Date: April 15, 1998
Contact: Danelle Van Holstyn, 907-263-1297
SG-97/NR156

ALASKA REPORTERS: East Anchorage High School is a finalist in this national competition. Contact: Danelle Van Holstyn, 907-263-1297. See related news release.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Four students from Alaska's East Anchorage High School will match wits against teams from across the nation for an all-expense-paid learning trip to Portugal in the finals of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.

The competition will be held in Washington, D.C., April 25-27. Among the top prizes is a trip for the winning team to Lisbon, Portugal, during EXPO '98, which will celebrate the International Year of the Ocean. The trip will include an opportunity to participate in ocean research aboard a naval oceanographic research vessel. Other awards and recognition include scholarships, research cruises, and visits to oceanographic research laboratories.

This is the first year of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. It is sponsored by a national group of ocean research agencies and institutions. The goal of the competition is to recognize and reward excellence among students interested in ocean studies and to encourage them to join the next generation of oceanographers and marine scientists. The bowl also aims to broaden awareness of the critical value of ocean research among high school students, educators, parents and the public.

In the competition, students will answer rapid-fire questions on biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean and ocean-related current events. Top researchers and educators in marine sciences developed the questions specifically for the competition.

Sixteen regional meets, involving about 200 teams, were conducted around the nation. Alaska held its regional competition February 28 at the SeaLife Center in Seward. The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences organized the Alaska competition. Anchorage's East High School won the regional competition and the right to represent Alaska in the national finals.

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl is sponsored by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education (CORE), in partnership with the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA). CORE is a Washington, D.C.-based organization representing 51 member-institutions that are the nucleus of U.S. federal, academic and industrial research and education on the ocean.

The National Ocean Sciences Bowl received financial support from the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research, the Oceanographer of the Navy, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Technical assistance is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.

NMEA represents more than 1,000 professionals involved in education, science, marine research, business, government, museums and aquaria who are interested in the study and enjoyment of the world of water—fresh and salt. Affiliated with the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, NMEA provides a valuable focus for marine and aquatic studies worldwide.

Schools sending teams to the finals to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl are:

East Anchorage High School, Anchorage, Alaska. Contact: Danelle Van Holstyn, 907-263-1297. Team members: Connie Averill, Beth Poland, Jamie Bourgeois, and Bre Northcutt.

Mt. Carmel High School, San Diego, Calif.
Aptos High School, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Maritime and Science Technology Academy (MAST) Academy, Miami, Fla.
Contookook Valley (CONVAL) Regional High School, Peterborough, N.H.
Lexington High School, Lexington, Mass.
Dexter High School, Dexter, Mich.
Dothan High School, Dothan, Ala.
Williams High School, Burlington, N.C.
North Marion High School, Aurora, Ore.
Du Bois Area High School, Du Bois, Pa.
Tolland High School, Tolland, Conn.
Woodward Academy, College Park, Ga.
Flour Bluff High School, Corpus Christi, Texas
Central Shenandoah Valley Regional Governor's School, Fishersville, Va.
Garfield High School, Seattle, Wa.

Jim Mitchell
Director of Communications
Consortium for Oceanographic Research & Education (CORE) 1755 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036-2102

Phone: 202/232-3900 x266
Fax: 202/332-9751
Email: jmitchell@brook.edu
Email: jpmitch@worldnet.att.net
CORE on the Web at http://www.COREocean.org/