Pro Dueling

Professional Duelling is a competitive wizarding sport, consisting of a engaging in spell dueling as a regulated sport. Duelling is a particularly popular wizarding sport in Britain where it is regulated and supported by the British Wizard Duelling Association. The British Dueling League consists of a number of clubs, which complete in regular tournaments.

History

Duelling has been a long-standing formal practice in wizarding culture, where two or more wizards or witches engage in combat under the condition that only magical means could be used. Under the historical conventions of dueling, the combatants face each other and bow as a sign of respect, before they placing themselves in an accepted combative position and, at the count of three, attempted to disarm, stun, injure, defeat, or kill each other in order to force submission.

Duelling has also existed as a sport similar to the sport of fencing the Muggle world. Outside of actual combat it could be turned into a friendly sporting competition. Historical records show the emergence of organised duelling competitions as the activity developed into a popular sport

Elizabeth Smudgling won the title of Supreme Dueller in a famous Dartmoor contest in 1379 using the Disarming Charm; a spell possibly of her own invention. Alberta Toothill was declared the winner of the All-England Wizarding Duelling Competition of 1430, famously overcoming the favourite, Samson Wiblin, with a Blasting Charm. 

By 1994, duelling as an unregulated means of solving disputes was banned by the International Confederation of Wizards. This further popularised duelling as a formal sporting activity. Professional dueling is now regulated by the Ministry of Magic through the British Wizard Duelling Association. it has grown into a popular and often theatrical sport, attracting serious casting talent and wide audiences.

Professional Dueling

Format

Duelists can compete in singles or doubles matches. Singles are the norm and the majority of tournaments and events are arranged along these lines. Classical Dueling or ‘Doubles’ involves a Second working in tandem with the First. Lone Wolves , that is members without a wand club -occasionally- team up with sponsored members, but, it’s very, very rare. Indeed ‘shopping outside the clubhouse’ and giving ranking points to a ‘Leacher’ may cause a member to lose face with the organization. Especially if it leads to giving said ‘Leacher’ a championship trophy or medal later in the season because of ranking points earned in a doubles match.

Sport dueling, while seldom approaching Quidditch numbers remains popular in the wizarding world, especially among older fans. Matches in the current climate are seldom decided by referee instead leaving decision making to a panel of judges. These panels typically range from Two to Three judges and duelists are typically graded on categories such as skill, creativity, and staying in theme.

While seasonal rated matches can be played as singles or doubles the National and International tournaments are always Singles by tradition. Furthermore while established National circuits exist, anyone wishing to promote an ‘official’ tournament need only contact the Department of Games and Sports to register it. This, of course, means that the tournament must follow established league guidelines

At any given point in time a dueling club will sponsor and field ten active members for competition in the British League. Some clubs may have more members on hand or ‘on the bench’. These are typically veterans, injured players, or those taking a season off.

Rules

• Duels last until a third hit (or 'touch') is made.

• Illegal spells or curses that can result in permanent damage are outlawed and use of them will result in being disqualified and appropriate legal action if applicable.

• Stuns and knockbacks *only* count as hits. They do not signify a win. Furthermore these may be frowned upon since they are universally regarded as ‘boring’ by most judges. Hits can not be counted while the duelist is stunned or out of the ring.

• Judges will score the duelists from 1-10. One judge per category. Hits are added to the final score.

Example:  A duel ends 3-0 with duelists being ‘graded’ on Skill, Creativity, and Defense.Scores of 6,4,7 would become 9,7,10 after hits are calculated in.

• Duels involving seconds are more complicated. Rules apply as normal but the pair is graded as a partnership. Since a second can only take over when the primary duelist is unable to continue this can often lead to intentional ‘step outs’ by the primary duelist to pull in a strong finisher. The advantage to this is a partner who may have more flair or excel in a different area, thus, padding the score for judges. Some established partnerships or wandclubs develop specific maneuvers.

Glossary

• Action: One’s overall performance in a duel (“Oof. He had bad action that round, judges are gonna give bad marks”)
• Lone Wolf: A duelist who chooses not to belong to an established club
• Leacher: A person who duels outside their organisation to climb in rank. Derogatory
• Stutter Stall: Using stuns or bindings to force a dispel between points.  Often used as a taunt or hazing tactic.
• Sending an Owl: Doing just enough in a match to win. Can refer to lazy dueling or using children’s spells to show disdain for one’s opponents
• Shopping outside the clubhouse: Using a regular partner who is not a member of the same organisation
• Touch: A hit made with a spell during a duel
• Acing your NEWTS: Perfect Scores in a round with 13s from all judges.
• ‘Wearing the penguin suit’: Participating in a doubles duel. A reference to high class muggle music performances. Most classical dueling tournaments are Dress Robe occasions and considered society events.
• Rook: A Defensive Focused Duelist
• Bishop: A Balanced Duelist
• Finisher: In doubles, a offensively oriented Duelist meant to end a match. Typically less defense minded or highly experienced
• Knight: An offensive minded Duelist
• Carry: Providing a win/notoriety to a less experienced partner
• Tipping your hat: When bowing: Showing disrespect. Can include, a shallow bow, a tip of the head, an overly mocking bow
• Going off Script: Ignoring themes or special instructions for a match.
• The Pledge: The beginning of a match. Before a hit has been scored
• The Turn: The middle of a match. After a second hit has been scored
• The Prestige: The end of a match. As soon as a third hit has been scored.
• SPM: Swishes per minute. A sign of speed in casting (“She’s got really good SPM!”).

British Dueling League

See also: British Dueling League

Competing as a Professional Duelist requires a license from the Department of Games and Sports, through the British Wizard Dueling Association. Most duelists belong to a club in addition to being members of the British Wizard Duelling Association. This gives them the advantage of people to network with and available funds to draw on from the club, as well as a salary. The advantage to the club for this is promotion and notoriety for their organisation. Because the International dueling league assigns individual rankings there is no need to join a club, but, only very rarely do wizards compete without sponsorship. Because of the time demands a club places on it’s members, professional duelists normally devote their time to their club as their full-time occupation. Scouting takes place at Opens or via Statistics sent from school dueling clubs (once per term). In some rare cases clubs may take members based on recommendations of other members, though, an audition is required.

Cash Rich Clubs

• Angus Begbie's
• Bedford Rangers
• Holyhead Banshees
• Manchester Mandrakes

Standard Clubs

• Orkney Warlords
• Pennyghael Picts
• Godric's Glorious
• Bristol Boggarts
• Cornish Cavaliers
• Leighlinbridge Lords
• Daliburgh Dragons
• Kinvara Grindylows

Behind the scenes

• Pro Dueling can be found in the virtual world Second Life® @ Mischief Managed, a devotional sim created by Anya Ohmai and voluntarily maintained by various creative Administrators and players. You can find out more information here: http://mischiefmanagedsl.net
• Players wishing to take part in duels should consult the Dueling Guide.
• Characters wishing to join the British Wizard Duelling Association may sign up for a license at the Department of Magical Games and Sports (DMGS). Players who wish to make Professional Duelling into a career are strongly encouraged to become members of a club. Weekly off-screen matches determine season rankings, whilst roleplayed dueling tournaments are held more infrequently during the year.
• The DMGS also runs a number of Duelling Opens (typically at least twice per year) which are open to all players who wish to compete.