A tournament is an organized competition between at least two competing players, in which the outcome influences the status and results of the others. More specifically, the word can be used both in the classical sense: the event that influences the status and results of the others as well; and in its modern, popular usage: to refer to any competitive situation in which there is an attempt to attain some result, often monetary, as a consequence of the competition. Although it has been argued (by some people who read Quidditch as a purely sporting competition) that there is nothing essentially different between a football match and a Quidditch match, I would argue that there are many common features. For example, a tournament involves an agreed time-limit, which must be adhered to in order for the tournament to end in a satisfactory way; there is usually a set standard of play established by the organizing committee, which is enforced by penalty rules; and the competition is often fought out over several days rather than over an extended period of time as is the case with games played between amateur teams.
So what are the common characteristics of a Quidditch tournament? To start with, a knock-out tournament involves an extra degree of commitment on the part of the participants to win the game. In a normal game, a team may decide that it is interested in pursuing a particular objective, and then choose to attack that objective in its entirety. Sometimes, a single player may decide to attack an area of the field that is not being covered, and that is not being attacked by anyone else on the team. However, in a tournament setting, a team must commit itself to the entire course of play, including the completion of any necessary actions to achieve its objective.
In addition, a tournament requires a specified format. The format decides what happens during the duration of the game. For example, in a game of Chess, a grandmaster chooses the shape of the board, the squares on which the pieces will stand, the number of Knights or Bishops to be active on that side of the board, and other such parameters. Then, after each player has indicated his or her move, the others are then announced and the players are brought forward to face off against one another in what is known as a game. The objective of this game is to bring all the pieces together to one square and remove them from that square before the other team wins. At the end of a game, one team wins and the other is eliminated.
There is another type of tournament referred to as an eliminator tournament. An eliminator tournament is a game of chance, where two teams are known as “the contenders”. These teams are given specific objectives, which must be completed in order for them to win. The “teams” then are asked to choose a “bye” solution. This solution is known as the “confirmative” answer, because it confirms whether or not a team has finished answering yes to any of the questions asked during the game.
A third type of tournament, referred to as an intramural competition, is very similar to the tournament described above. In intramural competitions, teams play intra-team matches, where the winner of one team is chosen by the members of another team – but unlike the tournament described above, the winner is not required to complete all the questions given, and there are no playoffs. Intramural games are most often used for teaching students new strategies and techniques, and for developing team work skills.
One final kind of tournament involves teams within a league structure. The league tournament generally pits two teams from each league against each other. In the past, there have been very few league tournament winners. In recent years, however, a new twist on the league tournament has been introduced – the playoff league. The playoff league has four teams participating in every game; each team competes against teams in its own league, as well as teams from other leagues. After each game, the winner takes the trophy.