Interim Rule Amendments Released for the 2020-21 season

Even though our season looks different this year, our Gameplay department has been hard at work thinking about how to best improve the game in Canada. This year, in light of the constraints placed on the season, the department is releasing its Interim Rule Amendments (Version 1.0). The document is being released now – although testing the rules through actual play is not possible across the country at this time – in order to receive feedback from the Canadian quidditch community on proposed changes. As feedback is given, the Gameplay department will work to improve on the proposed changes, and release a second iteration of this ruleset in January. 

It is the plan of Quidditch Canada’s Gameplay department to solidify the ruleset through comprehensive play-testing once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, tentatively scheduled to occur over the summer of 2021, and have a final version ready for release in time for the 2021-22 season. 

Motivation for the proposed amendments

The proposed rule changes are evidence-based, using information from last season’s statistics to inform targeted changes to the rules, and enhance the overall playing experience. These statistics – for which an overview is provided below – were generated by our Statistics Coordinator Bryan Melchior: 

• It takes a team 1 minute and 30 seconds (on average) to score a goal
• The average game time of games last season were 22 minutes
• The average quaffle point differential (i.e. the difference of score of the winning team versus the losing team, not including the points from the snitch catch) is 90  
• Approximately 30% of games ended in a cold catch – that is, the team who was losing would catch the snitch to end the game. 

Based on these statistics, the Gameplay department surmised that games are paced slowly, but end quickly. Games also tend to have lopsided scores, resulting in teams looking to end the game quickly rather than keep playing, because comebacks seem unachievable. It is the belief of the Gameplay department that the quality of the game would be improved if these trends were addressed.

Desired Outcomes

With the statistics in mind, the Interim Rule Amendments document is proposed to achieve the following objectives:

• Increase player safety 
• Improve pace of play, with less time between possession changes 
• Generate more options on offence, leading to more goals 
• Enhance defensive versatility 
• Entice teams to keep playing by increasing the possibility of a comeback
• Remove ambiguity from referee calls
• Improve the excitement of the game for players and fans alike through a dynamic game format 

How to use these rule changes:

As has been the case with previous Quidditch Canada Amendments, we encourage the use of USQ’s Rulebook as the base rulebook for this ruleset. This year, the proposed changes reference USQ’s most recent rulebook, Rulebook 13, as the base ruleset. Once IQA’s new rulebook and USQ Rulebook 14 are released, the Gameplay department will review the provided change logs, and determine which rulebook is best suited for quidditch in Canada. 

For full contact League-level teams currently registered with Quidditch Canada, we encourage you to review the ruleset with your team. The Gameplay department will be reaching out to our teams to schedule meetings in order to hear your feedback, however we encourage you to reach out to the Gameplay department directly should you have specific comments or questions at gameplay@quidditchcanada.com.

Read the Interim Rule Amendments (v1) document in full here.