Quidditch tournament held in 'Batman's garden'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-31788085

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Hundreds of players have competed in the UK's biggest ever quidditch tournament, playing a sport adapted from the Harry Potter books.

Wollaton Hall and Park in Nottingham, known for being used as Wayne Manor in a Batman film, was chosen to host the second British Quidditch Cup (BQC).

Organisers hope the public location has helped raise the profile of the sport.

Quidditch players do not fly as they do in Harry Potter, but they do run around with broomsticks between their legs.

Sixteen teams competed when the British Quidditch Cup was first held in Oxford in November 2013, and 23 teams have competed this time.

'Kicked in the head'

QuidditchUK president Amy Maidment said: "We want people to discover what we do and see us as a legitimate sport rather than imitating Harry Potter, so we put it in a public place to get that exposure."

Ms Maidment has previously played for Nottingham Nightmares, a team from the University of Nottingham.

She initially became interested because of her love for Harry Potter, but now sees the sport as separate from the books.

"It's like rugby mixed with dodgeball," she said.

"There are a few injuries but we are currently working on re-evaluating the rules to minimise that, because if the injury rates continue as they are people aren't going to carry on wanting to play it.

"I haven't had a bad injury apart from a concussion. I got accidentally kicked in the head by my captain."

Radcliffe Chimeras, from Oxford University, were favourites to win the competition, due to end at about 18:30 GMT.