Coginchaug’s National Ocean Sciences Bowl Team continues its impressive streak in ocean science competitions
Written by Lorrie Martin
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is an academic competition and program that introduces high school students to ocean science, aiming to prepare them for ocean science-related STEM careers and addresses a national gap in environmental and earth sciences in public education.
This February 3rd, Coginchaug fielded a NOSB team for the 17th consecutive year at UConn Avery Point Campus in Groton. Team members, Logan Watts, Claire Roraback and Bella Oakley again claimed a 1st Place Finish for their school at the Regional CT/RI Quahog Bowl. This was actually the “4th” First Place Regional Finish in the 17 years Coginchaug has competed in the program. The team has never “hung up their fins”, transferring seamlessly to the Blue Lobster Bowl in Massachusetts when the Quahog Bowl temporarily shut down and competing virtually throughout Covid. When the National Competition has been held, Coginchaug has placed 9th, 10th and 12th in the country when going up against the 25 other Regional Teams, a remarkable achievement for such a small public school often pitted against marine magnet schools and science & technology institutions.
Coached by Lorrie Martin and Luke Charest, students build over their high school years on their ocean knowledge ranging in fields as diverse as marine biology, geology, chemistry, physics, history, geography, technology, literature and archaeology. No water related topic is off the table as students on competing teams race to buzz-in on multiple choice and short answer questions on a lock out system. Each approximately 15 minute match also includes two high-scoring Team Challenge Questions where the team works cooperatively to prepare their answers.
As usual, the friendly competition taps dozens of Volunteers from Connecticut and Rhode Island Colleges, Marine organizations, Coast Guard and Navy plus graduates who have competed in Ocean Bowl themselves. They serve as a large professional team of Moderators, Science Judges, Scorers, Timers and Runners to smoothly run the competition for the students. Remarkably, the National Ocean Bowl representative who along with Andrew Ely (Project Oceanology), Larissa Graham (National Estuarine Research Reserve) and others brought the face-to-face Quahog Bowl back to life in 2024 is Megan Szymaszek – a Coginchaug graduate herself as well as an Ocean Bowl competitor throughout high school and an Ocean Bowl Coach throughout college before moving into this NOSB leadership position which for many years was held by Diana Payne.
The Coginchaug team, representing the two small central Connecticut towns of Middlefield and Durham, practices diligently each Sunday afternoon throughout most of the academic year in their own “Ocean Annex” space – generously donated by the United Churches of Durham. Scrimmages with other teams, Dunkin Donut Card Competitions among themselves, ocean-themed sugar cookies and Swedish fish contribute to their success. Coach Martin insists that every competition MUST be accompanied by fun and their two valuable 17 year old Cephalopod Mascots – “Squidley” Squid originally from Peabody Museum and “Octavius” Octopus donated by Hannah Gossner, a nationally known oceanographer returning from Antarctic research as this article is being written and a former Coginchaug Ocean Bowl competitor herself. Martin commends the “mental agility, exemplary teamwork and good sportsmanship” exhibited by this year’s small, close-knit academic group, as we coaches, could do nothing more than “sit back in the audience and squirm through 6 hours of tough marine questioning in total silence.”