Triwizard Tournament

: "The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the largest schools of wizardry, a champion was selected to represent each school, and the champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards
The Triwizard Tournament was a magical contest held between the largest wizarding schools, each school being represented by one champion.
Selected champions compete in three tasks — traditionally judged by the Headmasters or Headmistresses of the competing schools — designed to test magical ability, intelligence, and courage. Champions competed for the honour and glory of winning the Tournament, for the Triwizard Cup, and a monetary prize. The first Tournament was held sometime around the 15 year.
The Tournament was notorious for being extremely dangerous: many champions died while competing. In 194, the Tournament was revived with restrictions in place in an attempt to stop potential deaths. One of these restrictions was that all applicants had to be over the wizarding age of majority (which is 17), or else they would not be allowed to apply to be champion.
== Rules ==
: "As you know, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."
: — Dumbledore explains the rules and the selection process
Judges graded the champions' performance on each task. The Heads of the three participating schools were customarily judges. The selection of the champions from each participating school was done through a magical object called the Goblet of Fire. Each competing school was allowed one champion to represent them during the Tournament.
Each Tournament consisted of three tasks designed to test the champions' courage, intelligence, resourcefulness, and magical ability. These tasks were exceedingly dangerous and differ from year to year.
The Goblet was a large, roughly hewn wooden cup, brimming with dancing blue flames. Basically, anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion had to write their name and school upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions had twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. On Halloween, the goblet returned the names of the three it had judged most worthy to represent their schools.
The Goblet was placed in the entrance hall the day the visiting schools arrived, where it would be freely accessible to all those who wished to compete. To ensure that no underage student submitted their name, an Age Line was drawn around the Goblet of Fire in 194. This was apart of the new restrictions that were enacted to decrease the death toll. No one under the age of seventeen was able to cross the line.
Dumbledore also impressed upon those who wished to compete the seriousness of it, how it should not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of a student's name into the goblet constituted a binding, magical contract. There could be no change of heart once a student was selected as a champion. Dumbledore asked that students "Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet".
== Customs ==
: "Now then — The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to — er — let our hair down. But that does NOT mean, that we will be relaxing the standards of behaviour we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
: — Minerva McGonagall regarding the purpose of the Yule Ball
Champions were supposed to stand alone during the Tournament. They were suppose to receive no outside help from anyone, including friends and teachers. Cheating was frowned upon, though it had been known to take place several times during the history of the Tournament. Cheating was so common, some people believed it to have been a traditional part of the event.
The Yule Ball (held on Christmas Day night) was a traditional part of the Tournament. The Ball included a feast, and a formal dance where the champions and their partners led the host school in dancing. Students old enough to attend were allowed to bring a friend. Students that were too young to attend might attend if invited by a student old enough to attend the ball.
The 194 Yule Ball was a festive, with music provided by the Weird Sisters. Students dressed in their best formal clothes. Males wore dress robes (which was probably why dress robes were on the 194 supplies list) and females wore gowns or other formal attire. While students should have had partners for the ball.
== Tournament history ==
The Triwizard Tournament was established approximately seven-hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the wizarding schools. Held every five years, the competition would be hosted by each school in turn, the judges for the Tournament comprising the headmasters or headmistresses of the schools.
There had been at least 125 editions of the Tournament
Due to the risks involved in overcoming the extremely dangerous tasks, and an increasing number of deaths, the Tournament was eventually discontinued at some point in or after the 179s. Multiple attempts had been made to revive the Tournament, but none succeeded until the 194–195 school year, when it was held at Hogwarts Castle.
Despite a new set of rules imposed to prevent any more deaths, a champion nevertheless died at the end, though this only occurred due to the tournament being sabotaged. Due to this, the tournament had been permanently discontinued.
=== 172 Triwizard Tournament ===
: "Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel, because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 172, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."
: — A description of the Tournament
The Triwizard Tournament was held in 172, and one of the tasks involved catching a cockatrice. However, the beast went on a rampage and injured three of the judges. The event was recorded in the book Hogwarts, A History, indicating that the 172 Tournament was possibly held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Tournament was cancelled after this incident, but several unsuccessful attempts were made to resurrect it.
A revival of the Tournament occurred in 194. Barty Crouch Snr, Head of the Ministry of Magic's Department of International Magical Co-operation, in conjunction with Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, worked with their opposite numbers in other countries to revive the Tournament.
However, due to the dangerous nature of the Tournament, it was decided that some changes were to be made to the rules, with the main one being that no student under the age of seventeen was allowed to enter or compete (some students did try to).
The Tournament preparations were shrouded in secrecy, although Cornelius Fudge was obliged to inform the Muggle Prime Minister that the Ministry would be importing several dragons from Ixtal, as well as a sphinx from Jakku, for use in the competition.