The Gasconade Valley Conference is a high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 athletic conference

Athletic conference

An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...

 consisting of six small, rural high schools in Mid-Missouri

Mid-Missouri

Mid-Missouri is a loosely defined region comprising the central area of United States state of Missouri. The region's largest city is Columbia . The Missouri state capital, Jefferson City, and the University of Missouri are also located here. The region also includes parts of the Lake of the...

. All the schools in the conference are Class 2 and 3, a norm for small rural schools in the area. The league takes its name from the Gasconade River

Gasconade River

The Gasconade River is about long and is located in central and south-central Missouri in the United States.The Gasconade River begins in the Ozarks southeast of Hartville in Wright County and flows generally north-northeastwardly through Wright, Laclede, Pulaski, Phelps, Maries, Osage and...

, a tributary of the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

 in south-central and central Missouri.

The league officially offers championships for girls in Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, Cross Country, Softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, Track & Field and Volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. And for boys the league officially sponsors championships in Baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer and Track & Field. Some schools sponsor sports that are not sponsored by the league but are sponsored by the Missouri State High School Activities Association

Missouri State High School Activities Association

The Missouri State High School Activities Association is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri...

, such as Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, Tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and Girls soccer. Cuba sponsors football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and Steelville sponsors Eight-man football

Eight-man football

Eight-man football is a type of American football, generally played by small high schools. Rules and formations vary greatly among states and even among different organizations, but the one constant is eight players from each team on the field at one time, as opposed to eleven-man football, which...

.

The league is also somewhat unique among those in Missouri in that it offers official fall baseball and spring softball competition.

List of member schools

School	Team Name	Colors	Town	County	School Enrollment (2010–12)	Primary MSHSAA class*
Belle High School	(Lady) Tigers		Belle Belle, Missouri Belle is a city in Maries and Osage counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.The Osage County portion of Belle is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....	Osage Osage County, Missouri Osage County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. The county was named for the Osage River. As of 2000, the population was 13,062. Its county seat is Linn. The center of population of Missouri is located in Osage County, in the city of Westphalia .Osage County is part of the...	215	2
Bourbon High School	War Hawks		Bourbon Bourbon, Missouri Bourbon is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,348 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...	Crawford Crawford County, Missouri -State:In the Missouri House of Representatives, most of Crawford County is included within the 150th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Jason T. Smith . In 2008, Smith defeated Democratic challenger James D. Ellis 69.97-30.03 percent; the Crawford County...	299	3
Cuba High School	Wildcats		Cuba Cuba, Missouri Cuba is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States, and it is known as "Route 66 Mural City,"in recognition of Viva Cuba's . The population was 3,230 at the 2000 census.Cuba was once visited by Harry Truman during a tour of U.S. Route 66...	Crawford Crawford County, Missouri -State:In the Missouri House of Representatives, most of Crawford County is included within the 150th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Jason T. Smith . In 2008, Smith defeated Democratic challenger James D. Ellis 69.97-30.03 percent; the Crawford County...	388	3
Steelville High School	(Lady) Cardinals		Steelville Steelville, Missouri Steelville is a city in Crawford County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,429 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Crawford County.-Geography:Steelville is located at...	Crawford Crawford County, Missouri -State:In the Missouri House of Representatives, most of Crawford County is included within the 150th Legislative District and is currently represented by State Representative Jason T. Smith . In 2008, Smith defeated Democratic challenger James D. Ellis 69.97-30.03 percent; the Crawford County...	288	3
Viburnum High School	Blue Jays		Viburnum Viburnum, Missouri Viburnum is a city in Iron County, Missouri, United States. The population was 825 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the New Lead Belt.-Geography:...	Iron Iron County, Missouri Iron County is a county located in the Lead Belt region in Southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 10,697. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 9,918. The largest city and county seat is Ironton...	127	2
Vienna High School	(Lady) Eagles		Vienna Vienna, Missouri Vienna is a city in and the county seat of Maries County, Missouri, United States. The population was 628 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Vienna is located at ....	Maries	177	2

*The class in which a school competes depends on the size of the school, and the particular sport or activity. Most activities (for example, baseball, softball, track, cross country) compete in four classes, but basketball competes in five and football in six. Because basketball is by far the most popular sport in the state in regards to school participation, MSHSAA officially uses the five-class system to classify schools.

External links

• GVC standings