Professional quidditch—although not a generally a respected career—is a full-time job for the players involved. Fifteen teams play in the very long season, competing to win that year's Quidditch cup from the British Quidditch League!
The professional Quidditch season is long. Starting in May, the season runs until February, with 'off-season' games being played for practice in the months between. Like hockey, the other inhuman nightmare sport which will slowly wreck your body. Players can expect to play one game a week, usually scheduled for Friday-Sunday so that people with 'Real Jobs' can come watch.
Players will also have practices during the week, although the exact practice schedule varies based on the whims of their captain, coach, and sponsor.
OOC, team rankings for the entire season are largely* randomized by Beanie and posted monthly by the Daily Prophet. IC, the rankings are maintained and made official by the Department of Magical Games & Sports and passed along to Mitch Quiddel monthly.
* Teams that are mentioned as having won or lost IC, or which have recently lost players to concussion or other injury, will have a slight modifier. Regardless, still mostly randomized!
The Department of Magical Games & Sports has limited the number of professional Quidditch clubs since 1674, in order to better protect the sport from Muggle observation. Each of the fourteen League teams will play one match a week - meaning on any given day of the week, your character can probably go see a Quidditch game!
Games may start in the afternoon or evening, and can last anywhere from less than half an hour up to several days. Uncovered stands holding bench seating are easily accessible to the working class, while middle class can choose more comfortable accomodations in the covered stands. Private boxes holding about twenty guests are available to the upper class, either for a single game or for a season subscription.
Concessions are available to all, though private boxes may also be catered individually should the service be requested. Food and drink available varies from stadium to stadium, and a wide array of merchandize for both teams will typically be available for sale as well.
The following league teams play in the British Isles —
Appleby Arrows
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Colors: light blue with silver accents
Location: Cumbria (NW England)
Rival: Wimbourne Wasps
(A played team)
Arrows fans traditionally conjure arrows from their wand tips to fire off every time their chasers score. Fans and players alike should beware of falling arrows during matches, and the maintenance staff has to make frequent repairs to the cloth banners.
Ballycastle Bats
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Colors: black with scarlet accents
Location: County Antrim (Ireland)
(An NPC team)
Generally considered the most successful Irish team, the Ballycastle Bats have adopted a fruit bat, Barny, as their official mascot. Some long time fans worry that Barny is too adorable to be taken seriously and may hurt the team's reputation, but these nay-sayers are largely ignored by Barny's rapidly growing fan club.
Caerphilly Catapults
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Colors: Scarlet & light green stripes
Location: Caerphilly (S. Wales)
(An NPC team)
Following the tragic demise of renowned Caerphilly player 'Dangerous Dai' Llewellyn, who was eaten by a chimaera while on holiday, this club sponsored the Dangerous Dai Commemorative Medal. Awarded at the end of the season, the Medal recognizes a professional player from any team who has taken the most foolhardy risks during a match.
Chudley Cannons
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Colors: orange with black accents
Location: Devon (SW England)
(A played team)
The Chudley Cannon's motto is "We Shall Conquer." They also hold the League record for most head injuries during a single match (both receiving and delivering); the latter to the great chagrin of the Falmouth beaters.
Falmouth Falcons
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Colors: dark grey with white accents
Location: Cornwall (SW England)
(An NPC team)
Known for being the most violent professional team, the Falcons' motto is "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads." Their beaters compete for the highest number of fouls "awarded" during any single professional match. It is considered in poor taste for a lady of good breeding to declare herself a Falmouth fan, though many secretly attend matches all the same.
Holyhead Harpies
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Colors: dark green with gold accents
Location: Isle of Anglesey (Wales)
Rival: Puddlemere United
(A played team)
Founded in 1203, Holyhead is the only Quidditch club in the international professional community to exclusively hire witches. A recent controversy saw the entire team boycott the periodical Quidditch Quarterly in 1881 for covering only their players' fashion choices, instead of their Quidditch victories. The magazine has since grudgingly repented.
Hogsmeade Howlers
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Colors: Red with pink accents
Location: Irvingly (Scotland)
(A played team)
Founded in 1883, the Howlers filled the gap in the League left by the disbandment of the Banchory Bangers in 1814. They are owned by Daily Prophet sports reporter Mitch Quiddel, and their stadium is enchanted to be invisible even to the nearby town of Irvingly.
Kenmare Kestrals
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Colors: Green with yellow accents
Location: County Kerry (Ireland)
(A played team)
Founded in 1291, the Kestrals are popular worldwide for the antics of their mascot leprechauns, who run loose through the stadium during matches, and for the traditional harp playing practiced by their avid fans.
Montrose Magpies
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Colors: Black & White
Location: Angus (Scotland)
(An NPC team)
The Magpies are a very successful team, generally speaking, and have the largest number of fans in the international community of any team in the British Isles. It is not uncommon to see tourists attending matches who speak no English other than the team's chant, "Fly, fly, Magpie!"
Pride of Portree
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Colors: Purple with gold accents
Location: Isle of Skye, Hebrides (Scotland)
(An NPC team)
Founded in 1292, this team is known as 'the Prides' to their fans. Their stadium sports an enchanted canopy of false stars, which sometimes confuse passing birds and insects and cause them to fly ceaseless circles around the pitch until they eventually collapse from exhaustion.
Puddlemere United
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Colors: dark blue with old accents
Location: West Dorset (SW England)
Rival: Holyhead Harpies
(A played team)
The oldest team in the league, Puddlemere was founded in 1163. Their team anthem is 'Beat Back Those Bludgers, Boys, and Chuck That Quaffle Here.' Puddlemere also has the distinction of being the only team to outlive its founding city, as the town of Puddlemere sank into the nearby river in 1403. Luckily, the pitch was spared.
Tutshill Tornados
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Colors: Sky blue with dark blue accents
Location: Gloucestershire (W England)
(An NPC team)
Founded in 1520, the Tutshill stadium was almost entirely demolished in 1883 when one particularly overzealous fan conjured a functional tornado to celebrate his team’s victory. After extensive fundraising, the stadium is now undergoing a very lengthy remodel and rebuilding process.
Wigtown Wanderers
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Colors: Red with silver accents
Location: Wigtownshire (Scotland)
(An NPC team)
Founded in 1422 by the seven children of wizarding butcher Walter Parkin, the Wigtown Wanderers wear blood-red robes with silver meat cleavers on the chest to honor their patriarch's occupation, and often have one or more Parkin descendants on their team roster.
Wimbourne Wasps
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Colors: Yellow & Black
Location: East Dorset (SW England)
Rival: Appleby Arrows
(An NPC team)
Founded in 1312, the Wasps have been engaged in a fierce rivalry with Appleby since at least the seventeenth century, and are rumored to take their mascot from an incident in which a Wimbourne player pitched a wasps' nest onto the Appleby seeker and forced him to retire due to the resulting injuries. Fans, known as 'Stingers,' buzz loudly to distract opposing chasers in the event that they are able to take a penalty shot.
Many thanks to the following sources:
Quidditch Through the Ages
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