National Ocean Sciences Bowl

"NOSB" redirects here. For the U.S. standards organization, see National Organic Standards Board.

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a national, high-school science competition managed by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) which started in the 1970s (formerly the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education). It uses a quiz-bowl format, with lockout buzzers and extended team challenge questions to test students on their knowledge of oceanography. This includes the subjects of biology, chemistry, geology, geography, social science, technology, and physics. The annual competition was started in 1998, the International Year of the Ocean. The current director of NOSB is Kristen Yarincik, who is based out of Washington, DC. Currently there are 25 regions in the U.S. that compete in the NOSB, each with their own regional competitions. The regional competitions are coordinated by the Regional Coordinators, who are typically affiliated with a university in their region. Each year approximately 2,000 students from 300 schools across the nation compete for prizes and a trip to the national competition. The goal of this organization is to increase knowledge of the ocean among high school students and, ultimately, magnify the public understanding of ocean research. Students who participate are eligible to apply for the National Ocean Scholar Program.^[1]

Results of the national competition

Schools with greatest number of wins

5: Lexington High School (1998-2002)
4: Marshfield High School (2009-2012)
2: Boise High School (2014-2015)
2: Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (Sudbury, Massachusetts) (2006, 2008)
2: Cranston High School West (Cranston, Rhode Island) (2003, 2005)
1: Arcadia High School (2013)
1: Contoocook Valley Regional High School (Peterborough, New Hampshire) (2007)
1: Mission San Jose High School (Fremont, California) (2004)

Top-placing teams at the 2015 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Sanger High School won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2014 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Langham Creek High School won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2013 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Arcadia High School
Lexington High School
Juneau-Douglas High School
Neah-Kah-Nie High School
Albany High School
Greenhills High School
Dana Hills High School
Maui High School

Annapolis Christian Academy won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2012 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Marshfield High School
Raleigh Charter High School
Eastside High School
Lexington High School
Santa Monica High School
Maui High School
Albany High School
Loveland High School

Top-placing teams at the 2011 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Marshfield High School
Lexington High School
Santa Monica High School
Mt. Sinai High School
Contoocook Valley Regional High School
Mission San Jose High School
State College High School
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Top-placing teams at the 2010 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Marshfield High School
Marine Academy of Science and Technology (Sandy Hook, New Jersey)
Mission San Jose High School
La Jolla High School
Punahou School
Neah-Kah-Nie High School
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Arcadia High School
Mount Sinai High School

Langham Creek High School won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2009 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Marshfield High School
Lexington High School
Cranston High School West
Mission San Jose High School
Raleigh Charter High School

Top-placing teams at the 2008 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Kealakehe High School won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2007 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Poplarville High School won the sportsmanship award.

Top-placing teams at the 2006 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Top-placing teams at the 2005 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Cranston High School West (Cranston, Rhode Island)
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (Sudbury, Massachusetts)
Mission San Jose High School (Fremont, California)
Oconee County High School (Oconee County, Georgia)
La Jolla High School (La Jolla, California)
Maui High School (Maui County, Hawaii)
Santa Monica High School (Santa Monica, California)
Incarnate Word Academy (Corpus Christi, Texas)

Past National Ocean Sciences Bowl Winners:

2004 - Mission San Jose High School (Fremont, California)
2003 - Cranston High School West (Cranston, Rhode Island)
2002 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)
2001 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)
2000 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)
1999 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)
1998 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)

Prizes

The prizes for placing at the national competition vary from year to year. In recent years, the top two teams have received week-long experiential trips while many of the other teams at the national competition have received smaller prizes. The prizes for the three most recent competition years are listed below. ^[2]

2015

1st: NOAA Auke Bay Laboratory, Juneau, Alaska, and Sitka Sound Science Center, Sitka, Alaska
2nd: University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, Texas, and Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Corpus Christi, Texas

2014

1st: Shoals Marine Lab, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, University of Maine Darling Marine Center, Walpole, Maine, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine, and Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Portland, Maine
2nd: Smithsonian, Washington DC, NOAA Oxford Laboratory, Oxford, Maryland, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, Annapolis, Maryland

2013

1st: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, Hoods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Falmouth, Massachusetts, University of Rhode Island, South Kingston, Rhode Island, and Connecticut Sea Grant, Groton, Connecticut
2nd: University of Georgia Marine Extension Service, Savannah, Georgia, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, Georgia, and Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia

Format and scoring

Types of questions

Toss-up: These are multiple choice questions that can be answered by any of the 4 active players on either team in play. Teams have 5 seconds to buzz in and answer the question. If the first team's answer is incorrect, the opposing team will get another 5 seconds to answer. The team that buzzes in first gets to answer the question. A correct answer wins the team 4 points and the right to attempt a bonus question. No conferring is allowed on toss-ups. If a player buzzes in before a moderator finishes reading the question, the buzz is called an interrupt. An incorrect answer will cause the team to lose 4 points and the question to be re-read to the opposing team. This is the only situation in which a team can lose points. However, no points are lost for incorrect answers that are not interrupts. If a player begins an answer before being verbally recognized by the moderator, this is called a blurt. The answer is ignored (not indicated correct or incorrect by the moderator) and the question is re-read to the opposing team. There is no point penalty for a blurt, but the team that blurted is disqualified from answering that question.
Bonus: These are short answer questions that only the team that correctly answered the previous toss-up may answer. Teams have 20 seconds to confer and answer this question. The team captain must begin the team's answer before time is called. A correct response is awarded with an additional 6 points.
Team Challenge Question: Each Team Challenge Question is an essay-type question worth up to 20 points, with partial credit awarded if necessary. Time ranges from 2 to 5 minutes for a challenge question, and the topics can be anything related to oceanography.

