New Horizons wins 28th Blue Crab Bowl as competition faces uncertain future
High schoolers braved the bitter cold last weekend to compete in the 28th Blue Crab Bowl, Virginia’s regional program of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) hosted by William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS. New Horizons Governor’s School for Science and Technology came out on top, besting 11 other regional teams, including newcomers Gloucester High and Southampton Academy, in round-robin and elimination matches that culminated in exciting trophy rounds in the McHugh Auditorium that evening.
Governor's School for Science and Technology team captain Megan Way attributed the win to the hard work the team put into studying. “We’re all really enthusiastic about the subjects, so we had fun, did our best and we did well,” she said.
The first-timers from Southampton Academy said that they found the Blue Crab Bowl to be more prestigious and better organized than other scholastic bowls they’d competed in. Danee Railey said she texted teammate Autumn Rebbe the night before, anxious that she wouldn’t know any marine science trivia, but the day of she discovered that she knew more than she was expecting, and it boosted her confidence.
“I feel like you learn a lot just by being around people playing in the competition,” Railey said. “It’s just a nice environment.”
Scaling back but still inspiring
One of the first NOSB competitions, the Blue Crab Bowl started in 1998 and up until this year had been coordinated in partnership with Old Dominion University. Typically the bowl has hosted 16 high school teams, but without ODU volunteers this year and a reduction in seed funding from the NOSB office, that number was reduced to 12. The event was also limited to one day instead of two, which inhibited participation for teams from the northern and western parts of the state who would typically travel Friday and stay overnight.
Despite these challenges, the atmosphere on the day of the bowl was electric. Students were smiling, laughing and cheering each other on during the matches. Between rounds, they could be heard trading Instagram accounts and chatting about college prospects.
The goal is to create a unique and meaningful experience for high school students that immerses them in the world of marine science, said Bethany Smith, bowl regional coordinator and associate director of formal education at the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS.
“It’s vitally important that we continue to offer programming for high school students here at the Batten School & VIMS,” she said, noting that the future of the event is uncertain.
NOSB funding uncertainty clouds bowl's future
Last August, Smith and other regional bowl coordinators learned that the national NOSB office was losing funding. There will not be a traditional finals competition this year, in-person or virtual. The office hopes to offer something in place of the national finals, but that depends on whether additional funding can be secured.
The national NOSB office provides the marine science trivia that makes the Blue Crab Bowl and other regional bowls possible, including a database of toss-up multiple choice and team challenge questions curated over decades.
“The broader question is, how do we get investment in these national science initiatives?” Smith said.
Bill Dunn, a retired former ODU regional coordinator of the Blue Crab Bowl who volunteered at this year’s competition, said that while he’s disappointed by the funding issues, he thinks that Smith has done an amazing job making this year’s event a success.
“Nothing beats a head-to-head competition,” Dunn said.
Robert and Erin Akamine, parents of Mason Akamine on the winning Governor's School for Science and Technology team, said that what they love about the bowl is how it encourages scientific curiosity and teamwork. They were dismayed to learn that the bowl’s future was in jeopardy.
“I’m an engineer that works with scientists in climate research,” Robert said, “so that possibility for me is tragic, because we need to learn all we can about our planet to help us recover from our current climate issues.”
The secret to winning
The looming uncertainty didn’t dampen the spirits of the students, who gave their all throughout the competition. Batten School & VIMS Director of the Office of Outreach & Engagement Sarah Nuss said the faculty and staff who volunteered were inspired by how much the students knew.
“It was really impressive all the hard work you put into practicing,” Nuss said to the participants ahead of the trophy ceremony. “It was really fun for all of us to see.”
And yet, the secret to success can involve more than just hard work, said winning team member Prithvi Pathak.
Pathak said he had been studying James Cook in preparation for the bowl and reading about how he would make pickled cabbage to stave off scurvy. The night before the competition, Pathak said Cook visited him in a dream and offered him some pickled cabbage, telling him that if he ate it, he would win. Pathak ate the dream cabbage.
“So I mean, I knew I was going to win,” Pathak said.
To view more photos from the event, visit the VIMS Flickr album and Virginia Sea Grant Flickr album for the event.
Participating Schools
- Broadwater Academy
- Bruton High School
- Catholic High School
- Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School, Bowling Green
- Chesapeake Bay Governor’s School, Glenns
- Gloucester High School
- New Horizons Governor’s School for Science & Technology
- Grafton High School
- Norfolk Collegiate
- Seton School
- Southampton Academy
Regional Sponsors
- William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS
- Splendid Sands
- Mid-Atlantic Marine Education Association
- The Center for Ocean Leadership at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
National Sponsors
- Schmidt Ocean Institute
- Office of Naval Research