International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee

The International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) is the global governing body for the sport of Quidditch. As a subcommittee of the International Confederation of Wizards, its primary responsibilities include setting and enforcing the rules of the game, ensuring player safety, and organizing major international tournaments, most notably the Quidditch World Cup. The committee plays a crucial role in standardizing the sport and maintaining the secrecy of magical sporting events from the Muggle world.

• Acronym: ICWQC
• Type: Sporting Governing Body / Committee
• Jurisdiction: International Quidditch
• Parent Organization: International Confederation of Wizards
• Established: 1968 (Quidditch Through the Ages)

The ICWQC was established in 1968 as a specialized body within the International Confederation of Wizards to manage the increasingly popular and complex sport of Quidditch on a global scale (Quidditch Through the Ages). Its core mandate is to create a unified set of rules that all professional and amateur leagues must follow. Key responsibilities of the committee include:

• Rule Enforcement: The ICWQC defines the official rules of Quidditch, including all fouls, regulations on equipment like brooms and wands, and the conduct of players.
• Tournament Organization: The committee is responsible for organizing the Quidditch World Cup, which is held every four years. This involves selecting host nations, managing logistics, and overseeing the immense security operations required to uphold the International Statute of Secrecy.
• Player and Spectator Safety: A significant part of the committee's work involves implementing measures to protect players from excessively violent play and ensuring the safety of spectators at large-scale events.

The committee is known for its strict, and sometimes unpopular, regulations designed to maintain order and secrecy.

• A complete ban on the use of wands by players against any member of the opposing team, the referee, any of the three balls, or spectators during a match (Quidditch Through the Ages).
• Strict control over wand use by the crowd at major events. At the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, the committee forbade the sale of novelty wands that could, for example, turn into a miniature shrunken head of the opposing team's Seeker or beat up the user's own nose.
• Standardization of official equipment, including the size and material of the Quaffle and the enchantments on the Bludgers (Quidditch Through the Ages).
• Implementation of extensive concealment charms and memory-modifying squads at the Quidditch World Cup to prevent discovery by Muggles.

The International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee is mentioned primarily in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the context of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, complains about the “killjoys from the International Confederation of Wizards' Quidditch Committee” for their stringent rules regarding celebratory merchandise. This brief mention establishes the committee's authority and its bureaucratic, safety-first approach to managing the sport, which sometimes clashes with the more freewheeling desires of fans and even officials like Bagman. Their work represents the unseen administrative layer that makes large-scale events in the wizarding world possible.

Most of the detailed information regarding the ICWQC's history, founding date, and specific regulations comes from the supplementary book Quidditch Through the Ages, written by J.K. Rowling. In the main novels, the committee exists more as a background entity that enforces the rules of the world's most popular magical sport.