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[div align="center"][div style="background-color:#222222;width:700px;padding:2px;"][div style="border:1px solid #2e2e2c;padding:1px;"][div style="border:1px solid #313131;"][div style="border:2px solid #242423;padding:5px;"][div style="font-size:20px;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"]CHAPTER DFGDS: BROOMSTICKS AND KIT MAINTENANCE[/font][/div][hr style="height:1px;width:95%;"][div style="font-size:10px;text-align:justify;"][font color="#676767" face="arial"]In Quidditch, your gear is probably the most important thing to concern yourself with. Good gear doesn't just keep you safe, but it also severely improves your performance. Even the best player in the world will struggle on a low quality broom, and even the best player in the world will be known to have been hit by a Bludger. In this section I will talk about how to improve the quality of your kit and maintain what you already have.

First, let's talk about what kind of Broom you want to get and the level of quality you can expect versus cost. For the record, if the broom isn't written below please don't buy it. There are many smaller brand names and older models that still circulate today -- these are not safe and probably do not adhere to Quidditch regulations. I've also only mentioned brooms related to play in the United Kingdom.

[table][tbody][tr][td style="font-size:10px;border:1px solid transparent;width:50%;padding:1px;"][div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]BLUEBOTTLE[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font color="#676767" face="arial"]Not racing brooms -- I repeat, not racing brooms. If one more kid shows up to Academy practice with a Bluebottle broom I will snap it over my knee. These things are meant for personal use only, and simply do not hold up in any level of Quidditch play.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]CLEANSWEEP[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]These are reliable broomsticks that have been used by Quidditch players at all levels for a hundred years. They are quick, but not quick enough to be a decent Seeker broom. Cleansweeps have thick handles, and I would recommend these for any Beater worth his salt. They are less likely to break via contact with a Bludger or another Player, and are fast enough to catch any Bludger, too. The Cleansweeps are also relatively affordable (especially older models bought second hand) and do not seem to age badly. I myself still have a Cleansweep 8 in my personal collection at home and haven't found it to have lost any of its initial speed or quality.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]COMET[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]You always hear about Comet in comparison to the Cleansweep series. The two companies have had a long-standing rivalry, and I do happen to find Comets to be brooms that are just as good as the Cleansweeps -- if not better when they're fresh out of the box. Everything I said about the Cleansweep is true for the Comet, with one glaring difference. Comets do not age well, and I've seen many a person stuttering around on a second hand Comet model and it is not a good look. For somebody with a lot of money this is a good short-term broom that is easy to get a hold of, but it will need replacing every year and simply does not hold up to the more expensive broomsticks that I'll talk about further down.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"][b]FIREBOLT[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]Arguably still the best broomsticks in the market, but incredibly expensive. This broom won Bulgaria the 2014 Quidditch World cup, and no doubt it will win many teams many more of these titles. I myself always recommend my Professional players buy a Firebolt when their first real pay check comes in, and if this is a broom that won't put a sizeable dent in your household income then I thoroughly recommend it. They're great brooms for Seekers and Chasers, but are very hard to get your hands on and are produced very slowly. Still, they're fast, safe, fly high... the only real con to them is if they get hit by a Bludger they'll splinter like a tooth pick.


[/font][/div][/td][td style="font-size:10px;border:1px solid transparent;width:50%;padding:1px;"][div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"][b]NIMBUS[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font color="#676767" face="arial"]These brooms are still top of the range for speed and I'd recommend them for any Seeker or Chaser. Just like the Firebolt models, they bruise real easy when coming into contact with stands or Bludgers, so I recommend not buying this model for a clumsy kid that's likely to get it smacked about and I wouldn't recommend them for Beaters either. However, they're very decent brooms and aren't quite expensive as the faster models like the Firebolt and the Thunderbolt.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]SHOOTING STAR[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font color="#676767" face="arial"]These are very cheap and quick racing brooms. Perfect for somebody who's just starting to get into the Sport and needs to see if they enjoy it, or better yet it serves as a good interim broom to replace one that might have recently broke whilst you save up for something better. After a few months, these brooms tend to deteriorate in quality and I don't recommend anybody flies one that is longer than 6 months old as they become a lot less safe.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"][b]STARSWEEPER[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]Although these brooms are actually American, they're sold pretty actively here in the United Kingdom. The reason for that? They're really good brooms. They're fast; allow you to fly much higher than most regular market brooms; and they are pretty durable too. The latest model of this broom took an entire American Quidditch team to the Semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup. If you can get a decent price for one of these brooms you would be stupid not to take it.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"][b]THUNDERBOLT[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]Too dangerous no matter how careful a player you are. Any coach that cares about his team will not let their players get on one of these brooms and play. The Thunderbolt may be fast -- in fact they're easily the fastest brooms available -- but they are way too unsafe, and quite frankly I'm not sure how they meet the International Quidditch Board's regulations.[/font][/div]
[div style="text-align:center;letter-spacing:1px;"][font face="times new roman" color="#676767"][b]WESTBROOM[/b][/font][/div][div style="text-align:justify;"][font face="arial" color="#676767"]These are beautiful brooms and will do you justice at an Amateur level. They're very luxurious, comfortable, and have a unique feature that makes the broom adjust to your body type and shape. However, they could hardly be considered a racing broom and you will easily be out-stripped by any high line broom that's seen in top levels of play. I would genuinely recommend the Westbroom to any Keeper at any level, however, as the comfort it provides can make longer games bearable.[/font][/div][/td][/tr][/tbody][/table]
Next let's talk about how you're going to servive your Broom. Any Broomstick Servicing Kit will usually come with the following: Handle Polish, Tail-twig Clippers, and extras such as a Compass and brush. I'll detail how you use the kit below.

[span style="letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]HANDLE POLISH[/b][/font][/span] - Apply the polish very modestly over the broom and carefully smooth the brush from the tail end towards the nose end. You want to do one long, clean sweep and then lift the brush and repeat this several times, untill you get a nice clear sheen. Lay the broom out in a well ventilated area for a minimum of 12 hours (but not outside, as debris could get stuck in the polish and permanently damage the wood).

[span style="letter-spacing:1px;"][font color="#676767" face="times new roman"][b]TAIL-TWIG CLIPPERS[/b][/font][/span] - Carefully smooth out the tail of the broom with your hand and hold the broom to your eyeline to check which twigs are bent, loose, or no longer fit to the shape of the broom and keep it stream-lined. Then, you will carefully cut the bent ones and pull the loose ones free. After you are happy that all of the bent and loose ones are dealt with, you may carefully push the remaining twigs back into the tail to create the streamlined shape.

It's important you keep the broom maintained by performing this check at least once after every game or every couple of practices. A broom should never go more than one month without undergoing maintenance, lest it fail to meet safety regulations and put the flyer at risk. Do not forget about your actual pads and kit, though, as these are just as important and serve as vital protection from both the weather and stray Bludgers. Beaters must also be sure to polish their bats to ensure good contact between their bat and Bludger.[/font][/div][/div][/div][/div][/div][/div]