mshumphr understates his achievement by failing to mention that the regional competitions are difficult in and of themselves, so making it to the finals is an accomplishment in itself.
Waterloo seems to frequently place in the top 10. They're very cool.
imago has gotten a lot out of the competitions, having been to 3 of them (two as a contestant; one as a coach). So I feel pretty strongly on the subject. Especially since I got to go to the Netherlands last year on the University's dime. For the record, the team I was in did OK (in 1993 and 1994), but the team I coached took 6th place. They rock.