Brooms up! France has been named European Quidditch champion after 12 teams battled hard for the crown in the first of its kind tournament of the sport invented by author JK Rowling for the Harry Potter series.
France swept aside the British favourites in an intense Harry Potter-inspired final played out in the Italian countryside.
The 90-50 result on Sunday saw the French win the first European Quidditch Games, hosted this weekend in Sarteano, a hillside town in Tuscany.
The champions beat 11 teams, all on broomsticks, in the sport invented by author JK Rowling for her Harry Potter book series.
Dennis Jordan, captain of the French side, said both sides played a "really tough, really intense game".
"Our main keeper was injured and broke his shoulder; he's now in the ambulance. It was a legal tackle; both teams played aggressively but within the rules," he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
The winning side is now looking ahead to the Quidditch Global Games, to be held next year, with the location still to be decided by an international governing body.
A rather complicated sport, Quidditch involves seven players per team, five balls and a total of six hoops which serve as goals.
Each match starts with the referee shouting "Brooms up!" and comes to an end once a tennis ball "snitch", attached to a player's shorts, has been caught.
Competitors must abide by a 170-page rule book, with organisers making sure each team has the correct equipment.
Despite the strict rules, Giulio Cioncoloni, a volunteer with organisers at the Cultural Association l'Ombrico, said the game is informal and incredibly fun.
"It's a beautiful sport because it's one of strength. But at the end of the game, everyone hugs. It's a great community. Quidditch is a sport for everyone," he said.
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