Science Olympiad competitions occur at a regional, state and national level. Normally, the top four teams advance from regional competition to state. In most states, the top team advances from state to the national competition. Some states with a larger number of teams are able to send multiple teams to the national competition to represent their larger presence. About 60 teams compete at the national level each year.
Some states, most notably Ohio, hold Invitational's as well. These competitions serve as "practice rounds" for qualifying tournaments, and are hosted by individual schools. In the past few years, teams from other states including Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Mississippi have begun journeying to Ohio to compete in these Invitational's.