The long-awaited release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is finally less than a week away. Yet, here at Washington University, you don’t need to wait that long to get a glimpse of the action. Starting this Monday, Nov. 15 and lasting until the movie’s release on Friday, Nov. 19, the Congress of the South 40 is hosting all things Harry Potter at the first-ever Harry Potter College Hall Cup Tournament.

Throughout the week, the residential colleges will compete for points in various games and competitions, and the winner will receive a trophy at Thursday’s party in College Hall. Points are awarded for attendance, spirit (wearing your residential college colors), and—of course—winning events.

The residential colleges participating in the tournament are WGE, Liggett-Koenig, Lee/Beaumont and JKL. The idea is that each residential college represents one of the four Hogwarts houses. Each residential college is in charge of programming one event, with the overall Tournament coordinated by WGE.

On Monday, there will be Quidditch and live chess on the Swamp from 4 to 7 p.m. On Tuesday, a Horcrux scavenger hunt. On Wednesday, trivia in College Hall at 7:30 p.m., and on Thursday, a party in College Hall, where people are welcome to dress up, eat Harry Potter-themed snacks (catered by Bon Appétit) and find out the winner of the Tournament. The event will culminate in the movie’s premiere. WGE purchased 302 tickets for the midnight showing of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at the Esquire Theatre, and the tickets were sold to students last week.

The Harry Potter College Hall Cup Tournament is a collaborative effort between the CS40 and Student Union. “Given the number of residential colleges involved, the scope of the event and the possibility of collaborating with the class councils, this may be the CS40’s largest-ever co-programming event,” said sophomore Jessica Goldberg, president of the William Greenleaf Elliot College Council.

Each of the four sponsoring residential colleges is contributing 10 percent of their budget toward the Tournament.

Goldberg and freshman Nowrin Haque, vice president of WGE Class Council, originated the idea for the Harry Potter College Hall Cup Tournament. They had two central goals in mind: to get people excited for the new Harry Potter film and to build residential college spirit. Residential colleges are relatively new at the University, and these students want to encourage residential college pride.

Although the tournament is geared toward freshmen and sophomores currently living on the South 40, juniors and seniors are also encouraged to join. If you are an upperclassman and want to participate, get in contact with the RCD of your old residential college, e-mail [email protected] or join one of the pick-up games.

Goldberg hopes that the tournament will become an annual event in which similar week-long tournaments will occur among the residential colleges.

“This has been my entire life for the past two months,” said Goldberg. Goldberg and Haque’s enthusiasm for the tournament is evident in the scope and detail of the event. So take a break from your studying and experience Harry Potter right here at the University before the movie hits the big screens.