What is the Sea Lion Bowl?
The Sea Lion Bowl is a rigorous, day-long academic competition for high school students modeled after the National Science Bowl. The Sea Lion Bowl is one of 25 regional bowls across the country that make up the National Ocean Science Bowl, coordinated by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in Washington, DC. The NOSB began in 1998, The Year of the Ocean, as a way to encourage high school students and teachers to learn more about the ocean and ocean exploration.

San Francisco State University and Romberg Tiburon Center are proud to host the Northern California Regional bowl, and are looking forward to working with Northern California high schools that would like to participate in this exciting competition. Field trips, practice sessions, and other resources will be made available to participating teams, and prizes are given to the top teams, coaches, and to the team exhibiting best sportsmanship. Pre-registration for the 2010 Sea Lion Bowl will open in September. Please contact Erin Blackwood or join our email list if you are interested in learning more.

What is the NOSB?
A national academic competition for high schools on topics related to the study of the oceans -- the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB®). The NOSB was first conducted in the winter and spring of 1998 in honor of the International Year of the Ocean. NOSB is an outreach program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.

Why was it started?
This competition is intended to increase knowledge of the oceans on the part of high school students, their teachers and parents, as well as to raise the visibility and public understanding of the national investment in ocean-related research. Specific objectives of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl are to:

• Broaden students' and teachers' awareness of the latest scientific research on the oceans and the critical impact of the oceans on global climate and weather, economic well-being, history and culture;
• Help teachers use the oceans as an interdisciplinary vehicle for teaching biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and mathematics by giving them access to marine science education and scientific professionals;
• Give oceanographic research programs the opportunity to develop new links with their local pre-college community and open student’s eyes to ocean-related career options; and
• Reach out to new students and communities to boost participation by populations under-represented in the ocean sciences.
  

A formal evaluation of the program was conducted by Howard Walters, Ed.D., Ashland University, and Kristina Bishop, Ed.D., The College of Exploration, during 2002-2004. The evaluation indicates the NOSB program has had a significant positive impact on marine science education at the high school level and has increased awareness of marine science careers.

How does it work?
General Format - The National Ocean Sciences Bowl consists of a round-robin/double-elimination format. The format involves a timed competition of multiple-choice or short-answer questions within the broad category of the oceans. Questions are drawn from the scientific and technical disciplines used in studying the oceans (physics, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science, biology, etc.) as well as from topics on the contributions of the oceans to national and international economics, history and culture.

Details on Competition - Ocean Leadership, with the assistance of scientific question writers, a Technical Advisory Panel and the NOSB regional coordinators, prepares the competition rules and regulations and the specific questions to be used in both the regional and national competitions. The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is a timed competition (defined as the use of "lock-out"- type buzzer systems and clocks) between two teams. Each match consists of a series of toss-up questions that individual team members must answer without collaboration. A team that correctly responds to a toss-up question is given a bonus question to answer as a team. Additionally two "team challenge" questions are provided in written form and require teamwork and extra time to complete. Unlike the toss-up and bonus questions, both teams can answer the team challenge question and win points for their correct responses. Each match has 2 team challenge questions and approximately 14 toss-up questions paired with an equal number of bonus questions. Matches consist of two 6-minute halves with a 2-minute break. Additional time is given during the break for team challenge questions.

While regional competitions are generally completed in one day, the finals are held over a two-day period. Competitions consist of ~15 matches (or rounds) including tie-breakers, as necessary. The competition utilizes a round-robin format for the early rounds followed by a double-elimination segment for final rounds at the national finals and most of the regional tournaments.

The winning teams from each of the twenty-five competitions are provided transportation and room and board for the final national competition. The location for the final competition changes annually.

Who is involved?
National Sponsors - The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is a collaborative effort between Ocean Leadership and the NOSB host institutions. The NOSB is generously supported by U.S. government agencies through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) as well as by corporations, foundations and other non-governmental organizations. To see the list of national sponsors, go to http://www.oceanleadership.org/link/nosb/sponsors.

Regional Coordinators and Volunteers - Twenty-five sites have been selected to host the regional competitions. Each site has designated a staff member as the primary coordinator for the region. The regional coordinators are trained by Ocean Leadership staff on how to organize and administer the regional competition. Each regional bowl and the final competition is staffed and run by volunteers. These volunteers serve as moderators, scientific judges, rules judges, timers and scorekeepers and are drawn from host institutions, Federal agencies and marine industry. Each regional site is responsible for raising local funds to supplement an annual program subsidy provided by Ocean Leadership.

Participating High Schools - Any public or private high school in Central and Northern California is eligible to participate. Teams consist of one captain, three players and one alternate. Each team must have a coach, a teacher or other motivated adult. Pre-registration is required, generally by mid-November. Preparation and travel costs are the responsibility of each school, but some assistance may be provided by the regional site. Contact Erin Blackwood for more information.