Twelve teams of high school students from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia will compete in the Chesapeake Bay Bowl on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the University of Delaware’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, Delaware.

Hosted by Delaware Sea Grant, the students will showcase their knowledge of the ocean by answering questions about marine and freshwater environments. Topics can range from deep ocean sediments to Great Lakes biology.

Now in it’s 20th year, the Chesapeake Bay Bowl is a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.

The competitions support Delaware Sea Grant’s emphasis on increasing ocean awareness and environmental literacy with kindergarten through 12th grade audiences.

“Many students who compete in the event have taken high school courses in marine science and biology and show promise in entering scientific careers,” said event organizer Chris Petrone, marine education specialist with Delaware Sea Grant.

Petrone has been involved with the Chesapeake Bay Bowl and the Blue Crab Bowl in southern Virginia since 2006.

Being a volunteer-heavy event, Petrone relies on nearly 50 people — almost 1-to-1 with the number of student competitors — to make the event run smoothly. Volunteers include UD undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, as well individuals from entities such as the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and state natural resources staff from Maryland and Delaware.

The winning team of the regional competition will join 24 other regional competition winners at the National Ocean Sciences Bowl championship in Corvallis, Oregon in April.

The national competition is sponsored by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership to encourage students to pursue a college degree and future career in the ocean sciences. Approximately 2,000 students from 300 high schools take part in the regional and national bowls annually. 

Confirmed high schools at the Chesapeake Bay Bowl at the University of Delaware in Lewes are: 

• Newark Charter High School, Newark, Delaware;

• Liberty High School, Sykesville, Maryland;

• Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Maryland;

• Lower Dauphin High School, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania;

• State College Area High School, State College, Pennsylvania;

• Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Vienna, Virginia; and

• Yorktown High School, Arlington, Virginia.

About Delaware Sea Grant

The University of Delaware was designated as the nation’s ninth Sea Grant College in 1976 to promote the wise use, conservation and management of marine and coastal resources through high-quality research, education and outreach activities that serve the public and the environment.

UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment administers the program, which conducts research in priority areas ranging from aquaculture to coastal hazards.