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It's well-known at this point that there are several magical schools other than Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang. It's also been noted that the Triwizard Tournament probably did not continue after 1994.

Out of curiosity, is there any in-universe reason given for why the other schools weren't included in the tournament (either in its original incarnation or the 1994 not-so-greatest-hits edition) to begin with? This is putting aside the "triwizard" assumption, of course.

tonysdg
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  • @Edlothiad: No worries :) I'm curious if there were any in-universe (or even really out-of-universe) reasons given for why it became the "triwizard" tourney in the first place. Were these the only 3 schools interested/insane enough? Was it magical elitism? Did something eat the owls delivering invites to the other schools? You get the idea. – tonysdg Sep 04 '17 at 12:49
  • I think it originated before the other schools were founded, some 700 years ago (in-universe) and Rowling only thought about having other schools later I guess, not sure if that's true or not but that would be out-of-universe. – Edlothiad Sep 04 '17 at 12:55

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The Triwizard tournament was held between the three biggest wizarding schools in Europe (emphasis mine).

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.
(Goblet of Fire, Chapter 12, The Triwizard Tournament).

The three biggest schools in Europe were Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Drumstrang. As such, they were the three schools that contested the tournament.

The Dark Lord
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Alith
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    A real life example would be the boat race on the Thames between Oxford and Cambridge. Yes, there are other universities, but these are the ones that have been competing since time immemorial (well, okay, 1829). – SQB Sep 04 '17 at 13:06
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    It looks like the 6 Nations tournament in rugby: there are many European nations in the International Rugby Board, but this event is organized only between 6 of them (France, UK, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Italy). – Taladris Sep 04 '17 at 15:11
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    It always makes me laugh when the Triwizard Tournament, the contest discontinued due to its unacceptably high death toll, is referred to in the HP universe as a "friendly competition". – DisturbedNeo Sep 04 '17 at 15:21
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    @DisturbedNeo Witches and wizards are hardcore. – JAB Sep 04 '17 at 16:46
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    @DisturbedNeo - nothing unfriendly about wizards getting killed, as long as it's done fairly. :-) – Bob Jarvis - Слава Україні Sep 04 '17 at 18:31
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    @DisturbedNeo: "Friendly" should perhaps be interpreted in the same sense as found in "friendly fire". :-) – ruakh Sep 05 '17 at 05:43
  • @DisturbedNeo Friendly competition can be dangerous without the contestants being a danger to each other. I mean, dragons? An hour underwater swim with who knows what creatures? Also, it can be friendly between schools even though the contestants are bitter rivals. – Arthur Sep 05 '17 at 06:36
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    @SQB: In fairness, no one alive today (well, I assume) remembers 1829. So it truly is "time immemorial". – tonysdg Sep 05 '17 at 12:29
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    @SQB Actually, Time Immemorial was defined in 1275 as starting on 6th July 1189 (the date Richard I ascended the throne). – TripeHound Dec 11 '18 at 16:08