Seward is once again welcoming teams from across Alaska for the 22nd annual Alaska Regional National Ocean Bowl competition, known as the Alaska Tsunami Bowl.
From Feb. 21 to 24, the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Oceans Sciences is hosting 16 teams, testing their knowledge of ocean science against one another.
The annual event has been held in Seward since 1998 and brings together students from as far as Mt. Edgecumbe and Unalaska.
“Debuting in the 1990s, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) was created by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership to address a gap in environment and earth sciences in public education,” according to the event’s press release.
The NOSB, the national parent competition of the Tsunami Bowl, hopes to introduce high school students to and engage them in ocean science, to prepare them for STEM careers and help them become environmental stewards.
Each of the regional winners, including whoever takes home top prize in Seward later this month, will move on to the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Traditional NOSB competitions utilize a buzzer-style competition, testing ocean science knowledge with different game-show style questions.
The Tsunami Bowl is a little different, spanning over four days and adding an array of elements including research papers, oral presentations and an art show, which will be on public display at the Alaska SeaLife Center the weekend of the event.
Each team is composed of about five students. Seeding for the quiz bowl portion of the weekend is based on scoring from the teams’ research papers and presentations.
On Saturday and Sunday, the teams go head-to-head in the quizbowl with round robin matches all day Saturday and the championship rounds on Sunday.
“Though the Tsunami Bowl requires tremendous dedication and rigor from the students and coaches, this event would not be possible without the hard working and loyal volunteers within the Seward community,” according to the release.
Each year, the Tsunami Bowl is put together with the help of more than 100 volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can reach out by calling 907-224-5261.
Reach Kat Sorensen at ksorensen@peninsulaclarion.com.
