The Missouri Quizbowl Alliance encourages all teams to work towards qualifying for two high quality national tournaments, which regularly feature highly competitive fields of the nation's top teams. This thread provides information about how to qualify for these tournaments, a list of qualifying tournaments, as well as a list of Missouri teams that have qualified for the 2012 iterations of these tournaments.
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NAQT High School National Championship Tournament

The 2012 NAQT High School National Championship Tournament will be held on May 25-27, 2012 in Atlanta, GA.

HSNCT Qualification Criteria
1. Finishing in the top 15% of the field at any event that uses NAQT questions.
2. Finishing as the highest-placed team at an NAQT State Championship or NAQT State Qualifier that had not qualified for the HSNCT prior to the state tournament.
3. Being the top team from a small (public) school (by NAQT's definition) at any event that uses NAQT questions, so long as the team also finishes at least tied for the median position in the overall standings. (NAQT defines a small school as one with "fewer than 500 students in grades 10-12 and a non-selective admission policy.")
4. Winning any class or division of an official state championship with rules and questions similar to those of NAQT.

While NAQT also allows qualification through wildcard bids, MSHSAA rules currently prohibit Missouri teams from attending a national tournament on a wildcard bid. Full details about qualifying for HSNCT are available on NAQT's website.

HSNCT Fees/Discounts
* Base fee (on or before April 27): $595; (on or after April 28) $615 [If you first qualify after April 1 the cutoff date is May 7]
* Buzzer systems: -$50 per system, each team may claim up to two such discounts. Lockout systems will be tested at check-in, and those that don't have at least eight functioning buzzers will be denied the discount.
* Qualified, experienced scorekeeper: -$75 discount. This scorekeeper will not necessarily scorekeep for his or her school's matches; he or she will be assigned as the tournament director sees fit. Also, a team claiming this discount must still have at least one adult coach/chaperone with the team at all matches.
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PACE National Scholastics Championship

The 2012 PACE National Scholastics Championship will take place on June 9 and 10 at Washington University in St. Louis.

NSC Qualification Criteria
The top 15% teams from any affiliated tournament, the top 20% of any "gold-certified" tournament, and the top 25% of any "platinum-certified" tournament, receive automatic qualification to the 2012 PACE NSC.

While PACE also allows qualification through wildcard bids, MSHSAA rules currently prohibit Missouri teams from attending a national tournament on a wildcard bid. Full details about qualifying for NSC are available on PACE's website.

NSC Fees and Discounts
* Base fee: $500 per team
* Automatic qualifier discount: -$25 per applicable team (all eligible teams from Missouri qualify for this discount since MSHSAA doesn't allow wildcard bids)
* Gold qualifier discount: -$50 per applicable team
* Platinum qualifier discount: -$75 per applicable team
* Buzzer systems: -$10 each per system, no limit
* Staffers: -$50 each per school, max 2 per school
* Hosting a gold-certified tournament: -$10 each per tournament, no limit
* Hosting a platinum-certified tournament: -$20 each per tournament, no limit
* Early payment discount: -$25 from total fee for paying by March 1

Where to qualify? Who's qualified? Who's going?

Update 2/24: This has become a bit more overwhelming than the past couple of years; I haven't been keeping up with this so at this point I'm not going to maintain the list of qualifying tournaments and qualified teams anymore.

HSNCT

See results on NAQT's website for tournaments that have been held in Missouri. All tournaments on NAQT questions are qualifiers.

See the schedule on NAQT's website for upcoming tournaments on NAQT questions.

13 Missouri Teams Attended HSNCT -- Field Discussion Results
Centralia (small school)
Helias
Ladue A
Ladue B
Logan-Rogersville
Mound City (small school)
North Kansas City
Park Hill South
Pilot Grove (small school)
Savannah
St. Pius X
Thomas Jefferson Independent
Truman

(Previously registered but subsequently dropped: Fulton (small school), Rock Bridge)
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NSC

Qualified teams
Affiliated tournaments

11 Missouri Teams Registered for NSC as of 5/28 -- Current field
Clayton
Ladue A
Ladue B
Ladue C
Oakville
Parkway West
Rock Bridge A
Rock Bridge B
Rock Bridge C
SLUH
St. Pius X

Tiger Bowl IV is also platinum-certified.

Centralia and Macon qualified for the HSNCT by placing first and second, respectively, at the Clarence Cannon Conference Tournament held on January 28.

Ladue has signed up for HSNCT.

Yeah, sorry, I haven't kept up with this. I probably won't be maintaining this thread anymore this year or in the future.

Savannah qualified today by winning the Midland Empire Conference Tournament in Smithville. The JV from Savannah also won, but I don't think they qualify. Varsity and JV used the same questions, however, so I am unsure.

When you have Varsity and JV only Varsity teams qualify but it's the top 15% of the combined field:


13 total teams means 2 teams qualify (13*0.15=1.95), so Savannah and Smithville qualified. (In this case the JV made no difference to the number of qualifying teams since 8*0.15=1.2) Cameron is the top placing small school (less than 500 students in grades 10-12) so it looks like their finish in the top half qualifies them as well.

OK so Valley Park and Parkview A qualified from Villa then?

I believe that is correct.

This seems to be confirmed by the green-ness here.

Right. That was not posted when I made the prior comment.