In an attempt to intimidate the masses, and as a reminder of past failed rebellions by the districts inhabitants, one female and one male between the ages of twelve and eighteen years referred to as “tributes” are chosen by lottery from each of the twelve districts to compete in the annual 'Hunger Games'.
Each year, a male and female tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 was chosen from each district to participate in the Hunger Games event forced by the Capitol.
Effie Trinket has a more significant role in The Hunger Games movie than she did in the book, so it's a bit difficult to gauge how old she is in the first film. However, it is safe to say that the District 12 escort is in her thirties.
Amandla Stenberg played 12-year-old Rue, who formed an alliance with Katniss during the Hunger Games. Rue was from District 11 and the youngest contestant at the 74th Hunger Games. She made it far into the competition, until District 1 tribute Marvel killed her with a spear to the abdomen.
She is thin and not very tall, but is strong for her size from hunting to feed her family in the woods outside of District 12. Katniss is sixteen years old during the 74th Hunger Games, and seventeen years old during the Quarter Quell and the Rebellion.
We learn in Catching Fire that Haymitch is around 16 or 17 when he wins the 50th Hunger Games. He mentors Katniss and Peeta 24 years later making him around 40 in the first book. A year later is catching fire and the year after that is mockingjay. By the end of the series (not including the epilogue) he is around 43.
Answer and Explanation: Gale is eighteen in The Hunger Games, two years older than Katniss. Since the citizens of the Districts cannot be selected after they turn nineteen, this is the last year when Gale can be chosen as a Tribute.
Finnick competed in his own games, the 65th games, at the age of 14. Finnick won these games through having the support of sponsors and his ability to use a trident. Given the nine-year difference between his games and Katniss and Peeta's, Finnick is 23 at the time of the events of the first Hunger Games.
As the lone District 12 mentor for Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, it was revealed that Haymitch won the annual Hunger Games event when he was just 16 years old.
When he was 16, Haymitch was reaped for the Second Quarter Quell, wherein four, instead of the normal amount of two tributes from each district participated. He became an ally to a girl named Maysilee Donner, the original owner of Katniss' symbolic mockingjay pin, but was later forced to watch her die.
Mags, an eighty-year-old woman, volunteered for the 75th Hunger Games in the place of Annie Cresta, becoming a tribute alongside Finnick Odair, whom she mentored in the 65th Hunger Games and (according to the book and film) practically raised.
Answer and Explanation: Finnick Odair is 24 in Catching Fire. He was 14 when he won the 65th Hunger Games, ten years before the events of Catching Fire. A skilled fighter who is adept at surviving seemingly unbeatable odds, he is one of the Capitol citizens' favorite Victors.
With the last killing occuring before an hour had even passed, these games shocked the Capitol audience and are the quickest in the history of the games.
Rue. Rue is the youngest tribute of the 74th Hunger Games, at only 12 years old. She is small and very smart, and survives the first few days in the arena by hiding in trees. She and Katniss become allies after Rue points out a Tracker Jacker nest, which Katniss avoids and then uses to take out several Career tributes.
The only information the audience has about Katniss' future is that she and Peeta have a child together 15 years after their experiences in the Rebellion (at 33 years old) and that five years later, they have a second child.
Rue, the tribute from District 11, was 12 years old in The Hunger Games. She is the youngest contestant to participate in the Hunger Games. Rue is very small and delicate-looking. She is underestimated by all the other contestants.
Chia Mags kisses Finnick on the mouth to briefly let him know that this is the last time she will see him. It's her way of saying "Goodbye" but in a more affectionate way.
As a Career tribute, Finnick won the 65th Hunger Games at the age of 14, where he was mentored by the previous District 4 victor, Mags. During the 74th Hunger Games, he served as mentor alongside Mags for District 4, as revealed in Mockingjay when he became the expert on Peeta's memories of his two times in the arena.
Given that she is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Peeta, it's safe to assume that the Morphling was committed to the rebel cause. Like the other victors, she knows the power that Katniss has as a lightning rod for the rebellion, and she knows that Katniss will not help without Peeta.
He is "broad-shouldered and strong." Part of Peeta's left leg was amputated following the 74th Hunger Games, forcing him to walk with the aid of a prosthetic leg for the rest of his life.
Johanna Mason, from District 7 and another major character during the revolution, is around the same age as Finnick and Annie. Johanna won the 71st Hunger Games when she was 17 years old, meaning that she's around 21 or 22 old during Catching Fire and Mockingjay.
Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
Essentially, Katniss was afraid that if she was to kill President Snow, then the whole revolution fails, and the rivalry would still continue. Therefore, Katniss had to sacrifice by killing Coin in order to end war, and knew that Coin couldn't do anything better than Snow to save the Panem.
