Sportsmanship/legitimacy

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 151963

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_svirn" <a_svirn at ...> wrote:

a_svirn:
> The Tournament is above all a very dangerous game. There have been
> deaths in the past, champions and spectators having been slain
> during the proceedings. If Dumbledore consented to host such an
> event without even perfectly understanding its rules he was either
> the world's most irresponsible person or senile.
> As for being one who sets the rules – he did set the age limit rule.
> Could have abolished magical contracts if he wanted to.

Geoff:
Being pedantic, he didn't and he couldn't .

'"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to
Hogwarts," he (Dumbledore) said, "the Heads of the participating
schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an
age restriction on contenders this year, Only students who are of age
- that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put
forward their names for consideration."'
(GOF "The Triwizard Tournament" p.166 UK edition)

So he was only one of a minimum of five people involved in decision
making.

We know that Dumbledore then put in an age line to "police" this
rule – and it worked. He points out to Fred and George after their
abortive attempt that two other Hogwarts students - one from
Hufflepuff and one from Ravenclaw - had already failed in their
attempts. (It's interesting to see that Slytherin were behaving
themselves!).

At this point in time, it does not seem likely to the organisers that
there will be any conflict between the age limit and the binding
contract.

No one is to know that there is an impostor in the school whose
agenda is to use the Tournament as a tool to destroy Harry and
thus the Wizarding World, someone who will confound the Goblet
into "thinking" that Harry is a bona fide competitor and thus throw
a spanner in the works.