The Bay Scallop Bowl, a regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) hosted by the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University, returned IN PERSON to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the event at Stony Brook University on Saturday February 5, 2022.
The event has 12 teams from high schools across New York and Connecticut face off in a tournament-style science competition where the students “buzz in” to answer questions correctly. Usually, there are 12 teams representing 12 schools, but this year there were originally 11 difference schools, with one school having an A and B team. Due to inclement weather in Upstate New York, the Churchville-Chili team was unable to make–missing the bowl for the first time since it began. William Floyd High School had a B team ready and the gap was quickly filled the day before the event.
The teams that competed in the 2022 Bay Scallop Bowl were from William Floyd High School, Seaford High School, Half Hollow Hills High School East, Midwood High School, Southside High School, Farmingdale High School, Locust Valley High School, Lindenhurst High School, Mount Sinai High School, and Bridgeport Aquaculture.
Dr. Chris Gobler served as Master of Ceremonies for the event and welcomed special guests New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright and Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn. The group welcomed the students and thanked the many volunteers who work so hard to make the competition possible.
The morning rounds went well, but the excitement started in the afternoon in round 9. Midwood High School Team A faced off against Midwood High School Team B, with the scores running very close. With only seconds to spare, the score was Team A with 39 points and Team B with 30 points. Tom Wilson, the moderator for the match, read the final question with time running out. Team B interrupted the question, was recognized and correctly guessed the answer, providing an opportunity to answer the bonus question. With the score now Team A (39) and Team B (34), the 6-point bonus question was read. Midwood High School Team B conferred and gave their answer, but Science Judge Bill Wise and Moderator Tom Wilson were not sure the answer provided enough information and needed to confer with “Poseidon’s Court.” After a brief deliberation (in which everyone was on the edge of their seats) it was determined that their answer lacked one key word which would have made the answer correct. Team B did not get the points, which gave Midwood High School Team A the win to go up against undefeated Mount Sinai High School.
The tight action continued in Round 10, with both teams doing well on buzzer questions, but not on the bonus questions. Midwood High School Team A defeated Mount Sinai with a score of 38 to 35, but that placed both teams with one loss each, forcing a Round 11. The excitement from the two teams was infectious, and energized the group.
Midwood Team A started on a tear early into the round, leading Mount Sinai 42 to 4, and the Team Challenge Questions extended that lead to 65 to 28. A short break helped the Might Mustangs from Mount Sinai attempt a comeback, and they scored 44 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win. Midwood High School Team A won with the final score of Midwood High School 77, Mount Sinai High School 72.
Congratulations to all of the teams that participated this year!
As we say every year, even if you feel your part was small, it truly takes a village to pull this together and every volunteer was a necessary piece of this fun filled day! Special thanks go to the organizers of the event, without whom we would not be able to host: Kim Knoll, Kaitlin Willig-Giglio, Kurt Bretsch, Tom Wilson, Mark Lang, and Ping Liu. MANY THANKS to Joseph Dlhopsky, the official photographer for the Bay Scallop Bowl who has captured each BSB from the opening to the closing ceremonies!
Photos of the event by Joseph Dlhopolsky are available on Google Photos.
Download the Bay Scallop Bowl 2022 Program
