MISSISSIPPI PRESS

February 8, 2008

J.L. Scott Marine Education Center to host regional science quiz bowl

OCEAN SPRINGS -  The J,L. Scott Marine Education Center will host teams of high school students from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi at a regional ocean sciences bowl on Saturday at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. The central Gulf competition, known as the Hurricane Bowl, is a rapid-fire question and answer competition focusing on ocean sciences.

Eighteen teams from 13 high schools with four students on each team will participate in the 2008 Hurricane Bowl. The winning team will move on to face 24 other regional champions in the llth annual National Ocean Sciences Bowl on April 25-27 in Seward, Alaska. The sciences competition is a program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership headquartered in Washington, D.C.

"Watching these students participate at such a high level in marine and ocean sciences gives me comfort in knowing that these are tomorrow's leaders," said Sam Clardy, regional coordinator of the Hurricane Bowl.

Participating high schools include Fairhope High School, Fairhope, Ala.; Oneonta High School, Oneonta, Ala.; Navarre High School, Navarre, Fla.; Niceville High School, Niceville, Fla.; Okaloosa-Walton College Collegiate High School, Niceville, Fla.; Comeaux High School, Comeaux, La.; Academy of Our Lady, Marrero, La.; East Central High School, Hurley; Gulfport High School, Gulfport; Long Beach High School, Long Beach; Poplarville High School, Poplarville; Starkville Academy, Starkville; and Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Columbus.

The regional and national events include question and answer "buzzer" rounds, team-challenge questions, educational field trips and activities that encourage interaction among student peers and marine scientists. For more information on the competition, contact Clardy at 228-818-8885 or samuel.clardy@usm.edu.