Homework One [graded]

Instructions:
Part One (for ten points)- If you are going to have an opportunity to design your own broomstick, what would it be? Draw and name the broomstick that you want and explain it in not more than five sentences (The drawing can be attached to your message or can be posted on photobucket. Please, include in your message the link of the drawing if ever you use photobucket. The explanation will be posted here.)

Part Two (for ten points)- Discuss some Ancient Broom Games as indicated on the book, Quidditch Through the Ages in three inches parchment.

Bonus Question (for ten points):
List the names of the students who borrowed the book (Quidditch Through the Ages) and their due dates (This will be at the time of Harry Potter)

Questions will be entertained when sent as a personal message to me. Your homework should be placed on this thread as a reply message. Deadline of submission will be July 29th. The next lesson will be posted on July 30th so please, read on advance.

Kim Frey
Slytherin
First Year

I.
The link of the picture: https://s1191.photobucket.com/albums/z466/BeaDelaCruz/?action=view&current=1343434262929.jpg
This is a broom I designed (sorry for the poor drawing skill). I named it Snitch Catcher 3000. It is a light broom and has a grip on its end. It is designed for seekers in the sport Quidditch. It can be easily controlled on the direction you want to go.

II.

The celebrated Annual Broom Race in Sweden is a race open for all nationalities. Its basic concept is to race from Kopparberg to Arjeplog which is a three-hundred mile distance. Audiences are on Kopparberg to cheer for the players and will apparate to Arjeplog to congratulate the winners.

The painting Gunther the Violent is the Winner shows another ancient broom game called Stichstock. On the field, there is a twenty-feet pole where a gladder of a dragon is located. One player is tied to the pole having the rope of ten feet. The player's role is to protect the bladder from being poked but because of the rope, he/she can't go farther than ten feet. Other players will come one by one to poke the bladder using the end of their brooms. The guard-player can have his/her wand to negate the attacks of the other players. The game is decided once the bladder is punctured/the guard-player is already exhausted or the guard-player managed to protect the bladder having no more players attempting to puncture it.

In Ireland, the game Aingingein is made. One by one, the players will take the Dom or the ball, which is basically a goat bladder to the end on the final barrel. The obstacle will have a fire on them. The winner is the one who placed the Dom on the barrel with a short period of time and with less essence of fire on them.

The game Creaothceann is a game originated in Scotland. This game is considered to be the most dangerous game among them. Players have a cauldron on them and hundreds of stones are jinxed to fall from the sky. The winner is the one with the most stones on their cauldron. It is believed that among twelve men, ten are fated to die. The ministry of magic made the game illegal for its resulted injuries.

Shuntbumps is a game that aims to knock down all the other players from their brooms. The winner is the one that stayed on his/her broom the longest.

Swivenhodge is a game involves a bladder of a pig. Players are to have a tossing game with the bladder using the end of their brooms. If a player misses, it is a score for the opponent. First to have 50 points wins.

Shuntbumps and Swivenhodge are played by children.


III.
BONUS QUESTION:
List the names of the students who borrowed the book (Quidditch Through the Ages) and their due dates (This will be at the time of Harry Potter)

Keith Parker
First Year
Gryffindor

Part One - Link: http://tinypic.com/r/2yy7f9w/6 (I know it's not the best, but it's all I could do.) I've named it the Firewire 2001. It's fast, comfortable, and a reliable broom for all Quidditch players.

Part Two -

Stichstock is a game that was originated in Germany. One player acts as the bladder-guardian, trying to protect an inflated dragon bladder. The bladder-guardian may attempt to hex any of the other players. A few players, mounted on broomsticks, attempt to pierce the bladder with the ends of their broomsticks. Whoever successfully does so first, is the winner. If nobody was able to pierce the bladder, then the bladder-guardian will be declared as the winner.

Aingingein is an Irish game, consisting of players to fly through a few burning barrels floating in mid air, while clutching a ball with one hand. A goal set at the end of the course to which the ball has to be thrown into. The player who completes the course and scores a goal in the shortest amount of time, without catching fire, of course, would be the winner.

