Spoonbill

Overview

2023 NOSB – Spoonbill Bowl competition is cancelled.

As you may have heard the National Ocean Sciences Bowl led by the Consortium of Ocean Leadership dissolved late this summer and is no more. 

Of course, this news is really disappointing for all our coaches, student teams, and volunteers. However, we are optimistic and look forward to a return of the Florida Spoonbill competition in 2024! It has been my experience that meaningful, positive programs like the Spoonbill Bowl have a way of surviving changes and returning even better.

What does this mean for the Spoonbill Bowl competition? 

There will NOT be a competition for 2023

What does this mean for the NOSB competitions? 

The NOSB national office will NOT support any 2023 regional competitions or national Finals.

The good news is that the NOSB is being transferred to another nonprofit organization with a similar mission. By October, the new home of the NOSB will be the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). UCAR has education programs and resources with the goal of building the nation’s workforce capabilities across the STEM fields and beyond. By accepting COL’s programs, they hope to further build their ocean science research and education portfolio.

 
We look forward to ‘sea-ing’ EVERYONE for the 2024 Florida Spoonbill Bowl competition!

The NOSB is an academic competition and program that addresses a national gap in environmental and earth sciences in public education by introducing high school students to and engaging them in ocean science, preparing them for ocean science-related and other STEM careers, and helping them become knowledgeable citizens and environmental stewards.

What happens at the Spoonbill Bowl?

The Spoonbill Bowl consists of a round-robin and single-elimination formats for teams of high school students. 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 topics on the contributions of the oceans to national and international economics, history, and culture.

Why do we have a competition?

It is our hope that during this competition teams, coaches and volunteers will have fun while increasing understanding about the oceans, advancing ocean literacy, and raising the visibility of ocean-related research.

Spoonbill Bowl Fans, thanks again to all who competed and supported last year's competition.

COACHES & TEAMS: If you are interested in competing in the Spoonbill Bowl please complete a TEAM Registration Form. 

Team registrations are accepted from September 15 - November 15.

There is a $100 registration due no later than November 15.

VOLUNTEERS: If you are interested in volunteering for the Spoonbill Bowl, please complete a Volunteer Registration form. Volunteers must attend two trainings between January and February. Training sessions are 1 hour.

Volunteer registrations are accepted from November 15 - January 15.

Volunteer Training Dates: TBD Trainings are January - February.

QUESTION REVIEWERS: If you are interested in volunteering to review questions for the competition, please send an email to greely@usf.edu. Questions are reviewed December - January.

QUESTIONS: Email Teresa Greely, greely@usf.edu or spoonbillbowl@gmail.com.