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• A team consists of 4 or 5 students and a coach.
• All team members must be currently enrolled in high school.
• Team members should be knowledgeable in the 4 main discipline areas of biology, chemistry, geology, and the physical properties associated with marine/coastal environments.  
• High schools are welcome to have an A and a B team in attendance.
  
  • If there are less than 16 teams total, B teams compete against A teams and can qualify for national competition.  
  • If there are more than 16 teams total, there may be a separate B team competition that will not qualify for the national competition.

• A minimum of 8 high schools must be represented for the event to be sanctioned.  A maximum of 16 teams can compete at each regional bowl for a seat at the national competition (funds permitting).
• Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for A teams.  B teams will be notified of their acceptance shortly after registration closes, January 9, 2026. 

Competition day consists of: 

• Morning round-robin head-to-head tournament
• Afternoon head-to-head double elimination tournament

Head-to-head competitions consists of 3 segments.  

• The opening 6-minute buzzer segment consists of toss-up (multiple choice) and bonus (multiple choice or short answer) questions.  If the toss-up question is answered correctly, that team has the opportunity for the bonus.  
• Two team challenge questions (TCQ) that are cooperatively answered, and critical thinking questions.  
• Halftime
• The final 6-minute buzzer segment consists of toss-up and bonus questions.  

Hit the books and practice as a team.  The National Ocean Science Bowl provides teams with a variety of resources, including questions and more.  Additionally, by request, you can have access to past coach-developed study guides.  

Review the rules and strategies.  Be sure to familiarize yourself with the competition rules.  At BHB, we will review the rules at the Welcome event; however, we highly recommend that you review them and develop a strategy beforehand.  

Don't forget to practice, practice, practice.  If possible, duplicate the competition as much as possible.  Set up the room the same way.

The Blue Heron Bowl is a volunteer-run event! We rely on over 40 volunteers to support the event. There are a total of 6 different types of volunteer roles:

Moderator

The moderator is the person responsible for controlling each match and reading the questions.  It is important that the moderator be familiar with how the game is played and all of the rules.

Science Judge

The science judge determines if the answer given is acceptable or not. The science judge also resolves question challenges.

Rules Judge

The rules judge ensures all competition rules are followed. To serve in this capacity, it is imperative for the rules judge to fully understand ALL competition rules.

Scorekeeper

The scorekeeper keeps a record of the head-to-head competition score.

Timekeeper

The timekeeper operates the official competition time clock.

Runner

Runners transport the team challenge questions (TCQs) to the Judges’ Appeals room to be scored.  Once graded, the runner returns the questions to the science judge in the competition room.

Becoming a Volunteer 

• In-person volunteer orientation: January 15, 2026 at 4:30 pm in Sayed Hall TBD. 
• Zoom volunteer orientation: February 5, 2026, at 4:30 pm. 
• Contact Morgan O’Connell for more information