Quidditch has officially changed its name in an attempt to distance itself from Harry Potter author J.K Rowling.
The magical sport involving brooms, several balls, hoops, and a whole lot of surprising brutality for a game children play was first created by J.K Rowling as part of Harry Potter's wizarding world. It wasn't long before the concept of IRL Quidditch blew up, and became a popular sport across US college campuses - it even spawned an official Quidditch League.
In December last year US Quidditch and Major League Quidditch, the sport's two major governing bodies, announced that they were considering a name change as a result of "sponsorship and broadcast opportunities” lost. One of the main reasons for this is because Warner Bros., which owns the Harry Potter film IP and everything associated with it, holds the copyright for the Quidditch name.
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However, the League also announced that it was uncomfortable with its association to J.K Rowling. The Harry Potter author has been widely criticised in recent years for her trans-exclusionary views, to the point where many fans feel they can no longer support her work in good conscience.
US Quidditch executive director Mary Kimball said in a statement at the time: "Our sport has developed a reputation as one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality and inclusivity, in part thanks to its gender maximum rule, which stipulates that a team may not have more than four players of the same gender on the field at a time.
"Both organizations feel it is imperative to live up to this reputation in all aspects of their operations and believe this move is a step in that direction."
In a recent announcement, US Quidditch and Major League Quidditch confirmed that the IRL version of the sport will now be known as Quadball. The organizations have been renamed as US Quadball and Major League Quadball.
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“In less than 20 years, our sport has grown from a few dozen college students in rural Vermont to a global phenomenon with thousands of players, semi-pro leagues and international championships,” Kimball said in a new statement announcing the change.
“Our organizations are committed to continuing to push Quadball forward.”
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.Topics: Harry Potter, TV And Film