A Triwizard Tournament, the highlight of the novel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” is coming to Toronto Oct. 18.
Toronto’s three major campuses–York University (Keele and Glendon), the University of Toronto (St. George, Scarborough, and Mississauga campuses), and Ryerson University, have banded together to mimic one of the fiercest battles in the history of the Harry Potter series.
The captain of York’s Quidditch team, Adam Palmer, is the main co-ordinator of the event.
“Last year we tossed around the idea and spent the summer getting it ready,” Palmer said. “We reached out to the Quidditch clubs at other schools because we weren’t sure who else had a Harry Potter club.”
Aspiring wizards and witches were asked to fill out applications that “dealt with everything from their name, patronus, and Hogwarts house to camouflage skills, flying ability, strength and Harry Potter knowledge,” according to Alessandra Di Simone, a recent film studies graduate who is now studying English and broadcasting, and serves as York’s “Minister of Magic.”
This Ministry of Magic is the umbrella organization of York’s Harry Potter fan club and the school’s Quidditch team. Di Simone said some of the questions on the application form could “only have been answered by hardcore fans.”
“Each application is awarded a score based upon the answers given. However, the process is also random and determined by a secret formula created for just this purpose,” Palmer said.
The three champions were recently announced by the ministry through a YouTube video, according to Di Simone. The contestants are Adolf Toral (U of T), Sandy Costa (Ryerson), and Samuel Owen (York).
Di Simone said not much can be said as of yet regarding the tasks the competition will include.
“We were very creative,” she said. “Since we can’t have real dragons or mermaids we tried to adapt the tasks to be as realistic as possible.”
The first event will take place Oct. 18, while the second and third tasks will be held in 2014 and will be open to the public, Di Simone said.
The winning champion will be allocated eternal glory and bragging rights in addition to a Triwizard Cup, she said.
“The event will provide the Canadian Harry Potter fan base with a fresh venue to express their passion.”