Creaothceann is a game originated in Scotland, it can be quite violent and often fatal. Many rocks are charmed to float in the air as each player has a cauldron that is strapped to the back of their head. Once the horn is sounded, the rocks are dropped and the players must fly around, trying to catch as many rocks in their cauldron they can. Whoever has the most rocks in their cauldron wins.

Shuntbumps is a game where one player attempts to knock another of their broom. This is a very simple form of broomstick-jousting.

Swivenhodge is played by hitting an inflated pig's bladder back and forth across a hedge, rather like tennis on broomsticks.

Aurora Finnigan
Ravenclaw
First Year

I. My broom design incorporates modern Muggle technology into the flying broomstick. It has two flaps on the sides to control height, and three flaps on the back to control speed. These three flaps open to brake and clase to enhance streamlinity. Flames come out of the back for more speed, but can be turned off if determined illegal. A rubberized grip allows for an easy hold. The broom is called the Metal Flame. The link is: https://s1064.photobucket.com/albums/u367/purplecloud17/?action=view&current=MetalFlame.jpg

II. There were many different broom games invented before Quidditch.

One was a simple race in Sweden that involved flying over a dangerous dragon preserve. It is still run today.

Stitchstock involved a 20-foot high pole guarded by one player, who was allowed to use magic, while the others tried to pierce a dragon bladder hung in it. The protector won if he hexed all the others, or the player who successfully punctured the bladder won. It died out in the 14th century.

Aitugingein was invented in Ireland. The players would each take turns flying through burning hoops with the gall bladder of a goat, the Dom, and and the end would throw the Dom through the last hoop. The winner would be the player with the fastest time and least amount of burns.

Creothceann, from Scotland, was one of the most dangerous games of all time. The men would strap cauldrons on their heads and fly around trying to catch falling boulders. Due to the number of fatalities, it was made illegal in 1762.

Shuntbumps, which is now only a children's game, had players try to knock each other off their brooms.

In Swivenhodge, players would bat a pig's bladder back and forth across a hedge with the tails of their brooms. If one missed, the other player would receive a point. The first to 50 points was the winner. It is still played today, although it has only a scant number of followers.

Bonus:

O. Wood: April 9, B. Dunstan: May 16, M. Fun: June 22, C. Diggory: July 3, A. Johnson: July 19, E. Macmillan: August 12, T. Book: August 21, G. Fawcett: September 16, K. Bundy: October 10, K. Bell: October 19, C. Warrington: November 13, J. Domy: December 5, T. Not:- January 22, S. Capper: January 31, M. Bulstrode: February 6, F. Weasley: February 15, H. Granger: March 2, H. Potter: March 11

James Riddle
Ravenclaw
First Year


Nimbus Thunderbolt

The Nimbus Thunderbolt owes its name to its tremendous speed, being able to go from nought to one hundred and fifty miles per hour in ten seconds, as well as its form. It can fly as fast as a Firebolt, but its design makes it more comfortable to ride. Equipped with stirrups as well as a hand grip that keeps the player’s hands from slipping even under rainy weather, it is also a bit shorter than other models, making it easier to handle and offers greater control when turning corners. The handle is made of mahogany and the twigs of chestnut, both pliable and strong woods, making the Nimbus Thunderbolt quite resistant to physical damage and suited even for bad flying conditions. Though it can be used for transport, it is best for Quidditch.


Long before Quidditch became the most popular sport in the magical world, wizards and witches from all over the planet already practiced broom games. The first ones emerged as early as the tenth century, once brooms were stable enough to allow riding them with ease. Though some of these games have disappeared, others have developed through time and are still present nowadays.

The first recorded broom game was the annual broom race, held in Sweden. As the name indicates, it was a three hundred miles long flying contest, which was considered very dangerous since the competitors would often have to face dragons on their path.

Then, from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, the game of Stichstock was quite popular in Germany. It first consisted of tying a dragon bladder to the top of a pole. One player, who was chained to the pole with a rope, would then have to protect the bladder, by using magic or more physical methods, while the others try to pierce it with their brooms. The game would end when one side reached its goal.

