National Ocean Sciences Bowl

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a fast-paced ocean science competition. Students study all aspects of oceanography, including geology, marine biology, marine technology, history and social sciences, physical and chemical oceanography, and marine policy.

At LHS

Student tryouts are in September and October, and result in the selection of one or two competing teams each composed of five students. The regional competition, the Blue Lobster Bowl, is held on a Saturday at MIT in either February or March. Practices are held after school–once a week (Fridays, 3:00-5:00) during the tryout season, and twice a week (Wednesdays and Fridays) for the two months leading up to the Blue Lobster Bowl.

Practices model the actual competition, which consists of buzzer rounds (toss-up and bonus questions) and team challenge questions. A correct answer for a toss-up question from an individual student earns a bonus question for the team. Team challenge questions are completed between the two buzzer rounds. The overall competition is in round-robin format for the morning of competition, followed by single- or double-elimination in the afternoon rounds to determine the final outcome.