A single NOSB match consists of two 6-minute buzzer rounds with two Team Challenge Questions in between. Each round is made up of 20 questions pairs. After the break, the second half begins with the first toss-up that was not read in the first half and continues until time expires or all questions have been read. The most points a team can earn each round is 240 points (20 toss-ups and bonuses each plus full-credit on the two TCQs), but earning 100 or more points is considered very impressive. Teams may make substitutions only during the break.

With the exception of articles such as "a","an", and "the", answers to multiple-choice questions must be exactly as those on the written page. Prefacing answers with phrases such as "My answer is" is not acceptable.

Roles of officials

Moderator: Reads questions and interprets responses by comparing with the answer sheet.
Science Judge: If the official answer is challenged by a team, the moderator may consult the Science Judge to come to a verdict.
Rules Judge: Oversees activity in the event room and addresses any issues or misbehavior.
Scorekeeper: Records the current score of a progressing match, including rewards and penalties. Generally a copy is saved for later reference.
Timekeeper: Tracks the time throughout the round. In charge of stopping, starting, and resetting the clock. Also notifies teams of time benchmarks (such as 5 seconds left to answer a bonus or 45 and 15 seconds left to answer a Team Challenge Question).
Runner: Primarily used for retrieving documents, such as the official testing material. Also brings Team Challenge Questions to and from the grading center for official scoring.

Locations

The National competition is held in one of the participating colleges that hold the regionals. These colleges draw from high schools in their area and run the regional competitions, often naming the regional according to the characteristics of the region. For example, the region encompassing Colorado and the surrounding area is called the "Trout Bowl."

Nationals

2016- Morehead City, North Carolina
2015- Ocean Springs, Mississippi
2014- Seattle, Washington
2013- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2012- Baltimore, Maryland
2011- Galveston, Texas
2010- St. Petersburg, Florida
2009- Washington, DC
2008- Seward, Alaska
2007- Long Island, New York
2006- Pacific Grove, California
2005- Biloxi, Mississippi
2004- Charleston, South Carolina
2003- LaJolla, California
2002- Providence, Rhode Island
2001- Miami, Florida
2000- Linthicum, Maryland
1999- Washington, DC
1998- Washington, DC

Regionals

Aloha Bowl (University of Hawaii-Manoa)
Bay Scallop Bowl (Stony Brook University)
Blue Crab Bowl (College of William and Mary)
Blue Heron Bowl (University of North Carolina)
Blue Lobster Bowl (MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)
Chesapeake Bay Bowl (American University)
Dolphin Challenge (Texas A&M University)
Great Lakes Bowl (University of Michigan)
Hurricane Bowl (University of Southern Mississippi)
Grunion Bowl (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Lake Sturgeon Bowl (University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee)
Loggerhead Challenge (Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi)
Los Angeles Surf Bowl (University of Southern California) and (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Manatee Bowl (University of Miami)
Trout Bowl (University of Colorado) and (CIRES) (formerly the Mountain Mariner Challenge)
Nor'easter Bowl (University of New England, University of New Hampshire, and University of Maine)
Orca Bowl (University of Washington)
Penguin Bowl (Youngstown State University)
Quahog Bowl (University of Connecticut at Avery Point)
Salmon Bowl (Oregon State University)
Sea Lion Bowl (Stanford University) (formerly Otter Bowl)
Shore Bowl (Rutgers University)
Southern Stingray Bowl (Savannah State University)
Spoonbill Bowl (University of South Florida)
Tsunami Bowl (University of Alaska Fairbanks)

"Living on the Ocean Planet" Video Contest

Starting in 2009, NOSB has held a video contest. Submissions were judged on multiple criteria, with a maximum length of two minutes. The theme of the contest changes each year along with the National competition themes. Past winners are as follows:

2011 - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Theme - Human Responses to Ocean Events

Title - Making Every Difference^[3]

Members - Daniel Seidman, Jenny Seo and Jung Huh

Coach - Lisa Wu

2010 - Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

Theme - Technology

Title - Ocean Exploration: The Future^[4]

Members - Will Welch and Gwyn Welch

Coach - Patricia Cloutier

2009 - Lexington High School

Theme - Biodiversity

Title - Our Oceans, Our World^[5]

Members - Eric Kao and Jorie Heilman

Coach - Sarah Damassa

External links

References

↑ "National Ocean Scholar Program | NOSB". National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB). Retrieved 2016-02-06.
↑ "NOSB Award Trips". National Ocean Sciences Bowl. Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
↑ "Making Every Difference". Making Every Difference.
↑ "Ocean Exploration: The Future". Ocean Exploration: The Future.
↑ "Our Oceans, Our World". Our Oceans, Our World.

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