preliminaries

/P R IH0 L IH1 M AH0 N EH0 R IY0 Z/
noun
  1. 1

    A preparation for a main matter; an introduction.

  2. 2

    Any of a series of sports events that determine the finalists

  3. 3

    A relatively minor contest that precedes a major one, especially in boxing

Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/preliminaries, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/preliminary