The ocean is as cold as winter, as vast as space, and as mysterious as the disappearance of a sock in the washer; however, there is a group of people that gathers annually to discuss and compete about ocean related subjects. This group is part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, or more commonly known as NOSB.

This year, 15 teams from all over the state of Alaska gathered in Seward to honor this annual competition. The teams included Juneau, Kodiak, Sitka, Ketchikan, Homer, South Anchorage, Wasilla, and many others. Sadly, Seward was unable to round up enough willing participants to create a home team; however, Wasilla’s backup team, the Jollyfish, was generous and allowed Emmalee Moore and myself to join them.

The three-day competition began with a big breakfast prepared for them by the American Legion Post 5, and then the participants headed to the school for the all-day presentations about this year’s topic: “Resource Management in a Warming Pacific.” Fifteen teams from all over the state of Alaska gave a 20 minute presentation that explained how a certain species, fishery, or area in Alaska would be directly impacted by a warming Pacific Ocean.

 Of course, five hours of presentations on marine sciences can get tiresome and tedious, even for the most devoted of scientists. In light of this, there are activities offered for the students to pass time and break for a while. These “extracurriculars” include: squid dissection, owl feces dissection, and an R.O.V (remotely operated vehicle) competition. This year, around 10 teams participated in this event, challenging the young minds to put the year’s worth of knowledge to the test. At the end of the day, a pool party was held for the students in order for them to relax and have some additional fun.

Saturday began with breakfast at the Legion, and then to the school to finish up the rest of the presentations. Once the presentations came to an end, the exciting activities started. The competition known as ‘quiz bowl’ is a sort of game like jeopardy. There are two teams that participate in a six-minute round of multiple-choice questions, two four-minute rounds of team questions, and then another round of multiple-choice questions. During the six-minute rounds, participants are given a buzzer, a piece of paper to write or doodle on, and a pencil. The quiz bowl competition uses a bracket placement system, like a tournament. Saturday consisted of seven quiz bowl rounds. As the day came to an end, a homemade spaghetti dinner was provided for us by the Young Life group. A good conclusion to the day.

Day 3, Sunday, began in a similar way, with breakfast at the Legion, and then to the school to finish the last 3 rounds of quiz bowl. After all three rounds were done, everyone gathered in the auditorium to watch the final round, where Mat-Su Tech and Juneau Douglas went head-to-head for first place. Never have you felt a tension quite like this one. After 15 minutes and 92 points of competition later, Mat-Su Technical School laid claim to victory of the 2017 NOSB Competition in Alaska, and will be headed to Nationals in Corvallis, Oregon.

Overall, the weekend was long, but very much enjoyable for those who truly enjoy science at its fullest.