Two main styles of recognizable snitches have evolved in the history of the sport, but the most successful snitches have been known to use a combination of both:

• Running - avoiding capture via reducing physical contact with seekers

• Engagement - avoiding capture via grappling or using a seeker as a guard, i.e. using contact with the seekers to your advantage

In the following sections, we will dive into how to optimize each technique and hopefully give you some insight into your strengths as you choose your tactics. Each snitch runner has different strengths, and good snitch runners know how to use them. See our resources below for workouts and drills to get your body in top snitching condition.

As a snitch, your positioning is key to not only establishing an advantage at seeker release, but also keeping track of the seekers in play. You are required to stay within 1.5 yards of the midline for the duration of your time on the pitch, but you have some leeway. Here are some things you may want to consider in your choice of starting position:

• Establishment of a home base that works to your evasive style

• Your view of the whole pitch

• Your view of both seekers

• Visibility of you to the beaters of both teams

• Spectators' view of your engagements (See Engage the Crowd below)

Positioning yourself along the midline a few yards away from the sideline opposite to the benches satisfies a lot of these points. Eye contact and hand gestures are a great way to keep yourself, referees, and other players aware of where your opposition is and will help you last longer against seeker pressure.

One thing to be aware of is substitutions. If a seeker is headed away from you, there is likely a reason why. If you are unaware of a substitution, you may not be tracking and are more vulnerable to a quick and unanticipated catch.

A good rule of thumb to help with this is keeping the boundary to your back. Unless engaging with spectators when you have the space to do so, face the pitch and try to keep momentum forward to avoid being pushed out of bounds. If you are pushed away from the midline, as so often happens under seeker pressure, find your way back to your home base or initial position.

Engaging with the crowd can be one of the best parts of snitching, but it is important that it does not impede gameplay or affect the game in any way. If seeking has begun, a snitch's focus must be on the game.

Looking for ideas on audience engagement? A few tried and true ways to entertain without impacting the game are:

1. Musical preludes to your entrance, dances, and acrobatics can energize the crowd. Cheerleaders have been doing it for years!

2. Wear an eye-catching jersey or outfit! Of course, this means it must be safe and legal to play while wearing - anything beyond athletic gear must be left on the sidelines well before the seekers are released.

3. Let your personality shine. Hype yourself up, incorporate playful - and inoffensive - "trash talk" with the seekers (bearing in mind to show no favorites), and perform whatever other competitive theatrics to amplify the excitement of the moment.

The most important aspect of all of these ideas is that they are safe, fair, and considerate of the gameplay happening around you. Keep in mind that while you may be shiny and yellow, many people have come to support their teams and want to see the players on the field. The best snitch is an amplifier of that positive support and not a distraction.

The fundamentals of defending yourself when seekers make moves are your bread and butter. In that moment how do you prevent a catch while also keeping seekers safe? Your reach and hip position are key to creating distance between the seeker and the snitch tail.

During a standoff, be aware of how your hips are facing as well as lateral hip motion. Quick movements can cause the tail to swing into view and even arm's reach of some seekers. Lateral motion can be helpful if seekers are in front and behind you or in the event a seeker dives. Rapid turns and spins can disorient two seekers making catch attempts simultaneously.

One on One is when seekers rely on their best moves. Most seekers only have a couple of tricks. Recognize the seeker's tendencies and be aware of how they want to attack you. Shutting down a seeker's favorite move can really throw them off their rhythm.

When engaging with one seeker, you are very vulnerable to a catch from the other. Be cautions with over-committing and grapples without knowing where your other seeker is (see Engaging Two Seekers). Moves that bring a seeker close to you can help you control their motion, but may give them the advantage if they get an arm free from your grasp or a quick spin move on you. Just as your hip positioning is important, a seekers hips will give away their true path of motion in the event of jukes and fake outs.

You may find yourself in a situation where one team has more than a 30-point lead over the other team, leading them to use their seeker "defensively". This defensive seeker's goal is to prevent the winning team from pulling your tail and ending the game. However, they can quickly turn into an "offensive" seeker if their team gets within the 30-point range, or they fall so out of range that they go for the game-ending catch with a loss (a concession catch). Remain on guard with these defensive seekers, still keeping them an arms-length distance away, pulling their broom for dismounts, and pointing them out while they are subbing or completing the knock-out procedure at hoops. See the next section for a little more detail on why this is important.

When engaging with two seekers, the game has some more nuance to it. Pay attention to the score and see which team is likely to make more catch attempts and engagements. Never count out the possibility of a concession catch from the team that is trailing. If the game is close and within 30 points, seekers may look to tie the score and go to overtime. Fast, game changing catches often occur moments after a goal so stay focused and anticipate what seekers may do in the event of a score.

Having constant pressure from two seekers can be exhausting. Know your limits and adjust strategies to conserve your energy. Keep your footing as best as possible to avoid being knocked over repeatedly, which could lead to injury, game delays, and overall frustration among those participating in the snitch game. With the mental portion covered, let us dig into physical engagements with two seekers.

