How is the competition designed?

General Format

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl consists of a round-robin/double-elimination format for teams of high school students; teams consist of four students plus one alternate and a coach. 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

CORE, 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. Some regional tournaments have incorporated team projects and posters into their competition format.

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. 2001- Miami, FL; 2002 – Providence, RI; 2003- LaJolla, CA; 2004- Charleston, SC; 2005- Biloxi, MS; 2006 – Pacific Grove, CA; 2007 - Stony Brook, NY; 2008 - Seward, AK