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Broomstick Models

Information credit to Kennilworthy Wisp's book Quidditch Through the Ages

-Oakshaft 79
    Crafted by the broom-maker Elias Grimstone of Portsmouth, the Oakshaft is a handsome broom with a very thick oaken handle, designed for endurance flying and to with stand high winds. The Oakshaft is now a highly prized vintage broom, and attempts to use it for Quidditch were never successful. Though it will always be remembered as the broom used in the first ever Atlantic Broom Crossing, by Jocunda Sykes in 1935.

-Moontrimmer
    The Moontrimmer, which was first created by Gladys Boothby in 1901, represented a leap forward in broom construction, and for a period of time these broom were in high demand by professional Quidditch teams. The Moontrimmer's main advantage over other brooms is that it could achieve greater heights that ever before, and still remain controllable.

-Silver Arrow
     Since Gladys Boothby was unable to produce enough Moontrimmers to meet the high demand, the production of the Silver Arrow was welcomed. The Silver Arrow was the true forerunner of the racing broom, capable of reaching much higher speeds than the Oakshaft and Moontrimmer (up to seventy miles per hour with a tailwind), but again the Silver Arrow was the work of a single wizard and demand far outstripped supply.

-Cleansweep One
    A breakthrough occurred in 1926 when the brothers Bob, Bill, and Barnaby Ollerton started the Cleansweep broom company. The Cleansweep was produced in numbers never seen before and was an instant success, corning like no broom before it, and within a year every Quidditch team in the country was mounted on Cleansweeps. Later the improved Cleansweep Two and Three were released in 1934 and 1937.

-Comet 140
    In 1929 a second racing broom company was established by Randolph Keitch and Basil Horton, both players for the Falmouth Falcon's. The Comet Trading Company's first broom was the Comet 140, which was the number of models that Keitch and Horton had tested prior to it's release. Keitch and Horton also developed a breaking charm which meant that players were much less likely to over shoot goals or fly outside the Quidditch Pitch. The improved Comet 180 was released in 1938.

-Tinderbalst
    The Tinderblast was launched on the market in1940. Produced by the Black Forest company Ellerby and Spudmore, the Tinderblast is a highly resilient broom though it never achieved the high speeds of the Comets and Cleansweeps.

-Swiftstick
    In 1952 Ellerby and Spudmore brought out a new model, the Swiftstick. Faster than the Tinderblast, the Swiftstick nevertheless has a tendency to loose power in ascent and was never used by professional Quidditch teams.

-Shooting Star
    In 1935 Universal Brooms Ltd. introduced the Shooting Star, the cheapest broom to date. Unfortunately, after a while the Shooting Star was found to loose speed and height as it aged, and Universal Brooms went out of business in 1978.

-Nimbus
    In 1967 the Nimbus Racing Broom Company was formed. Nothing like the Nimbus 1000 had ever been seen before. Reaching speeds of up to a hundred miles per hour and capable of turning 360 degrees at a fixed point in mid-air, the Nimbus combined the reliability of the Oakshaft 79 with the easy handling of the Cleansweeps. The Nimbus immediately became the preferred racing broom by professional Quidditch teams across Europe. The production of the improved Nimbus 1001, 1500, 1700, 2000, and 2001 have kept the Nimbus Racing Broom Company at the top of the field. 

-Twigger 90
    The Twigger 90, first produced in 1990, was intended by it's manufactures Flyte and Barker to replace the Nimbus as market leader. However, the Twigger has been found to warp under high speeds and has gained the unlucky reputation of being flown by wizards with more Galleons than sense. 

-Firebolt
    The Firebolt, made with a superfine handle of ash, treated with a diamond-hard polish, has an acceleration of 150 miles per hour in ten seconds and incorporates an unbreakable charm. The Firebolt production company is unknown, perhaps it is the latest model from the Nimbus line.