Qualification Process

QUALIFYING RULES FOR THE MHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT

Platform Events

1. Students will automatically qualify in a specific event for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament by making finals in the previous year’s State Tournament.

2. Students will automatically qualify in a specific event for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament who place first in that event at an MHSAA-recognized tournament.

3. Students may qualify in a specific event who place in the finals (2nd – 6th place) and/or semifinals (7th – 12th) in that event a combination of two (2) times at an MHSAA-recognized tournament.

4. Students do not have to use the same cutting of a literary work in order to qualify for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament in Interpretation events (including Declamation).  If a student changes cuttings they do not have to begin the qualifying process again when using the piece.

5. In partnered events (Duo Interpretation, Duet Acting), partners must qualify together.  If a student changes partners, the new partnership must re-qualify.

6. If an individual student qualifies in more than two events in one flight that student will be given the choice of which qualified events he/she will enter.

Debate Events

1. Students will automatically qualify in a specific event for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament by making finals, semifinals, or quarterfinals in the previous year’s State Tournament.

2. In two-person events, partners must qualify as a team.  Competitors automatically qualify by placing in finals or semifinals at an MHSAA-sanctioned event.

3. Policy teams or Public Forum Debate teams, which reach or are named to quarterfinals at an MHSAA-recognized tournament twice will qualify the team for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament.

4. Lincoln-Douglas Debaters who reach or are named to quarterfinals in an MHSAA-recognized tournament twice will qualify for the MHSAA State Championship Tournament.

5. If an individual student qualified in more than one debate event, he/she will be given the choice of which event he/she will enter.

Congressional Debate

1. Currently, MHSAA does not require a specific qualification process for the MHSAA State Congress.

2. Coaches may register between 1 – 10 competitors to the MHSAA State Congress Competition at his/her own discretion.

Designated Wild-Card Entries

Any MHSAA Member School may have a total of five (5) entries in the MHSAA State Championship Tournament that have not qualified according to any of the previously listed requirements.  At the sole discretion of the school’s coach(es), the five (5) entries may be divided amongst as many as five (5) students or as few as two (2) students with one receiving four and the second receiving one.  These entries will be designated as Wild-Card Entries.