any abuse or perceived unsportsmanlike conduct behavior by any member of a House (player or not) can result in House Point deduction and detention. In extreme cases, punishments may include removal from a team, loss of the match, and/or expulsion from the site.

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Commentators

Sign-ups to become a commentator will be open to all students and staff before the Quidditch season begins. Up to two commentators may commentate in any one game. Those who are interested in co-commentating should collaborate with another member and specify on the sign-up form with whom you wish to commentate; both parties must submit a commentator form to be eligible. Commentators will be selected by the Quidditch Official and take part in the game day chat with the Captains and Official to stay up-to-date on the happenings of the match; they will be expected to give a detailed, exciting play-by-play in the Stands thread as the game progresses. Prospective commentators should be creative, quick-thinkers, and enjoy the sport of Quidditch.

The Official will no longer give a play-by-play to both speed up gameplay and to enhance the importance and honor of being a selected commentator.


Section 4: Penalites & Infractions

Editing

Editing your post is not allowed. If you are caught editing your answer to a question during a game, your team will have the value of the question deducted from the team total.

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Invisibility Mode

All players must select the visible mode as their user option in their User Control Panel. If a player is seen by the official in the invisible mode once a game starts/during a game, it will result in a penalty. That penalty will be 10 points deducted from the team's match total. Please note that the site staff can "see" you in both the visible and invisible modes.

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Failure to Meet the Line-Up Deadline

If a team fails to post their line-up by the set time, 10 points will be awarded to the opposing team. This is the only time a penalty is awarded directly to the opposing team. All other penalties are deducted from the offending team's game total.

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Roster Change After the Deadline

If a team roster is changed after the deadline has passed and the game has not yet started, the offending team will suffer a 10 point penalty (which is better than a forfeit). This includes a roster change mid-game due to the unexpected loss of the Keeper or Seeker due to technical issues. The captain of the opposing team may not waive this rule, as courteous and admirable as it may be.

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Answering a Question Out of Position

Blagging - any player other than the Seeker who answers the Snitch question AFTER one of the Seekers have posted an answer. Penalty is minus 5 points, regardless of which team's Seeker catches the Snitch.

Blatching - the Keeper posts the answer to the Quaffle question twice. The opposing team will automatically score, regardless if the first posted answer by the Keeper was correct.

Blurting - any player other than the Beater who answers a Bludger question. If the player answers it BEFORE a Beater, then the penalty is minus 10 points. If the player answers it AFTER a Beater, then the penalty is minus 5 points.

Bumphing - a Beater on either team who answers the Quaffle question. If the Beater answers FIRST, the penalty is minus 10 points. If the Quaffle was intended for their team, they lose possession and the other team gets the next question. If the Beater answers AFTER a Chaser has posted, then the penalty is minus 5 points.

Cobbing - a Chaser on the opposing team who answers out of turn AFTER their Keeper has answered but BEFORE the other team's Chaser(s) have posted. Penalty is minus 5 points.

Flacking - the Keeper answers out of turn (answers the Quaffle question intended for their own team). If the Keeper answers FIRST, the penalty is minus 10 points, and the next Quaffle question goes to the other team. If the Keeper answers AFTER their own Chaser has posted, then the penalty is minus 5 points.

Haversacking - a Chaser on the opposing team answers out of turn AFTER the other team's Chaser(s) have posted. Penalty is minus 5 points.

Quaffle-Pocking - a Chaser on the opposing team answers out of turn BEFORE the other team's Chaser(s) and their own team's Keeper have posted. Penalty is minus 10 and another question is asked to the team who was interfered with.

Snitchnip - any player other than the Seeker who answers the Snitch question BEFORE either Seeker. Penalty is one Snitch grab from the offending team and a new Snitch question will be asked. If the same person repeats the penalty during the course of the same game, they will be ejected from play.

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Posting in the Wrong Locker Room

5 House Points will be deducted for anyone who posts in the wrong locker room, unless the official has been previously notified of a joint practice.

5 House Points will be deducted for anyone who is not on a House Team or has not been approved as a substitute by the official who posts in any of the locker rooms.

Repeat offenders will be placed in detention.

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Posting in the Game Thread

If someone other than a player posts in the game thread, 5 House points will be deducted. Repeat offenders will be placed in detention.

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Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Quidditch is taken seriously by many on the site and it is important that everyone behaves appropriately at all times (both on and off the site). It is canon to have rivalries in the school RP, but please exercise caution if you are teasing someone else's character. If the teasing or trash talk gets out of hand, those who are guilty of such behavior will be given an official warning (if it escalates after a warning is given, then the Headmistress will be consulted regarding further punishment). This also applies to behavior outside of the school RP; OOC punishment will be dealt with OOC by means of a warning, infraction, or more severe punishments. If a Captain encounters a problem, please bring it to the Quidditch Official instead of dealing with it on your own.

Before any punishments are enforced, the Quidditch Official will consult with the Headmistress and will calmly explain the situation. It will be based on their discussion as to the type of punishment (if any) that may be enforced.

The most severe penalties can be forfeiting the match or having Quidditch suspended from the site for a period of time.


Section 5: Misc. Rules and Information

Rule Changes

If any of the rules are changed after the term begins, it is the responsibility of the Quidditch Official to notify each team captain via PM and posting in all team locker rooms the rule change at least 72 hours before game time.