Quidditch
Quidditch

Beater

"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team...."
-- Harry Potter (PS10)

"....every goal has been hard won against Beaters who on both sides are showing superb precision and power"
-- Ginny Weasley, Daily Prophet, match report Chad v Lichtenstein, 17 May 2014 (QWC)

Beater

The Beater is a Quidditch player who protects other players from Bludgers – while attempting to hit those Bludgers toward opposing players using a small bat.

Background

Originally, the Bludgers (or, aptly, Blooders) hit by the Beaters were flying rocks, which could be cracked by the Beaters’ bats. This often meant that the resulting gravel would then follow the players around the pitch (QA6).

Beaters have to be strong and have a good sense of balance, as it takes strength to hit the Bludger very far and this sometimes needs two hands (so balance is a must). Beaters are more often Wizards than Witches because of needing this extra force, although Gwenog Jones is, as usual, an exception to this (QA6).

Two Beater moves in the modern Quidditch game are the Bludger Backbeat, where the Beater uses a difficult backhand swing, and the Dopplebeater Defence, where two Beaters combine for extra power (QA10).

The Braga Broomfleet team from Portugal have pioneered a Beater-marking system (QA8).

A foul frequently committed by Beaters is bumphing, where a Bludger is hit into the crowd, causing a halt to the game while officials ensure public safety (QA6).

The book The Beaters’ Bible by Brutus Scrimgeour recommends that the first priority for a Beater is to “take out the Seeker” (QA6).

Some famous Beaters

Fred and George Weasley – Gryffindor Quidditch team

Gwenog Jones – Wales National Team and Holyhead Harpies (DP1, DP2, DP3, DP4, HBP4, HBP7, HBP14QWC)

Ludo Bagman – England National Team and Wimbourne Wasps (GF7, GF8, GF9, GF16, QA, QWC)

 

Karl and Kevin Broadmoor – Falmouth Falcons (QA7)

Vulchanov and Volkov – the 1994 Bulgarian National Team (GF8, QWC)

Shintaro Shingo and Masaki Hongo – 2014 Japanese National Team (QWC)

Table of Contents

Commentary

Etymology

A beater can be someone who hits something or someone very hard - this is what the Beaters are doing to the Bludgers. A beater can also be a person who manages birds for shooting (Oxford English Dictionary). The British tradition of "beating the bounds", where the boundaries of a parish are defined once a year by going round them, is a much gentler affair (Wikipedia).

Notes

The story goes that the Wimbourne Wasps team got their name from one of their Beaters hitting a Bludger into a wasps' nest, stinging the Appleby Arrows' Seeker so badly that he had to stop playing, which led to a Wasps win (QA7).

Related images:

Gwenog Jones Blooders are an early form of Bludger, the "ball" hit by a Beater Time da Grifinória do 6º ano. Fotografia tirada por Colin Creevey (The Gryffindor team of the 6th year.<br /> Photograph taken by Colin Creevey).  

Although the dates printed on the Daily Prophet Newsletters are:

  • DP1: 31 July 1998,
  • DP2: 8 February 1999,
  • DP3: 1 June 1999 and
  • DP4: 1 October 1999,

the timeframe for these events is 1992-1993.

Lexicon timeline of Quidditch

Lexicon list of Beaters

From the Web

Writing by J K Rowling on WizardingWorld (Pottermore): The Daily Prophet

Writing by J K Rowling on Imgur (Daily Prophet coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, originally from Pottermore):

Harry Potter Wiki: Beater

The-Leaky-Cauldron: Quidditch in Harry Potter by Matilda

WizardingWorld (Pottermore) features:

Pensieve (Comments)

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Editors: and