An Invitation to Participate
The 12th Annual Alaska Tsunami Bowl is happening February 6–8, 2009!
Dear NOSB Coach / Science Department Chair,
On behalf of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (formerly CORE) and the National Marine Educators Association, the University of Alaska Fairbanks invites you and your high school students to participate in the 12th Annual Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB).
Regional competitions will be held around the country during February and early March 2009. The Alaska Region NOSB will take place in Seward, 6–8 February 2009. The national competition will be held in Washington, DC, 25-27 April 2009.
The Intent to Participate Form will be accepted until 15 November 2008. We've been forced by spambots to unlink the online form; please email Phyllis Shoemaker for the URL. This regional competition is limited to 20 teams, so don't delay. Teams will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Information and materials will be mailed to those responding to this invitation.
Again this year, the Alaska Region NOSB will consist of two equally weighted parts: a tournament-style academic competition, designed to challenge and recognize the students' knowledge of sciences in the context of the oceans; and a project with written and oral components. The project meets all of the State of Alaska high school English standards, including writing.
The research project for the 2009 Tsunami Bowl will be:
- Determine the most important problems or hazards facing your coastal community (or an Alaska coastal community that your team chooses) as the result of ocean acidification. Teams must consider the interactions among the atmosphere, ice, ocean, and land, and suggest what feedback loops may be responsible for the observed changes in the marine ecosystem most closely linked to their community.
- Teams should propose policy changes or actions that can be taken now (both locally and internationally) to deal with the specific problem or hazard that the team has identified as most critical. As part of this discussion, teams should consider how and why this problem is significant to the rest of the world.
Teams can choose to participate in just the tournament-style competition. These teams will not be eligible for the UAF tuition waivers, scholarships, or the free trip to the national event. However, they can participate in all the regional event activities.
Teams consist of 5 high school students: 4 team members plus an alternate. The alternate is optional, but recommended. The coach is usually, but not restricted to, a science or math teacher. A parent may be a coach as well. Home-school and private-school students are welcome to participate.
The competition will be held over three days: a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tours of the Alaska SeaLife Center, the UAF Seward Marine Center Laboratories, the Alaska Vocational Technical Center, and the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery may be available. Fund-raising will determine prizes. In the past, UAF and UAS have offered tuition waivers to members of the team that wins overall. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership will pay all travel expenses for the Alaska regional winners to attend the NOSB finals and compete against the other regional winners.
NOTE: Teams will be responsible for their own travel costs to the regional competition. Please budget for these expenses. Travel grants will be available to help teams cover part of their expenses if needed.
Schools that field a Tsunami Bowl team are eligible to have their art students participate in the NOSB juried art show, "The Ocean Connection."
We are proud to host this challenging academic competition and hope to have your school's participation. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Phyllis Shoemaker
Coordinator, Alaska Region National Ocean Sciences Bowl
Seward Marine Center
PO Box 730
Seward, Alaska 99664
907-224-4312
