The Blue Heron Bowl is the North Carolina regional competition for the National Ocean Science Bowl (NOSB) competition. The 2026 and 2027 regional competition will take place at UNCW!
NOSB is a marine science academic competition and program for high school students interested in ocean science-related and other STEM careers. Teams compete in regional bowls to move on to the National Competition.
Forming a Team
A team consists of 4 or 5 students and a coach.
All team members must be currently enrolled in high school.
Team members should be knowledgeable in the 4 main discipline areas of biology, chemistry, geology, and the physical properties associated with marine/coastal environments.
High schools are welcome to have an A and a B team in attendance.
If there are less than 16 teams total, B teams compete against A teams and can qualify for national competition.
If there are more than 16 teams total, there may be a separate B team competition that will not qualify for the national competition.
Virtual coaches meeting on November 20 at 4:00pm. Email Erin Moran to register for the meeting.
Competition Structure
A minimum of 8 high schools must be represented for the event to be sanctioned. A maximum of 16 teams can compete at each regional bowl for a seat at the national competition (funds permitting).
Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for A teams. B teams will be notified of their acceptance shortly after registration closes, January 9, 2026.
The opening 6-minute buzzer segment consists of toss-up (multiple choice) and bonus (multiple choice or short answer) questions. If the toss-up question is answered correctly, that team has the opportunity for the bonus.
Two team challenge questions (TCQ) that are cooperatively answered, and critical thinking questions.
Halftime
The final 6-minute buzzer segment consists of toss-up and bonus questions.
Team Preparation
Hit the books and practice as a team. The National Ocean Science Bowl provides teams with a variety of resources, including questions and more. Additionally, by request, you can have access to past coach-developed study guides.
Review the rules and strategies. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the competition rules. At BHB, we will review the rules at the Welcome event; however, we highly recommend that you review them and develop a strategy beforehand.
Register for the Blue Heron Bowl by January 9, 2026! Be sure to complete team registration (Google Form) and team member forms for each person. Once you have completed the team registration form you will receive an email containing the team member packet.
A welcome event will take place at the Center for Marine Science at 6 p.m. Pizza, games, mingling and more! More information coming soon.
Saturday, February 14
The competition will take place at Sayed Hall, which houses the Watson College of Education.
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Volunteers
The Blue Heron Bowl is a volunteer-run event! We rely on over 40 volunteers to support the event. There are a total of 6 different types of volunteer roles:
Moderator
The moderator is the person responsible for controlling each match and reading the questions. It is important that the moderator be familiar with how the game is played and all of the rules.
Science Judge
The science judge determines if the answer given is acceptable or not. The science judge also resolves question challenges.
Rules Judge
The rules judge ensures all competition rules are followed. To serve in this capacity, it is imperative for the rules judge to fully understand ALL competition rules.
Scorekeeper
The scorekeeper keeps a record of the head-to-head competition score.
Timekeeper
The timekeeper operates the official competition time clock.
Runner
Runners transport the team challenge questions (TCQs) to the Judges’ Appeals room to be scored. Once graded, the runner returns the questions to the science judge in the competition room.
Becoming a Volunteer
In-person volunteer orientation: January 15, 2026 at 4:30 pm in Sayed Hall TBD.
Zoom volunteer orientation: February 5, 2026, at 4:30 pm.