At the same time, in Ireland, Aingingein became famous. In this game, the contestants would have to fly the fastest they could and without getting harmed through a set of burning barrels while carrying a ball, which they had to shoot through the last barrel.

Meanwhile, Creaothceann, considered by many the most dangerous ancient broom game, was more and more played in Scotland. Competitors would strap a cauldron on their heads. Then, as soon as the game would begin, a hundred rocks that were magically held high in the air would instantly fall down, and the players’ goal was to catch as many of them as possible. Due to the number of injuries and death, Creaothceann was made illegal in the eighteenth century.

The two last ones are born in England. In the first, Shuntbumps, the aim of the contestants was to knock all the others off their brooms and to remain the last in the air. The second, Swivenhodge, consisted of having the players hit a pig’s bladder to each other over a hedge with their brooms. When one of them missed the bladder, the opponent would receive points.

Although Quidditch did not directly result from any of these ancient distractions but from what is known as the game from Queerditch Marsh, they all contain elements that remind of specific aspects of the popular wizarding sport and that surely served as inspiration for it.



O. Wood - 9 April
B. Dunstan - 16 May
M. Flint - 22 June
C. Diggory - 3 July
A. Johnson - 19 July
E. Macmillan - 12 August
T. Boot - 21 August
S. Fawcett - 16 September
K. Bundy - 10 October
K. Bell - 19 October
C. Warrington - 13 November
J. Dorny - 5 December
T. Nott - 22 January
S. Capper - 31 January
M. Bulstrode - 6 February
F. Weasley - 15 February
H. Granger - 2 March
H. Potter - 11 March
R. Weasley
N. Longbottom
S. Bones
H. Granger
P. Patil
E. Macmillan
M. Bulstrode
H. Granger
D. Malfoy

Daisee Dursley
Gryffindor
First Year

Part One
BLUDGERDODGER 300 (Sorry, I have zero drawing skills.)

The broom I have designed is called the BludgerDodger 3000. Its abilities are tailored to suit the Quidditch position of Beater, with an extra-strong Gripping Charm on not just the part of the handle our hands grip, but the part where our legs and feet grip as well, so that it's harder to slip off. Also, it has responds to the fliers' directions lighting-fast, so that it is able to dodge Bludgers extra-efficiently. It can even turn upside down in less than a millisecond if it has to! Last, it's charmed so that it's as durable as you can get, so that I doubt even the Whomping Willow could finish it off, much less a Bludger!

Part Two


One ancient broom game Quidditch Through the Ages mentions is Creaothceann , and it is regarded as the most dangerous broom games of all time. It began in Scotland, and consisted of 12 players who had cauldrons strapped to their heads. At the start of the game (which was signified by the sounding of a drum or horn), a hundred rocks and boulders (which had been enchanted to float one hundred feet above their heads) started falling to the ground. The players began to fly around the field, trying to catch as many rocks and boulders as possible.

However, because of the frequent fatalities (a contemporary ballad informs us is was only normal for two out of the original twelve to survive the game), Creaothceann was banned by the Ministry of Magic in 1762. (A fun fact: Creaothceann comes from the Scottish Gaelic words “creoth ceann”, which means “Wounded Head”.)

Another Ancient broom game was Aingingein, which began in Ireland. Players would take a goat's gallbladder (which was called the Dom) and fly through a bunch of flaming barrels, which balanced on stilts high above. Of course, they flew on broomsticks. The winner was the player who threw the Dom into the last barell the fastest (without catching on fire). Fingal the Fearless was said to be a champion of Aingingein.

Yet another ancient broom game would be Stitchstock, a German game that involved a protector guarding a dragon bladder hanging on a 20-foot pole that all other players tried to puncture. The winner would either by the player that managed to pierce it, or the protector if he managed to hex all the other players first.

Other ancient broom games include Shuntbumps, which involves attenpting to knock each other off their brooms; Swivenhodge, which is similar to the Muggle game tennis, with broom tails acting as rackets, a hedge acting as the net, and a pig's bladder as the ball; and the Annual Broom Race, which is a three-hundred mile race in Sweden.

((OOC: Have registered late.)