Quaffle

A Quaffle was a ball used in the wizarding game of Quidditch. It is approximately the size of a football. When a Chaser used it to score once, they earn ten points for their team.
==Description==
The Quaffle was twelve inches in diameter. It was a red, leather-covered ball used as the main object of play, and is the only one out of the three ball-types that was practically immobile. The three Chasers carried and passed the Quaffle to their opponent's goal hoops, where they tried to score points by throwing it through one of the three rings. Each time it passed through the hoops, the scoring team gained ten points.Quaffles had to be thrown into the goal hoops in order to score, failing to do so (like carrying through the goal hoop) commits a Haversacking foul. Also, the Keeper must defend the goal hoops from the front of the ring and not the back (a Flacking foul).
==History==
According to the entries in Gertie Keddle's diary, the Quaffle was the first ball used in the early form of Quidditch played at Queerditch Marsh. Originally, the ball was not enchanted, and made of patched leather with a strap attached to it to allow players to throw and catch it one handed. Some Quaffles had finger holes instead of the strap, rather like a Muggle bowling ball, or a coconut.In 1711, the Quaffle was changed to its current scarlet colour, after a match played in heavy rain made it indistinguishable from the muddy ground. Shortly after, the witch Daisy Pennifold came up with the idea of enchanting the Quaffle so that it dropped to the ground slower than normal. Chasers were complaining of having to dive to the ground to retrieve a dropped ball, and the new enchantment gave the Chasers time to retrieve the ball while still in the air. The ball became known as the "Pennifold Quaffle".
In 1875, Gripping Charms were discovered, allowing the players to hold onto the Quaffle without using a strap or finger holes.
==Fouls==
Quaffle-pocking was a common foul that consists of altering the Quaffle somehow, such as poking holes in it to make it fall faster or zigzag. Only Chasers could commit this foul.
==Behind the scenes==
* sells a foam replica of a Quaffle.
*The Quaffle-pocking foul may be a reference to the cheating methods pitchers sometimes use to gain an advantage by altering the in some way, such as coating it in a sticky substance to increase contact with the hand and increase the ball's spin when thrown.
===Appearances===
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==Notes and references==
Category:Balls
Category:Foundables
Category:Real Magical Objects
Category:Hogwarts Quidditch Equipment