Major League Quidditch is excited to release our new ruleset for the 2020 season. We will continue to use the most recent USQ ruleset, USQ Rulebook 13, coupled with a number of MLQ-specific adaptations. This season’s ruleset features minimal changes from the last rendition.

There will only be one new rule implemented in 2020:
1. If there is a pileup on the quaffle in a keeper zone that ceases any progression of the ball, the head referee will begin a 10-second countdown, after which the quaffle is turned over to the defending keeper. This change is meant to speed up the flow of the game, especially during snitch-on-pitch where beaters may ignore the quaffle game for prolonged periods, leading to excessive delays in the quaffle game when pileups occur. This rule was tested at this year’s Cocoa Cup and was found favorable by more than 75 percent of participants. Additional clarifications will be given to head referees to ensure that this rule is called consistently league wide.

Two rules from last season have been minorly altered:
1. The set score value has been reduced from 70 to 60 and the snitch value has been reduced from 45 to 35. These changes were made to better standardize the length of games, especially in cases where a heavily-trailing team catches the snitch. However, the overall game mechanics will not change significantly, as the leading team at 20 minutes will still need at least three goals and a snitch catch to win.
2. The center hoop tag-in rule was updated to specify that if the hoop is dislodged, only parts of the hoop still attached to the base are valid tag-in points. This is a minor change that eliminates a loophole where a player could conceivably be tagging in far from the hoop area if a piece of the center hoop was dislodged and moved far from it.

Snitch regulations have also been updated:
1. Snitches are no longer allowed to throw brooms. This is a change being made for player safety purposes.
2. Snitches are no longer allowed to grab brooms for longer than three seconds. This change is being made to protect broom integrity, as well as increase the dynamism of the seeker/snitch interactions.

And, lastly, our timeout rule has been updated to allow timeouts to be called during stoppages, in line with the standard set in USQ Rulebook 12 and 13.

We are excited to roll out these new rule updates, and are looking forward to their implementation in the 2020 season.