NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — February 2, 2000 — The regional tournament of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, dubbed the Quahog Bowl, will be held at the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus on Saturday, February 12. For the event, 16 teams of high school students from Rhode Island and Connecticut are busy preparing to compete in the regional competition, created in 1998 by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education and the National Marine Educators Association. Organized by the URI Office of Marine Programs, the 2000 Quahog Bowl is hosted by the URI Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) in collaboration with the University of Connecticut and Mystic Aquarium. Rhode Island schools include two teams from Cranston High School West, Cranston High School East, Narragansett High School, and Smithfield High School, and one team each from North Kingstown High School, West Warwick High School, and Woonsocket High School. A team from Cranston High School West was the 1999 regional tournament winner. Connecticut schools competing for the regional title include Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, two teams from Southington High School, Wilby High School in Waterbury, and the 1998 regional tournament winner Tolland High School. In preparation for the rapid-fire, question-and-answer contest, high school teams of five students each were given a “Resources Guide” covering key topics such as chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean. Top regional teams will be invited to Washington, DC, in April for a national final competition, all expenses paid. Each of the five members of the top two winning teams in the regional Quahog Bowl will receive a $1,000 cash scholarship, a tour of the Naval Underwater Warfare Center in Newport, including a visit to the Center’s simulation laboratory, a trip from Woods Hole to Narragansett on the URI research vessel Endeavor, an excursion with Connecticut’s Project Oceanology program, and premium memberships to Mystic Aquarium. “This national initiative’s goal is to interest bright high school students in marine science,” said Gail Scowcroft, Associate Director of Marine and Environmental Education at URI’s Office of Marine Programs. “We have a critical need in the U.S. for scientists who will be able to solve marine-related problems, and we are thrilled that the URI Graduate School of Oceanography is able to provide this service to Rhode Island and Connecticut high school students.” Patterned after the National Science Bowl, the National Ocean Sciences Bowl was inaugurated in 1998 to provide a forum for students who excel in math and science to receive national recognition for their diligence and talent while broadening their awareness and understanding of the oceans. Federal sponsors of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Office of Naval Research, the Oceanographer of the Navy, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and NASA. Major local sponsors include the URI Graduate School of Oceanography; Mystic Aquarium; Pfizer, Inc.; Millstone Information and Science Center, a division of Northeast Utilities; Connecticut Sea Grant; Rhode Island Sea Grant; URI Friends of Oceanography; the URI President’s Office; Bank Boston; Washington Trust; and Chelsea Groton Savings Bank. For more information about the competition, contact Gail Scowcroft in the URI Office of Marine Programs at (401) 874-6211 or visit the Quahog Bowl website at http://omp.gso.uri.edu/omp/edu/bowl/bowl1.htm. For More Information: Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642 Visit the URI Graduate School of Oceanography website: http://www.gso.uri.edu/