National Ocean Sciences Bowl

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The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a national, high-school science competition administered by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE). 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 geology, biology, chemistry, social science, technology, and physics. The competition was started in 1998. The current director of NOSB is Susan Haynes. Currently there are 25 regions that compete in the NOSB, each with their own regional competitions.

1 Results of the National Competition
2 Prizes
3 Format and Scoring
- 3.1 Types of Questions
- 3.2 Roles of Officials
4 Locations
- 4.1 Nationals
- 4.2 Regionals
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Results of the National Competition

Top-Placing Teams at the 2008 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (Sudbury, Massachusetts)
Mission San Jose High School (Fremont, California)
Santa Monica High School (Santa Monica, CA)
Dexter High School (Dexter, MI)
La Jolla High School (La Jolla, California)

Top-Placing Teams at the 2007 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

Contoocook Valley Regional High School (Peterborough, New Hampshire)
Cranston High School West (Cranston, Rhode Island)
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (Sudbury, Massachusetts)
Santa Monica High School (Santa Monica, CA)
Smoky Hill High School (Aurora, CO)
Churchville-Chili Senior High School (Churchville, NY)
Dexter High School (Dexter, MI)
Durant High School (Plant City, FL)

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 (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)
1998 to 2002 - Lexington High School, (Lexington, MA)

[edit] Prizes

Although the prizes for placing at the national competition have varied slightly from year to year, the following were the prizes awarded at the 2005 National Ocean Sciences Bowl:

1st Place Prize - Trip to Hawaii (Sponsored by the Hilton Waikoloa Village)
2nd Place Prize - Trip to Bermuda (Sponsored by the Bermuda Biological Station for Research)
3rd Place Prize - Trip to Catalina Island (Sponsored by USC-Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies)
4th Place Prize - Trip to the Great Lakes (Sponsored by the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory) (In 2007 this was a trip to the Florida keys.)
5th-8th Place Prizes - Gift certificates for scientific equipment and marine science textbooks (Sponsored by IEEE/OES)

[edit] Format and Scoring

[edit] Types of Questions

Toss-up: These are multiple choice question that can be answered by either team in play. The team that buzzes in first get to answer the question. A correct answer wins the team four 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 the question it is called an interrupt. If the player gets the question right they receive the four points. If they get it wrong they loose four points and the opposing team is re-read the question. If a player answers a question before they have been recognized by the moderator it is called a blurt and the opposing team get to answer the question. No penelty is given for a blurt.
Bonus: Correctly answering a toss-up rewards the team with a follow-up question. 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 six points.
Team Challenge Question: Each Team Challenge Question is an essay type question worth up to 20 points, and partial credit is awarded. Time ranges from 90 seconds to 5 minutes for a challenge question, and the topics can be almost anything related to oceanography.

A single NOSB match consists of two 6-minute buzzer rounds with two Team Challenge Questions in between. Each buzzer round is made up of up to 8 question pairs (for 16 question pairs per match), each containing a toss-up question and a bonus question. The full 8 question pairs may not be fully read in each half if the allotted 6 minutes has elapsed.

[edit] 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.
Time Keeper: 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 90 left to answer a team challenge question).
Runner: Primarily used for retrieving documents, such as the official testing material. Also bring Team Challenge Questions to and from the grading center for official scoring.

[edit] 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 "Mountain Mariner Challenge."