In order to position themselves advantageously, seekers will often push and shove each other out of the way to get to you. You can use this time to create distance while they are contacting each other and not you. Remain light on on your feet, as quick unpredictable motions and dodges will throw off the seekers. This reduces physical contact and engagement and allows beaters some time to catch up to snitch play. Beaters will be your best friends when engaging multiple seekers. Direct your seekers to areas where beaters are. Taking pressure off of you to conserve your energy is key to lasting longer on pitch.

Keeping one seeker in between you and the other will help you focus your energy on one at a time (see Body Blocking). Using both arms against one seeker is much easier than using one arm for each individual seeker simultaneously. Seekers not only are focused on trying to catch you, but they also are a line of defense against the opposing seeker. Monitor their tactics and determine which is better at defending against the other; this will come in handy in our next topic.

Even though 2 v 1 is difficult do not get desperate and make a mistake. Many snitches get caught trying to escape a 2 v 1 with a risky move. For example, it is risky to spin between two seekers. Keep calm and follow the advice in the next section about limiting your exposure in 2 v 1 situations.

In this section, we'd like to turn your attention to a certain facet of what a snitch is: an unbiased official. This means that along with our objectives of not getting caught and making sure players are safe, we also must interact with each seeker equitably. This doesn't necessarily mean to engage each seeker physically, but when defensive seekers are in play it can be easy to only focus on one, leading to quick catches and players feeling unsatisfied.

The concept we want novice and experienced snitch runners to take away from this is that you should make each seeker work just as hard to achieve their goals, be it to end the game with a catch, defensive seek to continue play, or even if they're just standing and waiting for their moment.

When not interacting with a seeker, standing on one spot or simply hiding behind a defensive seeker could be interpreted as potential bias toward one team, even though you are simply doing your job and trying not to get caught. Changing your field position, dismounting defensive seekers, or a push, shove, or evasive maneuver can keep the interaction alive with a seeker who isn't necessarily engaging you to catch.

This not only makes the game exciting but it makes you look like a professional. Crowds love seeing a snitch runner not only last long, but do what we do best. Creating tension in a game with a dash of mischief and pushing both seekers to be at the top of their game is what separates a good snitch from a great one.

The #1 way to handle two seekers is to turn the 2 v 1 into a 1 v 1. Do your best to force the seekers to attack you one at a time in a line so that the body of one seeker blocks the attacks of the other seeker. If you have seekers on both sides a good strategy is to engage one seeker and get their body in between you and the other seeker.

Luckily, seekers often want to help you get out of the 2 v 1. Seekers tend to line themselves up in a way that allows you to only engage one at a time, especially if one team is trailing significantly. We'll talk about defensive seeking in this section, but first we'll look into how to body block when both seekers are attempting to catch.

Because seekers naturally line themselves up when engaging, grappling one firmly and using them as a barrier against the other is a great tactic used by many successful engagement style snitch runners. Be aware and respectful of where you are grappling this seeker and have an "escape plan" should they break your grapple. Use this time to observe which seeker is getting more time with you, as they may be better at defending against the other, which you can use to your advantage.

Defensive seekers are common when one team is trailing. They serve to block the leading team's seeker from catching and giving their team time to catch up. They are your ally but they could turn on you at any second. When a seeker is defending, be aware of the score, watch their hips to gauge a potential quick concession catch, and do not let your guard down especially if you are in contact with the defensive seeker.

Grappling the broom of the defensive seeker is also a popular tactic. This gives you a lot of control over the defensive seeker's movements and makes it very difficult for the engaging seeker to get more one on one time with you. Be aware of the score and watch for any quick moves on the seekers part so that you can disengage the broom grab and move away.

Throwing Seekers

The term "throwing" has a lot of weight to it in this context due to its high potential for injury. For many snitches it is a last resort when engaged and unable to break off with a particularly tough seeker. For our purposes, "to throw" means to propel a seeker in a direction away from you in a legal and safe manner. The best throws are the ones that disengage you from a seeker without harming them. Throwing a seeker can take many forms, but effectively using the seekers' momentum against them will help you avoid fatigue and not shift their direction in a way that could lead to harder hit. Directing a seeker to the ground during a throw can give you time to create space while they get back up. In these cases, look to control the seekers' shoulders for several reasons: it keeps their arms away from your tail, you can apply pressure downward to direct them to the ground using their own momentum, and it helps you get a handle on their center of gravity and can at the very least throw them off balance.

Throwing Brooms (see Code of Conduct)

This is included in the throwing section as a safety measure to reinforce the code of conduct. Dismounting a seeker is a crowd pleasing move that is very effective and snitches may get caught up in the moment and toss the broom in a flourish. Much like throwing bats after a hit in baseball, this sometimes celebratory act may result in an unanticipated injury to a player, ref, or spectator. If you pull a broom and dismount a seeker, make sure you have total control of that broom before gently dropping it. Do not ever throw brooms.